The Virtual Samarkand Forum on Human Rights is due in Uzbekistan

The Republic of Uzbekistan is to host Samarkand Forum on Human Rights in the format of a video conference this week.  The two day event will take place on 12-13 August 2020 under the auspice of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, represented by the National Center for Human Rights. .

This is the second in a series of international forums aimed at strengthening international and regional cooperation in the field of human rights.

The First Forum "Asian Forum on Human Rights", was held in Samarkand in 2018.  The outcome document of this meeting “Samarkand Declaration on Human Rights” was later approved by the UN General Assembly on February 6, 2019 as one of the document of the 73rd Session of the United Nations. According to this Outcome Document, it was decided that the Asian Forum to be held biennially as an important event.

This week’s Samarkand Forum will focus on the existing national and international mechanisms aimed at protecting and promoting the rights of youth as well as the opportunities to improve them. The agenda of the meeting also includes a discussion on the role of youth in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN World Program for Human Rights Education.

The Samarkand Forum also plans to discuss such a fundamentally new document as the Draft Convention on the Rights of Youth. The initiative to develop and adopt the UN International Convention on the Rights of Youth belongs to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and was proposed by him during the 72nd UN General Assembly.

As a new document, the Convention reflects the specific rights of youth, which should be recognized in the modern world. In essence, such an international document will attract the interest of states in youth issues around the world. And the allocation of individual rights of young people will contribute to the provision of targeted assistance.