The representatives of the national authorities of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan visited Strasbourg to take part in the annual HELP Network Conference that took place on 1-2 July in a hybrid format. The event serves as a forum to present the latest HELP courses developed and key HELP projects and to discuss the co-operation between the Council of Europe HELP Programme and its partner institutions, both at bilateral or cross-border levels. 

The representatives of the following institutions participated in the event: Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan; Prosecutor’s Academy of Uzbekistan; School of Judges of Uzbekistan; Prosecutor’s Office of the Kyrgyz Republic. During the conference, the intensification of co-operation in the area of human rights education for legal professionals was discussed, including the preparation of the second session of Training of Trainers planned for Autumn 2021. 

On the sidelines of the conference, the national partners held fruitful discussions with the co-ordinator of the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme and the Council of Europe staff involved in the implementation of Central Asia Rule of Law Programme in the areas of anti-corruption and fight against economic crime. 

The visit was organised in the framework of the action "HELP in Central Asia" within the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023 which is a joint initiative, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. HELP in Central Asia aims at improving knowledge and skills of justice professionals in the area of human rights and ensuring the application of human rights principles in their daily work in five countries of Central Asia including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.