A group of 35 Uzbek lawyers participated in a seminar on “Data protection and privacy” which took place in Tashkent on 7th November 2022. This event was followed by a seminar attended by 37 judges dedicated to the “Independence of judges in light of the European standards” on 9 November 2022. Both seminars were organised in co-operation with the Chamber of lawyers and the School of judges under the High Judicial Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The seminars led to a greater awareness on European standards in the fields of data protection and judicial independence and the related existing case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. By means of concrete examples and practical exercises, participants examined how these standards and best European practices could be applied at the national level. A vast majority of participants confirmed that the thematic topics of the seminars met their current needs and were very timely. They conveyed further suggestions on relevant human rights issues that may be covered in the future by the Programme.

Those activities were 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.