UN Visits Uzbekistan and Finds Torture to be "Systemic"

Following several years of intensive advocacy by Human Rights Watch and others, the Uzbek government finally agreed to extend an invitation to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit the country. The visit, which took place from November 24 to December 6, was the first visit to Uzbekistan by any U.N. investigator and received immense media coverage. In an unusual move, Theo van Boven, the Special Rapporteur, stated in a press conference at the conclusion of the visit that torture was "systemic" in Uzbekistan.