Uzbekistan: The Economic, Social and Cultural Root Causes of Torture in UZBEKISTAN; Submission to the European Union in connection with the European Union - Uzbekistan Human Rights Dialogue
Main thrusts and conclusions and recommendations
from an alternative report
submitted by OMCT and its
national partner to the United Nations Committee Against Torture at its
thirty-ninth session
I. Main thrusts of the report
The challenge
Human rights violations in
Uzbekistan have been the subject of much concern and of many recommendations on
the part of the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women and the Committee against Torture.
The Special Rappporteur on
torture reported on the serious situation with regard to torture in Uzbekistan
after a visit to the country, and non-governmental organisations such as OMCT
continually denounce serious violations of human rights there.
In its 2003 Common Country
Assessment of Uzbekistan, the United Nations Development Group reported on
serious violations of human rights and on violence in the country, identified a
number of economic, social and cultural root causes and recommended corrective
action. Furthermore, organisations such as the European Union and the European
Parliament have also called for action to address human rights violations in
Uzbekistan.
The clear warnings that various
governmental and development agency policies would lead to increased violence
went unheeded and the preventive recommendations were ignored. The violence,
torture and ill-treatment subsequently increased dramatically. The information
presented to the Committee shows that little or no improvement has been made
and this lack of progress underlines the need to seek additional means of
bringing about change.
Chapter 1 establishes that torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment are among the most severe human rights problems facing
Uzbekistan. At the root of much torture is the socio-economic situation in the
country, where torture and other forms of abuse, including unlawful and
arbitrary arrest and detention, are aimed at poor and impoverished groups.
Today, these groups constitute the majority of the population of Uzbekistan. In
addition, the reports of arrests and ill-treatment often concern human rights
defenders fighting for the economic, social and cultural rights of the
population, or individuals defending their own economic, social and cultural
rights. Violence is also associated with mass displacements of the population
and forced evictions, as well as the presence in the cities of informal and
illegal workers with no residence permit. The economic situation and the social
and cultural conditions are also the reasons behind much violence against
women, both at home and in their work environment, and for violence against
children.
Chapter 2 reviews the United Nations Development Group’s 2003
Common Country Assessment of Uzbekistan, which shows that the neglect of
economic, social and cultural rights and the growth in poverty and inequality
resulted in increased violence in the country. It also reviews the
recommendations contained in the Common Country Assessment, which, if
implemented, would go far towards redressing the situation with regard to
torture and violence.
Chapter 3 examines the economic situation in Uzbekistan in detail
and considers the extent to which a wide range of economic, social and cultural
rights are respected. It analyses the Government's economic policies and shows
that these policies produce poverty and violence in the country. Several case
studies are provided as examples. The chapter concludes that there exists a
close relationship between poverty, inequality and violence. The difficult
economic situation is intensifying social disparities and thus creating a
potential opportunity for extremist groups to act out of resentment at
perceived social injustice. Additionally, the growing numbers of the unemployed
present a threat to social stability and security. The Government is directly
violating many of the human rights of the population, using as a pretext the
need to protect national security and to combat terrorism. This does not
constitute an acceptable justification. Disillusionment with the reform
process, growing inequality, citizens’ alienation from the State, and human
rights violations may give rise to an unstable social, economic and political
environment and in themselves create a threat to security.
Chapter 4 contains recommendations based on the report. Since the majority of
victims of torture, ill-treatment and other forms of violence, in particular
the victims of violence committed by state officials, can be identified in
terms of their economic, social and cultural situations and, in particular,
their place of residence, it is proposed that preventive measures be established
to protect persons at risk of violence based on the areas where they live. This
would include establishing focused programmes of economic development and
poverty reduction, implementing specific training and educational programmes
for officials serving in those areas and establishing a permanent monitoring
function there in order to ensure official compliance with legal standards and
good practice. In addition, recommendations are made for initiatives in the
field of economic, social and cultural rights that are necessary to guarantee
the full implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Such initiatives include
implementation of the recommendations of the Common Country Assessment and the
establishment of a human rights assessment mechanism for all government
policies. Further recommendations are made regarding specific measures to
address a number of economic, social and cultural rights, the violation of
which has a clear impact on torture and ill-treatment.
II. Conclusions
and recommendations
Conclusions
Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
are among the most acute and painful human rights problems facing Uzbekistan
and the international community today. There is a clear causal relationship
between government policies and practices which result in inequality, poverty,
discrimination, torture, ill-treatment and other forms of violence. It is also
clear that the poor and marginalised run the highest risk of torture and
ill-treatment, directly because of their poverty.
