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UN Launches Projects to Improve Health and Environment in the Aral Sea Region

The UN has launched two new projects to address environmental and health issues in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. These projects are “Enhancing Climate-Resilient and Safe Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Health Services for the Most Affected Communities in Four Districts of Karakalpakstan,” and the joint project between its development programme (UNDP) and its food and agriculture organization (FAO), "Building Knowledge and Skills of Local Partners and Communities to Address Environmental Insecurities through Innovative Air, Land, and Water Management Solutions in the Aral Sea Region.” “The launch of these projects marks a significant milestone in our collective efforts to address the Aral Sea Region's profound environmental and health challenges," said Sabine Machl, the UN's Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan. "By fostering resilience through innovative solutions in water management, health services, and community empowerment, we are laying the groundwork for a sustainable future in Karakalpakstan.” The project between the UNDP and FAO aims to increase the knowledge and skills needed by local partners and communities to solve environmental security problems. It also aims to develop practical solutions for managing air, land and water, enabling communities to adapt to and mitigate climate change. In addition, within the project's framework, special attention will be paid to introducing new approaches to water treatment, forest restoration, and soil stabilization in the region. These activities have the potential to directly benefit over 376,000 residents of the three northern districts of Moynaq, Kungrad, and Takhtakupir in Karakalpakstan, particularly women in at-risk communities. The indirect impact will extend to 200,000 more people and build on the results of the previous projects. On 16 August, the UN programme “Laying the Foundations for People-Centered, Climate-Resilient Primary Health Care and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Practices at Healthcare Facilities and Schools” was officially completed. During his visit to Karakalpakstan on August 19, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the establishment of the Aral Sea Region International Innovation Center to improve the ecosystem and create new varieties and seeds in a saline, water-less environment. $80 million will be allocated to mitigate the consequences of climate change in the Aral Sea region. The Times of Central Asia has published several articles about the problems arising from the drying up the Aral Sea and the work being done to combat this.

Healthcare Central Asia Education UN Society UNICEF Children Family

UNICEF: Central Asia Must Work To Keep Children Out Of Alternative Care

About 60,000 children across the five Central Asian countries remain in alternative, care despite the known and devastating effects of family separation and child institutionalization, according to a new policy report released by UNICEF. Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, highlighted the dire and lifelong consequences of institutionalization for children and stressed the need for more investment in family support services. “We have seen progress in recent years in reducing the number of children in alternative care – including the closure of institutions. We must continue this work so that no child is ever placed in alternative care because of poverty, disability or challenging behavior, or because their family lacks access to services they need to care for their child at home,” she said. The report states that 203 children per 100,000 in the region live in care institutions, nearly double the world average of 105 per 100,000. While progress has been made in reducing the overall number of children in institutions, the report notes that children with disabilities are disproportionately represented in these homes. Between 2015 and 2021, the proportion of children with disabilities in residential institutions increased in all Central Asian countries except Kazakhstan, indicating persistent social norms and a lack of social services for these children. UNICEF emphasizes the need to close institutions and support families to prevent unnecessary placement of children in residential care. The organization offers a comprehensive approach to ensure that all children, regardless of their circumstances, grow up in a family environment: 1. Implement effective childcare reforms to keep children with their families where possible, including planning to close large-scale institutions and develop a comprehensive continuum of child and family support and protection services. 2. Investment in a range of child and family support services, including statutory family support services and a strong social service workforce, for the early identification of and intervention in situations when children are at risk of separation. 3. Securing family-based alternative care, including stronger support for extended family members who care for children and strategies to keep siblings together where possible. 4. Protecting children who are already in alternative care against violence, neglect, and abuse through robust safeguarding policies and practices. 5. Investing in more and better data on children who are at risk of family separation, in alternative care, or who have left care. 6. Raising public awareness of the benefits of keeping families together and the urgent need to prioritize family-based care. 7. Ensuring that children have a voice in the decisions that affect them and are consulted when new policies and practices are developed to meet their needs and rights. UNICEF works with governments and partners in Central Asia to keep and support families and community-based care. This also includes implementing deinstitutionalization policies, expanding family support services to prevent separation, а family reunification, and facilitating safe transitions to independent living.

