Human Rights in the Digital Age: Tashkent hosted an international conference attended by ombudsmen from over 25 countries.
The international conference "Human Rights in the Context of Digital Transformation: Modern Approaches" was held in Tashkent.
An international conference on human rights in the digital age was held in Tashkent, bringing together ombudsmen from more than 25 countries. The event, titled "Human Rights in the Context of Digital Transformation: Modern Approaches," was organized at the initiative of the Oliy Majlis Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The conference was timed to coincide with the 35th anniversary of Uzbekistan's state independence.
Ombudsmen from more than 25 countries, representatives of national human rights institutions, international organizations, parliamentarians, experts, as well as representatives of government agencies and civil society institutions, participated in the conference.
**Digital Transformation Poses New Challenges for Human Rights**
The conference was opened by Tanzila Narbaeva, Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis. She noted that digital transformation not only opens up new opportunities for the state and society but also raises fundamentally new challenges in the area of human rights and freedoms.
Key objectives included: protecting citizens' personal data; ensuring the responsible use of artificial intelligence technologies; preventing discrimination and violence online; and creating equal access to digital services for all segments of the population.
The Senate Chairperson also emphasized that protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens is a priority of Uzbekistan's state policy, and that cooperation between parliament and the ombudsman plays a key role in this work.
Three Sessions – Three Priorities
The conference continued with three thematic sessions devoted to: protecting the rights of women and youth in the digital environment and combating cyberbullying and online violence; protecting personal data; and developing inclusive digital services for people with disabilities.
Participants in the sessions emphasized the need for a consistent human rights-based approach to the development and use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, as well as an expanded role for national human rights institutions in this process.
Tashkent Declaration and New Cooperation Agreements
Following the conference, a number of documents were signed aimed at strengthening the Ombudsman's cooperation with national and international partners.
The main outcome of the forum was the adoption of the Tashkent Declaration, which enshrined common approaches to ensuring human rights and freedoms in the context of digital transformation.
The document covers issues of developing international cooperation, expanding digital inclusion, and improving mechanisms for protecting human rights in the digital environment.