VIENNA, September 29. /Dunyo IA/. 5^th Samarkand Human Rights Forum entitled “The 60^th Anniversary of the International Covenants on Human Rights and the 40^th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development: Global Partnership for Human Dignity, Equality and Sustainable Development” is being held in Uzbekistan, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp and the representative of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Maria Telalian also participated in the event.

During his address, Christophe Kamp noted the established constructive dialogue with Uzbekistan on matters concerning national minorities. Particular attention was focused on language policy in education, as well as ensuring the effective participation of representatives of national minorities in social, economic and public life.

OSCE High Commissioner emphasized the significance of Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which provides for the right of persons belonging to national minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion and to use their own language.

According to him, legal equality alone is insufficient for the full realization of rights. It is necessary to ensure equal access to labor, quality education, and medical services, as well as the interconnected observance of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

Christophe Kamp also noted the importance of inclusive development for conflict prevention and the strengthening of social stability. He characterized Central Asia as a multinational, multilingual, and multicultural region, emphasizing that diversity is a vital source of social stability, development and societal resilience.

In turn, Maria Telalian noted the special significance of the forum’s theme, dedicated to human rights as the language of trust, the 60^th anniversary of universal human rights standards and new directions for cooperation.

According to her, international human rights obligations must be consistently implemented in legislation, state policy and daily practice. When rights are violated, response mechanisms must function effectively and an open dialogue must be ensured between citizens and state bodies.

During the forum, attention was also drawn to trends across the OSCE region, including political polarization, anti-human rights rhetoric, the weakening of democratic institutions and the shrinking space for civil society and human rights defenders.

Maria Telalian emphasized the crucial role of civil society institutions and human rights organizations in monitoring the human rights situation, analysing legislation and public policy, preparing recommendations, reviewing citizens’ appeals and raising public legal awareness.