Security Healthcare Social World Bank Air pollution Air quality UN

Central Asian Countries Gather to Share Air Pollution Solutions

On June 19th a political and regional forum was organized in Tashkent under the slogan “Building a Clean Air Future in Central Asia”. The forum was organized in partnership with the Uzbek Ministry of Ecology, the World Bank, and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Participants included senior officials from the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The forum was created to allow the countries of Central Asia to exchange knowledge on how to prevent air pollution. Air quality in both urban and rural areas is affected by transboundary pollution, caused by emissions from burning fossil fuels in industry, the heating sector, and transport. Another source of pollution in cities is sand and dust storms. Most air quality-related illnesses and premature deaths in Central Asia are attributable to delicate particulate matter 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5). Their concentration in large cities is often several times higher than the permissible air quality parameters recommended by the World Health Organization. This is especially noticeable during winter, when the heating sector uses coal and gas for power. According to the IQAir portal, which monitors global air quality, Central Asian cities are often among the most polluted cities in the world. The participants at “Building a Clean Air Future in Central Asia” studied each other's measures and practices in air quality management. They then defined some priority directions for accelerating regional cooperation on these issues. Valerie Hickey, the World Bank's global director for environment, natural resources and the blue economy, commented: “Air quality management is a complex challenge that requires understanding where the pollution comes from and prioritizing actions in those sectors. This will take better data and stronger regulations harmonized across borders, credible institutions, and clean infrastructure. Working together, the countries can clean the air across Central Asia.” Sylvie Motar, deputy director of the European office of the UNEP, added: “Air pollution knows no borders, so cooperation between Central Asian countries in this area is essential. This dialogue will help increase investments in clean air to protect the health of the people of Central Asia.”

United Nations International Relations Dialogue among Civilizations UN China

UN Supports Uzbekistan and China’s Initiative on International Day of Dialogue Among Civilizations.

The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution entitled “International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations,” which was drafted by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The main goal of the resolution is to raise awareness of the value of civilizations' diversity and promote dialogue, mutual respect, and global solidarity, states the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan According to the resolution, June 10th will be declared the International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations. More than 80 countries co-sponsored the resolution, including all of the Central Asian states, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Russia. The resolution reflects the ideas proposed by the leadership of Uzbekistan at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in 2023 and the Samarkand SCO summit in 2022. The document stresses the need to promote solidarity for common security and prosperity, strive for constructive cooperation, and mobilize the international community's efforts to achieve peace and sustainable development. The resolution also highlights the contribution of all cultures and civilizations to enriching humanity and recognizes the importance of religious and cultural diversity. The document encourages tolerance, respect, dialogue, and cooperation among different cultures and civilizations.

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Central Asia Asks: Are Afghanistan’s Taliban Government Terrorists?

On June 3, Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with speakers of CSTO countries’ parliaments, who were in Almaty for a meeting of the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly. At this event, Tokayev separately touched upon the situation in Afghanistan. In his view, one of the strategic tasks at this point is actively linking Afghanistan with the region. Tokayev recalled that “Kazakhstan had removed the Taliban regime from its list of terrorist organizations, basing this decision on the importance of developing trade and economic cooperation with today’s Afghanistan and the understanding that this regime is a long-term factor.” The last bit, namely that “Kazakhstan had removed the Taliban regime from its list of terrorist organizations,” was presented by many foreign media, probably due to its simplicity, as something that had just happened. For example, the Russian-language service of Deutsche Welle reported that “the Kazakh authorities have decided to exclude the Taliban movement from the list of terrorist organizations.” Similar stories were carried by various other news media, like RFE/RL’s Kazakh service, 24.kg and Amu TV, among others. However, some publications objectively covered Tokayev’s statement. For example, The Diplomat reported that “Tokayev explained his government’s decision in more detail,” while Sputnik India wrote that "Tokayev explained Almaty's decision in December to drop the group from the list.” Asia-Plus ran a similar story. Given all the noise, it would be useful to clarify the situation for readers. The decision to exclude the Taliban from the list of banned foreign organizations was made by Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court on December 20, 2023, almost six months ago. The Taliban had been put on the list in March 2005. At that time, they were actively fighting the NATO-led international coalition, which had launched the so-called Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001 in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack. The Kazakhstani Foreign Ministry cited UN decisions to back up its move to take the Taliban off the terrorist list. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aibek Smadiyarov said that “according to UN Security Council resolutions, which are binding, the Taliban movement is not included in the lists of terrorist organizations recognized as such by the UN Security Council.” As expected, at the time the reaction was mixed. Most of the negative commentary presented it as recognition of the Taliban regime, which, in fact, is not true – it was not a unilateral act of Kazakhstan giving international legal recognition to the Taliban. Meanwhile, another trend in the coverage of Tokayev’s recent remarks was to link Kazakhstan’s decision to remove the Taliban from its terrorist list with Russian plans to do the same. On May 27, the Russian Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry reported to President Vladimir Putin that the Taliban movement could be excluded from the list of organizations banned in the country. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov remarked that this proposal “reflects a realization of reality,” adding that “[the Taliban] are the real government. We [and] our allies, especially in Central Asia, are not indifferent to Afghanistan.” In his own...

UN Human rights

Uzbekistan Representative Elected to UN Human Rights Committee for First Time

Academician Akmal Saidov, director of the National Center for Human Rights in Uzbekistan, has been elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee for the 2025-2028 term. Uzbekistan is the first Central Asian country to join this key UN committee. The election took place on May 29 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, during the 40th session of the member states of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Nine members were elected to the Human Rights Committee for the 2025-2028 term. In addition to Uzbekistan, candidates from 16 other countries vied for the nine available seats. In the secret ballot, Saidov received the most votes from the member states of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Human Rights Committee is a UN body composed of independent experts who monitor the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its member states. There are 173 countries in this pact, which Uzbekistan joined in 1995. The committee's role is to ensure that civil and political rights are fully respected.