ACTING HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEEPLY CONCERNED AT EXECUTIONS IN UZBEKISTAN

25.07.2003


Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan deeply regrets the execution of individuals in Uzbekistan, for whom stays of execution had been requested by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

In a 24 July letter to the Government, Bertrand Ramcharan expressed his concern regarding the executions. He stressed that these executions render futile review by the Human Rights Committee of these cases, which amount to a grave breach of Uzbekistan’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol. Uzbekistan acceded to the Covenant in 1995. The UN Human Rights Committee, an 18-member panel of independent experts, issued a press release, dated yesterday, deploring these executions.

Bertrand Ramcharan urges the Government to make all necessary efforts in order to ensure strict observance of its international human rights obligations under the Covenant and its Optional Protocol, and to ensure full cooperation with the Human Rights Committee in the examination of individual cases.