Round table on Women’s and Childre...

On Wednesday, February 29th, 2012,  Uzbek Ombudsman Sayora Rashidova and Slovenian Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek Travnik  participated in a round table conducted as EU and US AID cost share activity of Regional Dialogue and ABA ROLI devoted to the rights of children and women. The event was devoted to present Uzbek and international expereinces, related to family issues, since 2012 has been declared the Year of the Family.  The round table was attended by more than 80 senior government representatives, including chairmen of both Supreme and Constitutional Courts, Ministry of Justice,  General Prosecutors and Ministry of Interior senior offials,  National HR Center,  Presidential administration, Ministries of Health and Education, Chamber of Lawyers, Women's Committee, Trade Union, non govenrmental organizations, media and international organizations, such as OSCE, UNICEFF, NDI, UNDP. Guest keynote speakers were US Ambassador George Krol and EU Ambassador Norbert Jousten, and on behalf of organizers Ombudsman Sayora Rashidova and Regional Dialogue Director Mjusa Sever, followed by presentations of Uzbek senior government officials and speakers from Uzbek non governmental institutions, and by Slovenian Ombudsman dr. Zdenka Cebasek Travnik and Ivan Abrams who presented international experiences in family, women's and children's rights. The event was very informative,  and also included active discussions and sharing of views among participants during  several panels, while informal exchanges continued during the break. Uzbek media extensively covered the event.

WELCOMING SPEECH BY MJUSA SEVER, ROUND TABLE, FEBRUARY 29TH, 2012

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Ombudsman Workshop

On February 27, 28, 2012, at Tashkent Palace Hotel, Regional Dialogue  in cooperation with           Mrs. Sayora Rashidova - Ombudsman of Uzbekistan,  conducted a training workshop  for Ombudsman's representatives from 4 Uzbek regions and the inter-agency working group. More than 60 participants attended  the workshop on both days, actively participating  in a very dynamic sharing of experiences with Slovenian Ombudsman Mrs. Zdenka Čebašek Travnik,  Janez Rupar, police human rights expert from Slovenia,  and Ivan Abrams, Regional Country Director of American Bar Association for the Rule of Law program. The activity has been conducted as cost share of Regional Dialogue's  EU funded project »Human Rights Dialogue in Uzbekistan« and US AID.

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Workshop in Samarkand, February 8, 2012

On February 8th, 2012, EU Special Representative for Central Asia Mr. Pierre Morel visited a training workshop for mahalla activists, one of many that Regional Dialogue conducts around Uzbekistan as part of its EU funded project activities within its  project »Human Rights Dialogue in Uzbekistan«.      Mr. Morel engaged in dynamic discussion with workshop participants and shared his views and experiences of Uzbekistan, dating back to mid 70s. The training took place in Samarkand, one of the historic cities of Uzbekistan which is becoming a very popular tourist destination also for many European visitors.

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Happy Women’s Day!

Regional Dialogue team wishes all women happy 8th of March!

RD Director meets with Deputy Foreign Mi...

On January 17th, 2012   Mjusa Sever, Director of Regional Dialogue and Head of RD Uzbek Branch office in Uzbekistan had a meeting with Mr. Vladimir Norov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the staff of the Foreign Ministry’s European Department.  During the meeting, Sever had a chance to present main activities of Regional Dialogue conducted in Uzbekistan with the support of the European Union. Foreign Ministry assured their assistance to the upcoming activities, especially those focusing on the rights of women and the role of families in protection of children’s rights. Different aspects of specific Uzbek cultural traditions that have developed throughout its historic experiences shaping Uzbek national identity have also been discussed since one of the main dimensions of the work of Regional Dialogue in Uzbekistan is also devoted to working with mahallas, local neighborhoods. There are about 10.000 mahallas in Uzbekistan, and they represent the most grassroots community structure. Mahallas enjoy certain level of self-governing and represent the most basic level of civil society in Uzbekistan. Deputy Foreign Minister Norov and Director of Regional Dialogue Sever also shared views about situation in the region and the role of Uzbekistan as regional actor.