On 29 March 2015 presidential elections will take
place in Uzbekistan
There are 4 nominated candidates:
— Islam Karimov, current leader of Uzbekistan, is put forward by the
Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan. Previously, Karimov was nominated for
the presidency in 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2007. His term was extended by referendum twice (in 2002 and 2007)
— Khatamjon Ketmonov is a candidate put forward by the National Democratic
Party of Uzbekistan and the chairman of the Central Council of the Party.
— Narimon Umarov is a candidate put forward by the Social Democratic
Party «Adolat» (Justice), chairman of the Council and Executive Committee of
the Party.
— Akmal Saidov is a candidate nominated by the «Milliy Tiklanish» (National
Revival) Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, a member of fraction of the party in
the Parliament, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Democratic
Institutions, Non-government Organisations and Self-government Bodies. In 2007 elections,
he was one of the candidates to run for the office of president.
 |
The project Art and Human Rights
Association for Human Rights
in Centrale Asie |
Association for Human Rights in Central Asia about results of observation of the election campaign
All candidates were approved prior, to their nomination, by the presidential
administration. Among them there is no representative of the opposition.
Citizens learn about candidates only from the government media and posters
distributed by the Central Election Commission. Meetings of candidates with
voters are held in conditions of limited freedom of speech. Criticism of the
authorities and asking "uncomfortable" questions are prohibited. Only
laudatory rhetoric is allowed. Uzbek media does not even attempt to evaluate
the candidates publicly. Islam Karimov has a privileged position. As president,
he uses public events for his campaign. This also applies to the opening of new
businesses, and the last amnesty of prisoners.
No signs of the activity of the population. Access to opposition web
sites is very limited, among other things, due to blocking and DDoS-attacks. Opinion
of citizens living abroad is almost unknown to the population living in the
country. All segments of the population are under total control, that is why
there are so few independent-minded citizens, and they do not affect the
election campaign.
The Constitution of Uzbekistan does not provide for the impeachment of
the president, so even in theory, Islam Karimov cannot be removed from power. Most
of the population realises that he remained in power illegally. "I am one of those who comes under criticism
for a long tenure. They criticise me, but I do not stop. The more they
criticise me, the more I want to continue working. What's wrong with that?"-
flirts Islam Karimov.
He does not offer any explanation to his voters about his attitude
towards the criminal activities of his eldest daughter Gulnara Karimova,
against whom criminal cases are pending in France, Switzerland, Sweden and
Uzbekistan. Issues related to the corrupt activities of members of Islam
Karimov’s family are never discussed.
All other candidates praise their main competitor Karimov. This suggests
that they deliberately went to participate in the formalistic elections. Refusing
to play this humiliating role would be dangerous for them.
Absolute majority of the eligible population in
Uzbekistan do not intend to go to the polls, unless it is made compulsory, because
it is clear that the current elections do not mean anything or change anything.
Association for Human Rights in Central Asia draw your
attention to violations fundamental human rights in Uzbekistan:
1) Numerous human rights
activists and journalists remain in prison, including in
particular those who supported in 2005 the EU demands for an independent
international inquiry into the Andijan massacre, witnesses of the Andijan
events, critics of the regime systematically prohibited from leaving the country,
defenders of labour rights, journalists specializing on topics like Islam, and
religious groups and communities, persons with disabilities and in need of
medical care and persons who remain in prison despite being over 60 years old.
It is worth noting that prisoners having previously worked for the government
or international organisations are exposed to special discrimination.
All of them were sentenced to imprisonment on trumped-up charges of serious
crimes. Formally, they were accused of the infringement on the constitutional
order of the state, on the system of bodies of state power and administration.
And this accusation arose in response to the open expression of opinions, for
their cooperation with international organisations and the media.
2) Situation in detention facilities of Uzbekistan. Many prisoners in Uzbekistan are physically ill; diseases such as
tuberculosis, hepatitis, anemia and HIV/AIDS are very common. There is not
enough drinking water and food. Heating and ventilation are in need of repair.
We receive many reports about limited access to medical care, even for severely
disabled people and elderly persons. It is a known fact that even ill people
are involved in heavy work. Access to detention facilities for independent
observers is nonexistent, including UN Special Rapporteur on torture. In
conclusion, Uzbekistan does not comply with Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, detention
conditions of prisoners are comparable to torture.
3) Necessity of restoration of the mission of the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Uzbekistan. The program
of visitation to detainees and prisoners was terminated in March 2013 due to
Uzbek government’s interference in operating standard procedures of the
organisation. According to our sources, the mortality rate in prisons
dramatically increases due to disease that are caused by deplorable confinement
conditions and limited access to medical care.
