Tashkent, 29 September 2026 – Deputy Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Zhang Ling participated in the 5th Samarkand Forum on Human Rights, held under the theme “Global Partnership for Human Dignity, Equality and Sustainable Development” to mark the 60th anniversary of the International Covenants on Human Rights and the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development.
In her remarks at the high-level panel entitled “International Covenants on Human Rights, the Right to Development, and Global Solidarity: A New Vision in the Face of Modern Challenges”, Ms. Zhang Ling highlighted the interconnectedness of human security, human rights and sustainable development. She emphasized the need for broader international and regional cooperation to ensure that human dignity and human rights are further strengthened amid rapid technological progress.
Deputy SG Zhang Ling underscored that the promotion of human rights is closely aligned with the objectives of CICA and expressed appreciation to Uzbekistan, which, as the CICA Coordinator for the Human Dimension, has actively contributed to strengthening cooperation in the areas of human rights institutions, education, cultural exchange, youth and women’s empowerment.
During the parallel sessions, representatives of national human rights institutions and ombudspersons, constitutional courts and leading research and academic institutions from different countries shared their achievements, challenges and future prospects in implementing the International Covenants on Human Rights, among them many are CICA Member States, including Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Russia, Thailand, Türkiye and Uzbekistan.
Representatives of regional and international organizations also highlighted the importance of international cooperation as a foundation for an effective response to contemporary challenges and shared their perspectives on the transformation and future of international human rights protection systems.
The Samarkand Forum on Human Rights is organized biennially by the National Human Rights Centre of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which marks its 30th anniversary this year.