UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed to visit Uzbekistan 

The Special Rapporteur welcomed the adoption of the new law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” and noted that this act brings many positive changes to the legislative system for ensuring religious freedom.

Highly assessing the level of interaction of the government with the UN agency, other international structures and the expert community, Ahmad Shaheed confirmed his readiness to continue the established constructive dialogue with Uzbekistan.

In this context, he expressed the will to visit Uzbekistan in early September to launch a technical assistance program with the support of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY-RBI) and the Essex University School of Law (Essex-HRC).

The program provides for a series of seminars and trainings for relevant government agencies, representatives of civil society and religious organizations. The program will also provide advice on the development of a national monitoring and evaluation system based on UN human rights indicators.

The UN Special Rapporteur welcomed the plans to hold an international forum “Dialogue of Declarations” and emphasized the special significance of the adoption of the “Bukhara Declaration” following the conference. In his opinion, Uzbekistan has historically been the center of enlightened Islam with a rich heritage of religious and confessional diversity.

Ahmad Shaheed voiced his readiness to provide the necessary consultative assistance in the development of the draft Bukhara Declaration, as well as to visit Uzbekistan again in December to take part in the work of this international conference.