Brussels, 27 October 2025 — Following the signature of the EU–Uzbekistan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) urge the EU to ensure that human rights are placed at the heart of this deepened partnership, and that economic and geopolitical interests do not take precedence over human rights concerns.
The EU should use the pending ratification of the agreement – required before it can fully enter into force – and its subsequent implementation to press for real and lasting human rights improvements in Uzbekistan.
Human Rights Commitments Must Not Remain Rhetorical
Signed during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Brussels on 24 October 2025, the EPCA aims to elevate EU–Uzbekistan relations to a new strategic level, expanding cooperation in trade, political and economic relations, energy, transport, security, environmental protection and other areas. It follows a notable increase in EU–Uzbekistan trade and investment in recent years, with Uzbekistan benefiting from preferential access to the EU market under the EU’s GSP+ scheme since 2021.
The EPCA includes commitments to respect democratic principles, the rule of law, and human rights, and to foster an enabling environment for civil society. The EU has underlined the importance of shared values and argued that the agreement will allow for expanded engagement on human rights. A joint EU-Uzbekistan statement issued following the signing of the EPCA highlighted reforms to strengthen the rule of law, human rights, civil society and media development as a ‘’shared priority’’.
Yet, without clear benchmarks for progress, the Uzbekistani government’s commitments risk remaining purely rhetorical.
Benchmarks and Follow-up Monitoring Needed
Currently the human rights situation in Uzbekistan remains deeply worrying, with limited genuine progress despite reform pledges by the authorities. Indeed, some early reform initiatives launched after President Mirziyoyev came to power in 2016 – two years before negotiations on the EPCA began – have been undermined by subsequent backsliding.
Civic space is highly restricted, with independent media and civil society groups operating under severe constraints, and journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders facing ongoing harassment, including politically motivated imprisonment, and even forced psychiatric confinement. Persecution also extends to exiled activists, while authorities have prevented former political prisoners from obtaining rehabilitation. The judiciary remains under political control, and torture and ill-treatment are prevalent. Authorities have failed to ensure accountability for the 2022 crackdown on mass protests in Karakalpakstan, and consensual homosexual relations remain criminalised, further illustrating the gap between reform promises and reality. (See more on current human rights concerns below).
In this context, it is imperative that the EU and its members link the ratification and full implementation of the EPCA to tangible measures by the Uzbekistani authorities to halt further deterioration and ensure genuine improvements in human rights protection in the country.
The European Parliament, whose consent is required for ratification, should adopt a similar approach to that taken in relation to the EU–Kyrgyzstan EPCA. In its September 2025 resolution on Kyrgyzstan, the Parliament called for concrete steps to address the worsening human rights situation in this country before ratification and implementation of the new agreement, as well as for a robust monitoring framework with human rights benchmarks and timelines to track progress. It also stressed that a negative assessment could lead to the agreement’s suspension. We urge the Parliament to insist on a similar scheme for Uzbekistan, with both the Parliament and independent civil society actors closely involved in monitoring and follow-up.
Priority Areas for EU Engagement and Human Rights Progress
The EU should insist on meaningful progress in the following areas, as a matter of priority:
- Ending the persecution of human rights defenders, journalists, and activists, and releasing those imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights;
- Decriminalising defamation and insult and ensuring these charges are not used to stifle free speech;
- Halting the misuse of international cooperation mechanisms – in particular those of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – to seek the forcible return of individuals on politically motivated grounds;
- Guaranteeing the rehabilitation and protection of former political prisoners, and ensuring their access to justice and compensation;
- Conducting thorough, impartial investigations into the 2022 suppression of mass protests in Karakalpakstan and ensuring accountability for all those responsible for the excessive use of force, torture and other serious violations;
- Allowing independent human rights organisations to register and operate freely, and removing excessive restrictions on the operations and funding of NGOs;
- Guaranteeing judicial independence and fair trial standards, and protecting lawyers from harassment due to their professional activities;
- Consistently enforcing legal safeguards against torture, establishing an independent mechanism to investigate complaints, and taking effective measures to ensure accountability for perpetrators;
- Decriminalising consensual homosexual relations and ensuring effective protection for LGBT people from harassment, violence, and abuse.
Tangible progress on human rights is not only a moral imperative but also an important foundation for sustainable trade, security, and development. The EU should use the EPCA as leverage for genuine reform — not as a reward for unfulfilled promises.
Background: Key Human Rights Concerns in Uzbekistan
Despite commitments to media freedoms, authorities continue to suppress independent media operations, with draft legislation risking to impose new restrictions. Journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders face ongoing – and increasing – intimidation and harassment, including surveillance, smear campaigns, and politically motivated prosecutions.
A case of particular concern is that of lawyer and blogger Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, who is serving a 16-year sentence for his peaceful role in the 2022 mass protests in Karakalpakstan and reportedly has been subjected to torture in prison. He was targeted as part of a wider crackdown on dissent in the region launched after the 2022 events.
Another alarming case is that of human rights defender and blogger Shahida Salomova, who has been
In addition to persecuting critics at home, authorities have increasingly exploited international cooperation mechanisms to pursue outspoken bloggers and activists based abroad on politically motivated charges. Aside from Interpol notices, requests made through CIS and SCO have become a growing threat to exiled activists, with a rising number of individuals forcibly returned from Turkey and CIS countries in recent years.
At the same time, authorities have failed to rehabilitate former political prisoners whose convictions – often based on forced confessions – remain in place, leaving them without access to justice or compensation and vulnerable to social exclusion, discrimination, and harassment. These include activists previously recognised as political prisoners by the European Parliament.
Independent NGOs continue to face systematic barriers to registration, with applications rejected on arbitrary grounds. For example, human rights defender Agzam Turgunov has been denied registration of his NGO, Human Rights House more than a dozen times. NGOs are also subject to excessive restrictions on their operations and funding. Foreign grants require government approval in a cumbersome process that often leads to refusals or significant delays in accessing funds.
Despite proclaimed judicial reforms, the judiciary remains under political influence. Politically sensitive cases are often classified as “secret,” hearings held behind closed doors, and acquittals are exceedingly rare. Defence lawyers face harassment for representing clients in politically motivated cases.
Torture and ill-treatment remain prevalent, with reported cases rarely effectively investigated or punished – a problem underscored by the lack of an independent investigation mechanism. Despite legal safeguards, detainees are often denied prompt access to lawyers, and judges frequently disregard evidence of abuse.
Impunity persists for serious human rights violations committed during the July 2022 events in Karakalpakstan, when security forces harshly suppressed mass protests against proposed constitutional amendments. Last year, a parliamentary commission deemed law enforcement actions as “lawful”, contradicting credible independent findings of excessive force, torture and other grave abuses. These findings highlight the need for further, impartial and thorough investigations and for effective measures to hold all perpetrators accountable for violations.
Consensual homosexual relations remain criminalised, leaving LGBTI people exposed to harassment, threats, and abuse without protection.
