On 5 August 2022, the SCO Secretariat hosted a roundtable, Constitutional Reform in a New Uzbekistan, organised by the Uzbek Embassy in China, the Uzbekistan National Centre for Human Rights, the Uzbekistan Development Strategy Centre and the SCO Secretariat.
Among the participants were the leaders of the SCO Secretariat, senior officials from the Foreign Ministry of the People’s Republic of China, heads and representatives of the SCO member states’ diplomatic missions, observers and SCO Dialogue Partners, experts from China’s leading political science centres, and others.
SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming sent a video address to the meeting participants, in which he praised the reforms conducted in the country to build a new Uzbekistan and improve the wellbeing of its people. The country’s constitutional reform is aimed at the implementation of the priority principle “In the name of human honour and dignity” that includes providing people with a peaceful and safe life, ensuring their fundamental rights and freedoms, the gradual creation of decent life conditions and state-of-the-art infrastructure, high quality medical assistance and education, social protection and a healthy environment for each resident of the country, the Secretary-General emphasised.
Akmal Saidov, First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, Director of the Uzbekistan National Centre for Human Rights and Chairman of the Constitutional Commission, said in a video link-up that the constitutional reform is aimed at facilitating the further sustainable development of Uzbekistan, improving the wellbeing of the residents and the country, and strengthening its authority on the global stage.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who initiated the constitutional reform, noted that “it will be the will of our people, a true people’s Constitution, and its sole source and author will be the people. Each of our compatriots will be able to say proudly, “Uzbekistan’s new Constitution is our Constitution.”
Reports were also made by Uzbekistan’s Development Strategy Centre Director Eldor Tulyakov, Director of the Institute for the Social Studies of Europe and Asia under the Chinese State Council Li Yongquan, leading expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Su Chang, and others.
