The first Forum of Central Asian Ombudsmen, designed to become a platform for cooperation between the countries of the region in the field of ensuring human rights and freedoms, was held in Tashkent on Tuesday. As a result, the Tashkent Declaration on Human Rights was adopted.

The event was organized in cooperation with the UN Mission, the USAID Mission, the OSCE Project Coordinator and the International Prison Reform (PRI). The Forum is planned to be held annually in one of the countries of the region.

The forum participants discussed the interaction of ombudsmen of Central Asian countries, consolidation of efforts and opportunities in the field of human rights protection, including women, children and persons with disabilities, the use of digital technologies, ensuring the rights of persons held in places of deprivation of liberty.

The Tashkent Declaration confirms the commitment of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to the protection of human rights, including raising legal awareness of the region's citizens about human rights and taking measures to prevent torture, the press service of the US Embassy in Tashkent reported.

Within the framework of the forum, bilateral memoranda were also signed between the ombudsmen of the countries of the region.

In 2021, the Office of the Ombudsman of Uzbekistan received more than 18.7 thousand appeals, of which about 60 were sent from other countries. In the first half of 2022, the number of requests sent from abroad amounted to 32. Most of these appeals come from Central Asian countries. In this regard, one of the activities of the ombudsmen of the countries of the region is the joint consideration of citizens' appeals.

Postfactum.kz from Central Communications Service under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan