VZCZCXRO8020
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHNEH RUEHPOD
RUEHPW RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHNT #1597/01 3290742
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250741Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1568
INFO ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
CIS COLLECTIVE
NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0061
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0254
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 001597 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM ELAB PGOV UZ
SUBJECT: Uzbekistan: SCA DAS Krol Meets with Civil Society 
Representatives 
 
REF: 09 TASHKENT 1591; 09 TASHKENT 1595 
 
¶1.       (SBU) Summary:  During his visit to Tashkent on November 
18-21, DAS for South and Central Asian Affairs George Krol reached 
out to civil society representatives, GOU officials, and 
journalists to discuss human rights and other broad issues facing 
Uzbekistan.  (Please see reftels for a readout of other meetings.) 
End summary. 
 
 
 
UN and OSCE 
 
 
 
¶2.       (SBU) DAS Krol met with UN Resident Representative and 
UNDP Chief Anita Nirody and OSCE Ambassador Istvan Venczel to 
discuss child labor and the working environment for international 
organizations. 
 
 
 
¶3.       (SBU) Child Labor:  Nirody shared some of the UN's 
observations from this year's cotton harvest, noting that they have 
seen a reduction in the number of children in the fields this year, 
particularly in those children younger than age 15.  Numbers were 
especially reduced in the Ferghana Valley, where one influential 
regional governor gave explicit instructions that children should 
not be called to the fields this year.  Because government workers 
are mobilized, social services are reduced during the harvest, and 
both UNDP and OSCE grant projects are slowed or halted.  Nirody 
advised that the best way to approach child labor is not to come at 
it with a political agenda, but rather to come from an economic 
perspective, emphasizing broad agricultural reform.  She talked 
about mechanization being one part of a broader solution to the 
problem, noting that the GOU maintains that mechanization is too 
expensive and that machine-harvested cotton does not bring as high 
a price on the world market.  Nirody suggested pressing for a 
statement from President Karimov, and stated that UN Secretary 
General Ban Ki Moon may do so during his visit to Uzbekistan, 
planned for the first quarter of 2010. 
 
 
 
¶4.       (SBU)  Operating Environment for International 
Organizations:   Both Nirody and Venczel reported that although 
there are still significant challenges to working with the GOU, the 
working environment is improving in some areas.  Both commented 
that there is a greater willingness to work together than there has 
been in the past, even on previously taboo subjects such as 
torture, domestic violence, and trafficking in persons.  Still, 
hardships remain.  Although the GOU has signed on to numerous 
international conventions and has several well-drafted action 
plans, implementation of those written constructs lags well behind. 
Also, banking regulations that require grant money to go through 
lengthy and bureaucratic procedures complicate funding of both NGOs 
and IOs:  NGOs must wait several months for the money to come 
through and then face questions on their programming and tax 
filings for years afterward.  Some IOs are beginning to consider 
grant funding futile, knowing that they may well be returned after 
lingering unspent.   Nirody also mentioned increasing attention 
being given to the vague construct of Uzbek "cultural identity," 
and that this push is behind increased scrutiny of programming 
involving gender issues. 
 
 
 
¶5.       (SBU) Kazakh Chairmanship of the OSCE:  On the occasional 
rumors that Uzbekistan may pull out of the OSCE under the 
chairmanship of Kazakhstan, Venczel stated that a pullout, while 
unlikely, would be attributable more to antipathy toward the OSCE 
than to rivalry with the Kazakhs, noting that high level GOU 
officials seriously considered a pullout last year.  Venczel also 
noted that the GOU has quietly voiced its opposition to the 
proposed OSCE Summit, but a final decision on whether Uzbekistan 
would participate will most likely occur only after personal 
 
TASHKENT 00001597  002 OF 002 
 
 
communication between Karimov and Nazarbaev. 
 
 
 
Ombudsman for Human Rights 
 
 
 
¶6.        (SBU) DAS Krol met with Ombudsman for Human Rights Sayora 
Rashidova to talk about the Ombudsman's role in accepting and 
investigating citizen complaints and influencing human rights 
legislation.  The Office, which is directed by the parliament 
(based on the Scandinavian model), is increasing its role - 
recently signing an agreement with the Prosecutor General that 
allows the Ombudsman to file complaints regarding court trials, 
where it previously had no real voice.  Rashidova highlighted her 
office's ties with NGOs and other ombudsman offices in Europe and 
Russia, and stated that the biggest problem her office faces is a 
lack of human rights education among officials.  Through trainings 
and literature, her office is working to instill a legal culture 
that will not tolerate rights abuses. 
 
 
 
DAS Krol Leads Embassy's "Press Gap" 
 
¶7.       (SBU) DAS Krol led the Embassy's monthly "Press Gap" on 
November 20 with a record crowd of 62 journalists representing 
state and somewhat more independent media outlets.  ("Gap" in Uzbek 
mean a regular meeting of like-minded or -experienced people.  The 
Public Affairs Section has been hosting these monthly discussions 
with the local press since July 2007.)  DAS Krol gave a read-out of 
his Tashkent meetings - with whom he met and the breadth of topics 
they discussed.  He stressed that he was in Uzbekistan to build 
upon the constructive visits of U/S Burns and A/S Blake and to 
further the efforts of initiating a process of structured dialogue 
- or Annual Bilateral Consultations (ABCs) - between Uzbekistan and 
the United States.  He spent over an hour answering journalists 
questions on issues ranging from the Northern Distribution Network 
to human rights, from prospects of greater American investment in 
Uzbekistan to regional water resource management.  DAS Krol 
underscored that the ABCs will feature discussions on human rights, 
press freedoms, and civil society in Uzbekistan, but that the 
United States will not impose its views on any other nation, but 
rather pursue principled engagement on these challenging issues. 
DAS Krol expressed his appreciation for the chance to meet with the 
journalists, noting (to their surprise and pleasure) that they are 
a key sector of Uzbekistan's civil society.  The media reports on 
the visit were overall relatively accurate, if sometimes covered by 
misleading headlines.  A media reaction cable will follow septel. 
 
¶8.       (U) DAS Krol did not have an opportunity to clear this 
cable. 
 
                NORLAND 
NORLAND