Uzbekistan: Progress on Paper Only

On May 14, the State Department certified that Uzbekistan made “substantial and continuing progress” in meeting its human rights and democracy commitments under the “Declaration on the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Framework,” signed in March 2002. This certification is required to release U.S. assistance to the Uzbek government. While some events cited by the State Department to justify the certification were indeed positive, few met the test of substantial and continuing progress required by law. In many areas outlined below, progress was outweighed by significant setbacks for reform. Below we outline setbacks that have occurred since the August 26, 2002, State Department certification