The support and professional experience of international organizations is essential for ensuring media freedom in Uzbekistan, stated the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Public Fund for the Development and Support of National Mass Media, Komil Allamjonov.
At a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on April 25, he spoke about the state of freedom of speech and press in Uzbekistan in the past, the current situation and what it should be like tomorrow.
The press, closed for years, is now open thanks to the political will of the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and despite the difficulties and problems on the path of reforms, Uzbekistan will remain on this path, he said.
Komil Allamjonov stated that close cooperation with the UN Human Rights Office is essential "for the development of the Uzbek press, and most importantly, for protection from various aggressive foreign propaganda."
“Of course, there are those who hold on to the old system, there are forces that are trying to silence us. But in recent years we have been breathing in the conditions of the supremacy of human dignity and freedom. We won't give up," he wrote.
In the Reporters Without Borders press freedom ranking published in April 2021, Uzbekistan was ranked 157th among 180 countries, slipping 1 position. The decline in the index occurred for the first time since 2018. The situation in the country continues to be assessed as "difficult".
