MANILA – The NGO Forum on the ADB on Wednesday announced a boycott of the upcoming 43rd annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Uzbekistan. “The ADB’s decision to hold its annual meeting in Tashkent is not only non-transparent but also endorsing suppression of human rights and people’s freedom of expression,” Forum Executive Director Dr Avilash Roul said.
The bank watchdog slammed the ADB’s decision to hold the meeting in Uzbekistan pointing out the track record of the government when it comes to human rights violations and curtailment of people’s freedom of expression.
Political rights are severely constrained and dissent is not tolerated and is often met with extreme force, it said in a statement.
“As there is no vibrant civil society groups in Uzbekistan, it is impossible to hold public opinion in the venue of the annual meeting or outside by looking at the political situation in the country,” Parviz Umarov of the Tajikistan-based Center for Development of Civil Society said.
In a letter submitted to the bank last January, the Forum requested the ADB to guarantee the safety, security and well-being of civil society participants in the 43rd annual meeting, and their right to assemble and discuss development-related issues, disribute printed materials related to ADB’s operations, and peaceful protest. However, until now, the multilateral bank has kept its silence on the matter.
“As a multilateral public entity, the ADB must respect the rights of local communities to development and livelihood rather than just serving the interests of the undemocratic, arrogant governments and businesses,” Hemantha Withanage of the Sri Lankan Centre for Environmental Justice said.
In March this year, the UN Human Rights Committee scrutinized Uzbekistan's rights record and expressed its concerns over “the number of NGOs, journalists and human rights defenders imprisoned, assaulted, harassed or intimidated because of the exercise of their profession.”
The NGO Forum on the ADB is a 250-strong Asian led network of civil society organizations which has been monitoring the ADB’s policies, projects and programs since 1992. |
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