On Wednesday (December 14), Tashkent held a conference that discussed the achievements and prospects in the field of strengthening the judicial system in Uzbekistan with the funding of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implementation support of the East-West Management Institute (EWMI). In particular, the event reflected the results of the joint project in 2022 and the plans for 2023.
Since October 2021, Judicial System Strengthening Activity (JSSA) in Uzbekistan has been providing technical assistance for the ongoing reforms in the Uzbek judicial system in partnership with two key national institutions to strengthen the efficiency and responsiveness of the national judiciary to serve the needs of the Uzbek citizens and strengthen public trusts based on international best practices.
So far, a four-year $8mn JSSA activity helped train 61 male and 90 female representatives of judicial personnel over one year. Public awareness of the function of the courts' program upskilled 13 men and 99 women working in government organizations, NGOs, and universities. 71 female and 145 female individuals were trained on the role of courts in promoting gender equality in society and protection from violence.
Following EWMI and USAID data, the lion’s share of individuals has undergone training in the Fergana region. 65 individuals have improved their qualifications in the Tashkent region. The Khorezm region closed the top three by recording 23 specialists covered by the program.
The speakers noted the importance of international cooperation to ensure openness and transparency in Uzbekistan’s judicial system by establishing communication with mass media, as well as by increasing the number of female judges, as this would help raise public awareness of human rights.
In his welcoming speech, Chargé d’Affaires Paul Poletes congratulated the partners on the completion of the first year of the program and noted that the United States of America is honored to be part of the ongoing positive developments and looking forward to expanding bilateral cooperation and shared commitment. According to Chargé d’Affaires, Uzbekistan has already made important steps to strengthen its judicial system as the new institutions have been established in line with international standards for administrative justice, including the Supreme Judicial Council, and the Supreme School of Judges.
‘The United States is committed to assisting in strengthening the efficiency and responsiveness of Uzbekistan's judiciary to serve the needs of all the citizens’ Paul Poletes said. ‘We must focus on the implementation of international best practices on gender equality in the judiciary of the justice system. And we must foster engagement in the judicial system’, he added.
‘The goal of the program is to train judges, court administrators, gender equality activists, civil society, and media representatives in international best practices to strengthen the judicial sector in the republic. And goals of the program, are actually quite simple; to strengthen the administration, efficiency, and responsiveness of the respective judicial system, so that it can better serve the needs of the people of Uzbekistan, but also strengthen the administration of justice, professionalism, and integrity of the judicial sector, and also improve the openness and transparency of the judicial sector, which will improve public trust in the judicial sector', Paul Poletes said to Daryo correspondent, adding that over 1 year the program helped train over 500 individuals including judges, gender equality advocates, and civil society members across Uzbekistan.
In her turn, First Vice-President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan Robakhon Makhmudova suggested producing a documentary on the professional life of female judges. She highlighted that renovating the judicial system is one of the key priorities of the New Uzbekistan, as President Shavkat Mirziyoyev once stressed.
Acting Deputy Mission Director of USAID Uzbekistan Faye Haselkorn in her interview with a Daryo correspondent noted that the program stands from the government of Uzbekistan’s development strategy for the New Uzbekistan that was launched in January 2022. ‘We are here today to celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of our 4-year-long activity. We developed a practical curriculum to teach vulnerable populations about their legal rights across Uzbekistan’, she concluded.
Photo credits: USAID Uzbekistan
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