On May 10, 2017 the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, UzA said.
The Head of State noted the importance of developing and strengthening a constructive and open dialogue between Uzbekistan and the United Nations, its institutions, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The President underscored that the protection of human rights is a priority of the ongoing structural reforms in Uzbekistan.
The sides exchanged views on potential areas of cooperation. Zeyd Ra'ad al-Hussein expressed gratitude to Shavkat Mirziyoyev for the warm welcome and for concrete measures that are being taken in Uzbekistan which are aimed at the protection of human rights. He confirmed the readiness of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for long-term and systemic cooperation.
In Uzbekistan, there is a Parliamentary Ombudsman and the National Center for Human Rights, and recently an extra-curial mechanism for protecting the rights of businesses, Business Ombudsman, has been created.
The recently approved Uzbekistan’s Development Strategy for 2017-2021, which has become a roadmap for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, comprises a program of concrete measures to build a democratic, rule-of-law state and a strong civil society.
