SAMARKAND FORUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS

August 12-13, 2020

GENERAL INFORMATION

In the year of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, a “global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want” began.  

As part of the UN75 initiative, Uzbekistan plans to hold a large-scale event to discuss the important and positive role of youth in sustainable development, preventing crises and ensuring gender equality, realizing human rights and building a culture of peace, which constitutes the core of the United Nations Youth Strategy ‘Youth 2030: Working With and For Young People’.

The Samarkand Human Rights Forum is a logical continuation of the Asian Forum. At the 72nd UN General Assembly, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed the development of the UN International Convention on Youth Rights. Uzbekistan has initiated work to create this document. A Draft UN International Convention on Youth Rights has been prepared, and it is planned that this document will be discussed within the framework of the Samarkand Forum.

The main goal of the Samarkand Forum is to discuss improvements on existing international and regional instruments and mechanisms for the protection and promotion of youth rights, as well as the role of youth in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN World Program on Human Rights Education.

During the Samarkand Forum plans were also made to discuss the draft Convention on the Rights of Youth, which is a new document reflecting the specific rights of youth that are necessary for recognition in the modern world. The existence of an international document of this kind will attract the interest of states in youth issues around the world. The allocation of individual rights for young people will help provide targeted assistance.

Participants

The forum involves about 200 participants, including local and foreign experts, representatives of parliaments, the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, state coordinating bodies for reporting and follow-up, national human rights institutions, youth organizations, civil society organizations, representatives of the media, and representatives of international and regional organizations.

The Forum is expected to involve the heads of youth structures in the UN, EU, OSCE, OIC, African Union, representatives of foreign national human rights institutions, civil society institutions, scientists and experts, youth organizations. 

Date and location

August 12-13, 2020, via videoconference

Working languages

Uzbek, Russian and English.