As representatives of 55 governments convene December 5-6 in Ljubljana, Slovenia for the 13th Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council, Human Rights First urges them to make the deteriorating human rights situation in Uzbekistan a top priority. In letters to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Human Rights First urges that ministers from the European Union and the United States utilize all options provided under OSCE rules to launch an independent inquiry into the Uzbek government’s use of deadly force against thousands of civilians in the city of Andizhan on May 13, 2005.
In its letters, Human Rights First calls for use of the so-called “Moscow mechanism” – the OSCE rules under which ten governments can join to initiate an investigation into a particularly serious human rights violation in another OSCE country. “It is critical that European and American governments exhaust all options for intervention in this most egregious case,” said Neil Hicks, Director of International Programs at Human Rights First. “Doing so would send a clear signal to Uzbekistan and to other governments in the region that protection of human rights remains central to the OSCE’s mission. Failure to act would send a very different, and potentially very damaging, message to human rights abusers”
Previous calls by international organizations for an independent investigation of the Andizhan killings have been rejected by Uzbek President Islam Karimov and his government. These OSCE mechanisms offer the best – and perhaps last – opportunity to move forward in a cooperative manner with a badly-needed inquiry.
Human Rights First recently issued a report on the human rights crisis in Uzbekistan, Karimov’s War, which focuses on the intensifying government crackdown on human rights defenders, independent journalists, and other members of civil society. While the Karimov government has long repressed independent critics of its policies, the situation has worsened since the massacre in Andizhan in May. An investigation initiated through the OSCE could relieve some of the pressure on defenders and others who currently serve as the only sources of independent information in Uzbekistan.
