Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – The European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) remain crucial partners of authorities in Central Asia in supporting the reform process in the areas of human rights protection, fight against economic crime and promotion of effective functioning of state institutions. This has been recalled earlier on today during the first Regional Steering Committee Meeting of the joint EU/CoE Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023, held online.

The participants took stock of the Programme’s progress, achieved during the last 17 months, during which the EU and the CoE helped to advance the reform agenda in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The participants also welcomed the Programme’s flexibility in tackling challenges in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted the implementation of the Programme.  

Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan Sven-Olov Carlsson, and the Director of the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes of the Council of Europe, Verena Taylor, praised a fruitful co-operation, which was established with the beneficiary institutions and stakeholders despite the challenging circumstances of the last year. There is a clear engagement to work together on the creation of common legal space between Europe and Central Asia, improvement of the knowledge of legal professionals about the international human right standards, enhancement of human rights protection, and facilitation of a more transparent economic environment and efficient functioning of public administration. The representatives of the European Union and of the Council of Europe reiterated their commitment to continue supporting Central Asian colleagues to ensure justice and protection of fundamental rights that are the essential elements for security, peace and fruitful development in compliance with European and international standards. 

High-level officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Justice, General Prosecutor’s Offices, Supreme Courts, Anti-Corruption Agencies, Constitutional Councils, Ombudsman’s Offices and other institutions of the Central Asian countries highlighted the quality of the assistance in revising legislation, building institutional capacities and technical support to reforms in Central Asian countries provided by the Council of Europe’s experts.