Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 12 April 2022, a training seminar on the topic "Building the capacity of non-governmental organizations in preparing an alternative report on compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the Republic of Uzbekistan" began in Tashkent.

The two-day event was organized by the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights, the Association of Disabled People of Uzbekistan, as well as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Central Asia, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA offices in our country.

Welcoming the participants, the First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, Director of the National Center for Human Rights Akmal Saidov noted that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified by Uzbekistan on 7 June 2021. It was emphasized that the main goal of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full realization of the rights disabled people on an equal basis.

Today, civil society institutions are actively involved in the process of ensuring human rights and freedoms, improving national legislation, conducting public monitoring of the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups, preparing national and alternative reports on the implementation of international obligations.

This, in particular, was clearly manifested in the fact that not only in the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but also in the process of its implementation, along with state bodies, non-governmental organizations are widely involved.

There are about 600 non-governmental non-profit organizations in the field of disability in our country. Representatives of these non-governmental organizations took an active part in the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

After the ratification of the Convention, a lot of work has been done in the field of its implementation. In particular, the National Action Plan for the implementation of the provisions of the Convention has been improved on the basis of proposals made by international experts, representatives of international organizations and civil society. It is planned to submit the National Action Plan to the Parliamentary Commission on compliance with the international obligations of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the field of human rights.

It is known that the states parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are required to submit a national report, first within 2 years after the ratification of the Convention, and then every 4 years.

The first national report of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is scheduled for July 2023. At the same time, the relevant UN committees welcome alternative reports submitted by representatives of civil society.

This, in turn, encourages government officials and civil society to take more action. In this regard, at the current training seminar, special attention is paid to building the capacity of national human rights institutions in the preparation of an alternative report on Uzbekistan's compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

During the training, there is a discussion of such topics as standards and elements of law in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, analysis of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the requirements for the preparation of alternative reports, and others.

The training is conducted by the coordinators of national programs of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Central Asia Erkin Isakulov and Yulia Votslava.