On December 6, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, joined by five of his Senate Democratic colleagues, called on the Biden administration to emphasize human rights during the upcoming Strategic Partnership Dialogue between the United States and Uzbekistan in mid-December. In their opinion, reforms in Uzbekistan have slowed down, and the right to freedom of speech is being limited in the country. There are also problems in the work of the media.

“In the aftermath of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, our bilateral relationship with Uzbekistan has become even more important to our interests and our values. As we increase our security and counterterrorism coordination we must also emphasize the importance of human rights in Uzbekistan and for our partnership,” the senators wrote in their message to the Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The senators also urged the administration to work with the Uzbek government to ensure the enactment of lasting and meaningful reform of Uzbekistan’s criminal code.

“Meaningful reform of Uzbekistan’s criminal code would help create a strong foundation for the rule of law and human rights, as well as the social and economic development of the country. We call on you to take advantage of this opportunity by prioritizing respect for human rights in the United States’ strategic partnership with Uzbekistan and forcefully pushing for reform of the criminal code in the upcoming Strategic Partnership Dialogue,” the US senators concluded.