Baltic States – CIS, EU – CIS, Uzbekistan

According to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the UN (in New York), on October 13, within the framework of the 75^th-anniversary session of the UN General Assembly, the election of 15 members of the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2021-2023 was held.

For the first time in the history of our country, Uzbekistan put forward its candidacy for this UN body and took part in the elections.

It should be noted that the nomination of our Republic to the UNHRC was fixed in the State Program for the implementation of the Action Strategy on five priority development areas of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021, adopted at the initiative of the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. Members of the Council are elected for a three-year term by a majority vote of delegates to the General Assembly by direct secret ballot.

During the current elections, the respective countries were nominated by the UN regional groups to fill the vacant seats.

It is noteworthy that if the pre-election situation in other regional groups was characterized by a lack of competition among the contending States, then in the group of countries of the Asia – Pacific region, which includes the Republic of Uzbekistan, until the last day of the elections, there was fierce competition-China, Nepal, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia claimed 4 vacant seats in the HRC, along with our Republic.

Based on the results of a secret ballot and in a difficult competition, Uzbekistan received the largest number of votes from member States in its group and was elected to the HRC for the next three-year period, which begins on January 1, 2021. Along with our country, China, Nepal and Pakistan were also elected to the Council, which received the required number of votes.

The election of Uzbekistan to this authoritative body is a clear confirmation and recognition of the broad support of the international community for the ongoing large-scale reforms in the protection and promotion of human rights, as well as evidence of our country's firm commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the Universal declaration of human rights and strict compliance with its international obligations in this field.

The promotion, observance and protection of human rights are considered one of the priorities of the state policy of Uzbekistan. Today, the country has a stable political system that meets the modern criteria of democracy and human rights. A unique model has been developed to ensure the systematic and consistent implementation of human rights standards in national legislation and law enforcement practice.

Undoubtedly, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Uzbekistan will make a huge contribution to the work of this UN body and contribute to improving the effectiveness of its activities.