On 30 November 2023, the Council of Europe in co-operation with the Law Enforcement Academy of the Republic of Uzbekistan organised the launch of the HELP course “Violence against women and domestic violence”. 32 prosecutors from the Law Enforcement Academy attended the event, which took place at the premises of the Academy.

The course, available in Uzbek language provides participants with in-depth knowledge on the topic and equips them with practical tools for dealing with cases of violence against women and domestic violence under a human rights and victim-centred approach. It is adapted to the national legal framework of Uzbekistan.

The launch event was opened by Svetlana Artikova, Deputy General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who praised the importance of this course for Uzbekistan’s legal professionals. Louise Hooper, co-author of the HELP course, presented the key concepts, the international and European legal framework governing the prevention and protection of women and girls from violence, in particular the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), as well as other CoE legal instruments and elements of EU law. Sergey Dikman, Adviser at the Department of Implementation of Human Rights, Justice, and Legal co-operation standards, offered a comprehensive overview of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights related to the topic.

Participants in the course will be supported by the national HELP tutor and will receive HELP certificates issued by the Council of Europe after completing the curricula.

The activity was organised in the framework of the action "HELP in Central Asia", within the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2024, a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.