On 30 March 2022, the first HELP course “Rights of persons with disabilities” was launched for a group of 30 judges in Tashkent in co-operation with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator office in Uzbekistan and the High School of Judges under the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Earlier in June 2021, Uzbekistan has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which was followed by a process of the national adaptation of the HELP course “Rights of persons with disabilities” to national legal framework and its launch in the country.
The national HELP course “Rights of persons with disabilities” was developed following the request of the Supreme School of Judges under the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan for judges in Uzbek language.
The official launch of the HELP course in Uzbekistan on 30 March 2022 gathered 35 participants including 30 judges, Council of Europe consultants and members of the Secretariat and representatives of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator office. The event was opened with a welcoming speech of Dilshod Aripov, Advisor to the Director of the High School of Judges under the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who welcomed the first course launch, confirmed the School's readiness to implement more HELP courses. The co-ordinator of the HELP in Central Asia, Krystyna Khokhlova, introduced the HELP platform and its methodology which was followed by the intervention of the Council of Europe consultant, Evegny Goloshapov, on the international standards on protection of the rights of persons with disabilities as well as presentation of the national HELP course and its practical aspects delivered by the national tutors. The course will be implemented online by 30 judges with the help of national tutors who will monitor the activities of the participants. Once the participants complete the course, they will receive a certificate of completion of the course. The course is supposed to be completed by the group by end of April 2022. Additionally, this national course will be available online for all interested since 5 April 2022 on the HELP platform.
The course was launched 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.
