Start date: 2023
Areas of expertise: Public International Law, Human Rights, Law Applicable to Counterterrorism, Rule of Law, Criminal Procedure
Highlights: 1 project

Overview

Uzbekistan has undergone significant legal transformation since it declared independence in 1991. Among other achievements, the 1992 constitution boasts protection of religious freedom, separation of powers, and equality of rights between men and women. Punctuated reforms continued in the way of the 2005 abolition of the death penalty and the 2008 introduction of an arrestee’s right to have a court legally review their detention, and a wave of further changes have been made post 2016. The intervening six-plus years have seen economic liberalisation, decreased isolationism, and increased human rights protection.

The Uzbek government has also supported reforms in the counterterrorism space in recent years—on both national and regional levels. Since 2018, Uzbekistan has adopted a law on countering extremism, updated its law on countering terrorism, and adopted national strategies and roadmaps for the combat of both. Following the 2011 Joint Plan of Action for the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, Uzbekistan hosted a 2022 high-level conference at which Central Asian states discussed a regional approach to counterterrorism and adopted an affiliated “Tashkent Declaration.” The 2011 Joint Plan of Action and its 2022 update make Central Asia the world’s first region to have a common approach to implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

Current projects in Uzbekistan