The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, has concluded her visit to Uzbekistan which took place from 15 to 17 November, the OSCE said in a statement. 

The statement said that the visit included a series of high-level meetings with Uzbekistan’s officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister, Gairat Fazilov, Assistant to the President, Saida Mirziyoyeva, Chair of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber for Innovations, Information Policy and Information Technologies, Ilhom Abdullayev, and the Director of the Agency for Information and Mass Communications, Asadjon Khodjaev.

The Representative and her counterparts discussed a range of media freedom issues, including the safety of female journalists and Uzbekistan's draft Information Code. They discussed the possibility of future assistance in assessing this draft law in order to align it with OSCE commitments and international legal standards.

“I look forward to continuing the very constructive dialogue I had with the Uzbek authorities to further our common goal of media freedom as an inseparable part of peace and security,” Ribeiro said.

A highlight of the visit was the Roundtable on Gender Sensitive Journalism on 17 November, jointly opened by Ribeiro, Abdullayev, the Chair of the Public Foundation for Support and Development of National Mass Media, Nozima Davletova, and the Acting Head of the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Silke Kloever. This event, co-organized by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, and the Public Foundation for Support and Development of National Mass Media, furthered progress in the realm of gender-sensitive journalism and the building of a pluralistic media landscape.

"In an era where the integrity of media is under scrutiny, it’s imperative that our media landscape mirrors the diversity of our societies – enabling a broad range of voices to resonate, a spectrum of viewpoints to be acknowledged, and a breadth of experience to be recognized," Ribeiro underlined. The RFoM also presented the new Guidelines on Monitoring Online Violence against Female Journalists, which provided further guidance to participating States on safeguarding the work of female journalists.