08.07.2020

Distinguished Heads of States and Governments,

Distinguished Director-General of the International Labor Organization,

Dear Participants of the Global Summit!

On behalf of the Republic of Uzbekistan, I thank the Director- General of the International Labor Organization, Mr. Guy Ryder, for organizing the Summit.

Since the beginning of this year, the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic has become a critical issue on the global agenda. There is no country or region that has not experienced directly or indirectly the negative impact of the spread of coronavirus infection.

Certainly, in order to effectively overcome this and other global challenges coordinated actions are first and foremost necessary. And the present Global Summit is a good platform for such an opportunity to “synchronize watches”.

In a pandemic, social support is vital along with ensuring the sustainability of the economy. This is fully consistent with the task of ensuring social justice, as enshrined in the ILO Century Declaration.

The implementation of the ILO conventions in national legislation and practice, in particular the ratification of the Convention on Tripartite Consultations (No. 144), gave a powerful impetus to the development of tripartite social dialogue in Uzbekistan.

In accordance with the principle of “TripartismPlus”, business, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, civil society institutions and the public take an active part in the process of developing anti-crisis measures during a pandemic. This is a guarantee of the successful implementation of the anti-crisis programmes, protecting the interests of all segments of the population.

Distinguished participants of the Summit!

The pandemic has revealed a number of problems in developing sustainable international relations and the absence of a global strategic plan of action in such emergency situations.

In this regard, we are initiating the adoption of the International Code of Voluntary Commitments of States during pandemics under the auspices of the United Nations.

In our opinion, this Code should stipulate the minimum conditions and obligations of states, both to their citizens and to international partners, in the political, social, economic, humanitarian, human rights spheres.

First, we are convinced that restrictive measures should exclusively be temporary, with mandatory guarantees for the respect of the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Such measures should be proportionate to risks, not to impede international trade, especially of medical products, as well as measures to support socially vulnerable segments of the population.

Second, the rapid spread of the pandemic has shown the need for systematic, timely and effective preventive measures, including in order to prevent overloading of health services.

First of all, these are measures for forecasting, containing in the early stages of spread, counteracting the epidemic and minimizing its consequences.

Third, the pandemic affirmed the importance of occupational safety. This directly applies to health workers who have shown real heroism, being at the forefront of the fight against a new disease.

Today, relations between Uzbekistan and the International Labour Organization continue to develop dynamically and consistently.

The “Roadmap” resulting from the visit of Mr. Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the ILO, to Uzbekistan in 2018 is being successfully implemented.

Two years ago, the Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan was created, which, with the support of the ILO team, promotes the creation of decent jobs, ensuring public control over compliance with labor laws.

Uzbekistan’s accession to the ILO conventions and recommendations and their implementation testifies to our country’s strong commitment to comply with international labor standards.

Thanks to the firm political will in Uzbekistan and support from the ILO, significant progress has been made in eliminating child and forced labor in the country. We highly appreciate the Third Party Monitoring carried out under the auspices of the ILO.

At present, the relations between Uzbekistan and the ILO are at a quality new stage of development. We are committed to further expanding constructive dialogue and practical partnerships.

I hope that today’s Global Summit will contribute to this.

I wish all of the participants a successful work.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan