03.09.2021

The UN CERD criticizes the authorities of Uzbekistan for ignoring the problems of ethnic minorities

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination assessed Uzbekistan’s implementation of the priority recommendations given in December, 2019 during the last review of the state report on compliance with the Convention.

The Committee found unsatisfactory the response of the authorities to questions about the observance of the rights of the Mugat/Luli ethnic minority (known also as “Central Asian Gypsies”). In particular, no clear explanations were given on the fact that only about 36% of the almost 70,000 official number of Mugats have personal documents. The poor statistics on the number of Mugat children in schools (only on one district in Tashkent region) also did not convince the Committee, as well we unsubstantiated statements that Mugat enjoy all rights on an equal basis with all citizens of the country.

The UN CERD expects Uzbekistan to take effective measures to ensure the rights of ethnic minorities and a detailed report on them by the next review of the state report in 2022.

Эта запись так же доступна на: Russian