Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 15 December, a round table was held in Tashkent on the topic “Existing problems in ensuring respect for human rights in the business supply chain and ways to solve them.” 

The event was organized by the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights together with the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor, and the OSCE Project Coordinator in our country.

This round table took place within the framework of the projects “Roadmap for the implementation of OSCE projects in Uzbekistan for 2023-2024” and “Support for the further development of the national institutional framework to combat human trafficking in Uzbekistan.” Representatives of more than 30 government organizations and the private sector took part in it.

At the opening of the conference, speeches were made by the First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Director of the National Center for Human Rights Akmal Saidov, OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan Silke Klüver, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to our country, Thilo Klinner and Chairman of the Committee on International Relations , foreign economic relations, foreign investment and tourism of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ravshanbek Alimov.

First of all, it was emphasized how important it is to exchange experience and establish dialogue between representatives of government agencies and business structures in ensuring respect for human rights in the supply chain of the business sector. Particular attention was paid to the need to actively identify the difficulties that businesses face in respecting human rights at various stages of their activities.

Since 2022, the implementation of the SDGs in Uzbekistan has been accompanied by large-scale reforms within the framework of the “Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026” and the “Uzbekistan – 2030” Strategy, the directions of which are fully consistent with national goals and objectives in the field of sustainable development. The main goal of the Strategies is to make Uzbekistan an upper-middle-income country by 2030.

A. Saidov noted that paragraph 67 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals calls on “all entrepreneurs to use their creative and innovative potential to solve problems in the field of sustainable development.” Starting from 2022, the implementation of the SDGs in Uzbekistan is accompanied by large-scale reforms within the framework of the “Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026” and the “Uzbekistan – 2030” Strategy.

The goals and objectives of both national strategies are fully compatible with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, the “Uzbekistan-2030” strategy provides for: becoming one of the countries with above-average income due to stable economic growth; organization of an education system, medical and social protection of the population that fully meets the requirements of the population and international standards; creation of favorable environmental conditions for the population; creation of a fair and modern state at the service of the people. This clearly reflects such a basic idea as ensuring the sovereignty and security of the country.

Specialists from the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan and the Commissioner for the Protection of Rights and Legitimate Interests of Business Entities under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and foreign experts actively took part in the discussions.

The roundtable provided participants with the opportunity to discuss the challenges facing the business sector in relation to human rights and learn practical solutions for building a more just, sustainable and ethical business world.