The annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) took place in Samarkand from 16-18 May 2023. With an active portfolio of €2,235 million in over 129 projects, Uzbekistan is EBRD’s most significant client in the Central Asian region.

Activists and representatives of civil society groups from across the region who participated in a series of meetings raised their concerns on increasing pressures on human rights, freedom of association and media freedom and the implications for ensuring human rights due diligence.

Umida Niyazova, founder and director of Uzbek Forum took part in a panel discussion with EBRD President, Odile Renaud-Basso, and moderated a series of presentations by civil society activists to the Board of Directors. Uzbek Forum provided the Bank with a series of briefing papers highlighting some of the most pressing issues in Uzbekistan today which you can read here: