Background Briefing

Conclusion

In its Andijan trial monitoring report, the OSCE concluded that “[o]nly by being fully open to… scrutiny will Uzbekistan also demonstrate its respect for its partners in the OSCE and the legitimacy of their interest in human rights matters within Uzbekistan.” The Uzbekistan government’s aide-memoire provides a useful tool for assessing the government’s willingness to being open to scrutiny and to engaging in a genuine effort to improve its human rights record, but unfortunately the assessment leads only to a conclusion that such willingness is absent. The document is filled with blanket denials at best and untruths at worst. It is hard to imagine how an even vaguely informed reader of the aide-memoire could fail to get the impression that the Uzbek authorities have contempt for the obligations that its international partners stand for.