The outcome document of the Fifth Samarkand Human Rights Forum, held in Uzbekistan on 28–29 September 2026, entitled “Samarkand Vision 2040: Global Partnership for Human Dignity, Equality and Sustainable Development”, has been issued as an official document of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (A/81/444). The document has been published in all six official languages of the United Nations.
The outcome document consists of a preamble, six sections and 24 paragraphs, and is accompanied by a Roadmap for its implementation. The preamble underscores the particular significance of the 60th anniversary of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, and the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The document makes reference to the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2024 Pact for the Future.
The document sets out six guiding principles and contains calls to action across nine priority areas. These include, in particular, the national implementation of international treaties; the right to development and social justice; inclusive societies; demographic change and intergenerational solidarity; women’s rights and climate justice; the digital environment and artificial intelligence; the environment and climate change; the prevention of statelessness; and peace, security and international humanitarian law.
The document reflects the aspiration to significantly reduce cases of statelessness by 2040 and calls for attention to the environmental and social consequences of the Aral Sea crisis. It also welcomes the development of the first Regional Action Plan for Central Asia on the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
The document welcomes Uzbekistan’s chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement in 2027–2029 and the decision to hold the Sixteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Uzbekistan in 2031.
Participants of the Fifth Samarkand Human Rights Forum supported the initiative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to establish a “Global Alliance for Human Rights”.
The participants put forward initiatives to transform the Samarkand Forum into a permanent platform for international dialogue and to establish a Samarkand Digital Cooperation Platform for the implementation of the International Covenants.
The Roadmap annexed to the document comprises eight activities and is indicative and voluntary in nature. Under the Roadmap, a system of indicators for the priority areas will be developed in 2027, and consultations will be held on the concept of the digital platform.
The Roadmap further envisages integrating the provisions of the document into national strategies and action programmes in 2027–2030, conducting the first voluntary progress review in 2028, and analysing the linkages between the document and the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030.
In 2036, a jubilee review will be held to mark the 70th anniversary of the International Covenants, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development and the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, followed by a final voluntary review in 2040.
The National Centre of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights has been designated as the implementing body for a number of activities under the outcome document.
Press Service
National Centre of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights