UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan Helena Fraser expressed her opinion about closing of the Jasliq prison, UN office in Tashkent reports. 
  
According to the official statement, the UN Country Team in Uzbekistan welcomes President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's Resolution on closing the prison in Jasliq.   
 
This decision is in line with the long-standing recommendations of the UN Human Rights Mechanisms, including the one made at the 3rd UPR cycle (30th session of May 2018): “Close the Jasliq prison colony, facilitate full and unhindered access for monitoring by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.” 
   
The deplorable conditions in Jasliq prison were criticized by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Theo van Boven during his country visit back in November and December 2002, where he stated: “The Government should give urgent consideration to closing Jasliq colony which by its very location creates conditions of detention amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.”  
 
All prisoners located in these facilities, in line with national laws, have a right to be transferred to colonies that are located close to the homes so that their family members could exercise their right for family visits, without having to make long trips as it was before – when their relatives were in Jasliq.  
 
With reference to one of the past recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the UN also welcomes the important legislative changes to the Law on the Ombudsman from March 14, 2019 that have vested powers with the Ombudsman to conduct preventive monitoring visits to all places of deprivation of liberty in Uzbekistan in cooperation with representatives of civil society organizations. The UN states it is ready to support the establishment of the fully-fledged national preventive mechanism in Uzbekistan that should make significant contribution towards torture prevention. The involvement of civil society experts will be a breakthrough approach to ensuring public oversight of closed institutions in Uzbekistan. 
  
In November 2019 Uzbekistan will undergo a constructive dialogue with the UN Committee against Torture that will review Uzbekistan’s fifth periodic report on implementation of the UN Convention against Torture. The Convention was ratified by Uzbekistan in 1995.