The number of cases of torture, extrajudicial killing and other
forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment can be
significantly diminished through the adoption of adequate legal, judicial and
administrative measures, and better control over the repressive apparatus.
However, the current situation in Uzbekistan requires a broader
response and more encompassing solutions. Abuses suffered by workers in the
informal sector, internal migrant workers, street children and children
involved in work activities find their origin in the effects of the ongoing
economic crisis. They are due to inadequate health-care and educational
systems, increased unemployment and involvement of the labour force in
informal-sector activities, lack of adequate and affordable housing and an
increase in the number of people who cannot access basic and essential services
such as health care and education, all of which are direct consequences of the
economic situation.
The authorities’ failure to cope with these socio-economic
problems and the population’s distress have left the door wide open to various
types of abuse, including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. In a situation of social and economic despair,
exploitation and abuse by state agents or private individuals with the
acquiescence of the State are common.
In this context, protection against torture and other forms of
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is unsustainable in the
absence of living conditions that guarantee the enjoyment of economic, social
and cultural rights. Similarly, reducing poverty and inequality, and the
recognition of economic, social and cultural rights have to form part of any
attempt to break the vicious circle of brutalisation and repression in
Uzbekistan. The eradication of violence against women and the exploitation of
children is unattainable without equal access to productive resources and to
basic services such as health care and education.
Thus, sustainable protection against torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in Uzbekistan requires the
adoption of socio-economic and legislative measures aimed at guaranteeing the
enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights throughout the country.
Furthermore, certain violations that have taken place and that are closely
related to the issues presented in this report also need to be addressed by the
Government in terms of reparation and compensation for the victims.
Recommendations
Since the majority of victims of torture, ill-treatment and
other forms of violence, in particular victims of violence committed by state
officials, can be identified in terms of their economic, social and cultural
situations and, in particular, their place of residence, the Committee may wish
to recommend to the State party that it take preventive measures to protect
those groups, identifying the areas where persons at risk of violence are
living, and establish focused programmes of economic development and poverty
reduction, implement specific training and educational programmes for officials
serving in those areas and establish a permanent monitoring function in those
areas to ensure official compliance with legal standards and good practice.
These preventive measures should be developed in cooperation with the
populations concerned and NGOs in which they have confidence.
[2]
In addition, the Committee may wish to recommend that the State
party, in accordance with article 2 of the Convention against Torture, take
initiatives in the area of economic, social and cultural rights necessary to
guarantee the full implementation of the Convention. This would include
implementing the recommendations of the Common Country Assessment and
establishing a human rights assessment mechanism for all government policies.
It would also include taking effective measures in order to guarantee the
transparency of the national budget and government spending, as well as
citizens’ participation in the elaboration, decision-making process and
implementation of socio-economic policies.
The authorities, as provided for under article 2 of the
Convention, should take the following specific measures in the socio-economic
realm:
Guarantee, through legal, judicial and
administrative measures, the justiciability of economic, social and cultural
rights;
Give particular attention to the situation
of the population in rural areas and develop special strategies, policies and
programmes aimed at guaranteeing their full enjoyment of economic, social and
cultural rights, including the right to work, the right to education and the
right to health;
Give particular attention to the specific
situation of women and develop special strategies, policies and programmes
aimed at ensuring their access to capital and other productive resources,
including land, as well as to educational, employment and social opportunities;
.
Give particular attention to persons
working in the informal sector and develop special strategies, policies and
programmes aimed at preventing abuses and at extending labour and social
protection to this sector;
Give particular attention to the problem of
street children and develop special strategies, policies and programmes aimed
at preventing abuses and ensuring that they are provided with adequate food,
clothing, housing, health care and educational opportunities;
Prohibit child labour, in particular in the
cotton fields and in the agricultural sector;
Stop immediately any further action to
forcibly displace people from their homes and villages, compensate the
individuals already affected by forcible displacement for the loss of their
property and the ill-treatment involved and take steps in order to guarantee
their return to their place of origin;
Stop the practice of forcible and mass
population displacement;
Pay particular attention to the lack of access to justice for
indigent persons, and develop special
strategies, policies and programmes aimed at ensuring their equal access to justice;
Abolish the propiska system.
[1]
The full text of the report is available from OMCT Geneva.
[2]
See the case study “The village” in chapter 4, “Argentina: country profile and
case study” in the interdisciplinary study.