4) Extended prison sentence. The practice of multi-year
extensions of sentences to human rights activists, journalists, members of
political opposition and thousands of religious prisoners became a standard
practice. Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code provides for the offense of “disobedience
to legitimate orders of the administration of institution of execution of
penalty” (Article 221), often referred to as “violations of prison rules”, on
which authorities base the extensions of prisoners' sentences. This unlawful
practice leads to life long prison terms.
5)
Forced labour system of cotton production remains fundamentally unchanged. In 2014, as in
previous years, the government used coercive means to ensure that farmers met
state quotas for cotton production and to systematically mobilise millions of
people to pick cotton throughout the country. Where people were unable or did
not want to harvest cotton the government forced them to pay to hire
replacement workers. In the culmination of changes that began two years ago,
the government did not mobilise en masse children to harvest cotton in
2014. It failed, however, to end the use of child labor in cotton production as
in some regions local authorities forcibly mobilised children, particularly in
the later weeks of the harvest, in order to meet quotas assigned by the central
government. The forced labour system violates international labour conventions
and national law. It also drives farmers into debt – leading many to emigrate
(over 25% of the Uzbek population works as labor migrants in Russia and
Kazakhstan), and some to commit suicide (including Habibullo Egamberdiev on
October 17, 2014); deprives citizens of full access to health-care and
education during the cotton harvest. The forced labour system also led to 15
deaths in 2014. The estimated $1 billion annual income from cotton disappears
into the Selkhozfond, a secret fund in the Finance Ministry to which only the
highest level government officials have access.
6) Closing the office of the
HRW. In 2007 the Tashkent office of Human Rights Watch that had operated in
Uzbekistan for 15 years was closed. This organisation has earned a special
trust among the people of the country. It was banned for its principled
assessment of human rights situation in Uzbekistan and tragic events in Andijan
in 2005. One of the conditions for lifting the EU sanctions applied against Uzbekistan
was the resumption of the activities of HRW in the country. Uzbekistan has not
complied with this condition.
7) The case against the «Traitor of the Motherland». Also, citizens of Uzbekistan who were deported from
the countries where they claimed asylum are subjected to repression on their
forced return to Uzbekistan. They are labelled as the traitors, tortured and
imprisoned for up to 13 years; according to data available to us, the case
against the “traitors” has subjected about 70 people to prosecution in
Uzbekistan.
8) On the
continuing practice of persecution of civil society activists and other
objectionable individuals by the government officials. Harassment, including criminal persecution of dissidents
and critics of the authorities, civil society activists, members of the opposition,
independent journalists, representatives of various religious groups, human
rights activists and their family members by the authorities continues. In
Uzbekistan, there are about 10 thousand people convicted for belonging to a
religious group. 40 civil society activists, journalists and human rights
defenders are in prison. Over the past 10 years 487 civil society activists were
subjected to repression. In recent years, critics of the regime are systematically
prohibited from leaving the country;
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The dictatorship of Islam Karimov has created a
lack of social justice, the backwardness of the economy, widespread poverty,
and, as a consequence, the radicalisation of Islamic organisations and
movements. The US and EU countries are paying less and less attention to the
violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms in Uzbekistan and continue
to cooperate with the Karimov regime. We
call upon the democratic community to revise the terms of dialogue on human
rights in Uzbekistan and promote:
— Ensuring
enforcement of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention
against Torture;
— Granting of access to the UN Special Rapporteur on 11
mechanisms of the UN, including the Special Rapporteur on torture;
— Creation of conditions for the conduct of functions of
the International Committee of the Red Cross mission in prisons;
— Granting accreditation to HRW and its employees and to
creation of conditions supporting the monitoring of human rights in Uzbekistan;
— Abolition of the practice of arbitrary extension of
terms of imprisonment for minor offences or "violation of internal
regulations" under Article 221 of the Criminal Code "disobedience to
legitimate orders of administration of institution of execution of
penalty";
— Removal of restrictions on leaving the country by the
civil society activists who openly express their opinions;
— Compliance with International Labour
Organization Convention No. 105 on the Prohibition of Forced Labour and
Convention No. 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour by
enforcing national laws prohibiting forced labor and child labour;
— The ILO’s unfettered access to conduct a survey of the application of ILO
Convention No. 105 on the Abolition of Forced Labor and for ILO monitors to monitor
Convention No. 105 throughout the 2015 with the participation of the
International Organisation of Employers, International Trade Union
Confederation, International Union of Foodworkers and local independent civil
society activists and groups;
— Ratification and implementation of
ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to
Organize so farmers and farmworkers can form independent organizations to
represent their interests, speak out when abuses such as forced labor occur,
and negotiate for better working conditions;
