Survey: Which organizations defend human rights in Uzbekistan?

A question posed in the survey was: “Which organizations in Uzbekistan do you know that defend human rights?” Surprisingly, the majority of respondents admitted that they were unaware of such organizations.

Only a small number of participants mentioned the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ombudsman, the National Human Rights Center, and the “Inson” Social Protection Center. One respondent even mentioned the social project against violence, nemolchi.uz.

One participant expressed: “I don’t think human rights are protected to that extent in Uzbekistan.” Another acknowledged the existence of such organizations but doubted that they provided significant assistance.

For reference, Article 13 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan declares that all inalienable human rights are supreme values.

According to Articles 108-109, when assuming office, the president swears an oath to guarantee citizens’ rights and freedoms and takes the necessary measures to implement this.

The protection of human rights is the primary responsibility of law enforcement agencies, including the judiciary, the prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and other bodies.

Uzbekistan has a National Human Rights Center, as well as the institution of the Ombudsman (Representative for Human Rights) in the Supreme Assembly.

In addition, several non-governmental organizations, such as the “Uzbekistan Human Rights Center,” the “People’s Rights Department,” and the “Human Rights Monitoring” organization, are dedicated to studying and analyzing human rights issues in the country and providing legal assistance to the population.

Every year, on December 10, human rights situations around the world are widely discussed, with states and organizations evaluating their efforts in the field of human rights protection.

This date is significant because, on December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

One of the most well-known international rankings that evaluate human rights conditions worldwide is the Freedom House Index. In its 2024 report, Uzbekistan is classified among the “not free” countries.

In this ranking, Uzbekistan’s level of freedom is rated at 12 points out of a possible 100. Specifically, the protection of political rights is rated 2 points out of a possible 40, while civil liberties are rated 10 points out of a possible 60.