2/20 incidents of intimidation and reprisals by the police and other law enforcement bodies affecting six civil society activists (3 male/3 female) and 14 individuals (6 male/8 female) who engaged, or sought to engage with the United Nations to raise human rights concerns

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2023-112-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2023
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 41.377491

Longitude: 64.585262

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Uzbekistan
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • OHCHR: OHCHR - General
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
Dates of prior UN action
March 2023
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Gender
Male
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

civil society activists (3 male) who engaged, or sought to engage with the United Nations to raise human rights concerns.

Type of rights defended
  • Civil/political rights
  • Corruption
  • Economic/social rights
  • Women’s rights
Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

engaged, or sought to engage with the United Nations to raise human rights concerns

Engagement with UN body
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
Dates of engagement
13-15 March 2023
Type of attempted engagement
  • Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
Dates of mentioned reprisals
13-15 March 2023
Location of mentioned reprisals
Uzbekistan
Reprisal information
  1. In the context of the visit to Uzbekistan by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 13–15 March 2023, OHCHR documented at least 20 incidents of intimidation and reprisals by the police and other law enforcement bodies affecting six civil society activists (3 male/3 female) and 14 individuals (6 male/8 female) who engaged, or sought to engage with the United Nations to raise human rights concerns. Those concerned included individuals and activists denouncing arbitrary detention and torture, corruption, gender-based violence, right to fair trial, and forced evictions. The High Commissioner and his Office addressed the incidents with the authorities. OHCHR is monitoring the situation and is in close contact with relevant authorities. Names and details of those concerned are withheld due to fear of further reprisals.
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
  • Unclear
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
Yes