Director of the Mass Media Foundation Spoke at OSCE Conference on Freedom of Expression and Media

From 1 to 11 October, the OSCE Human Dimension Conference is taking place in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The Director of the Mass Media Foundation spoke at a plenary session dedicated to media freedom in Uzbekistan.

Jakhongir Azimov, Director of the Public Foundation for Support and Development of National Mass Media, delivered a speech at the Warsaw Conference on the Human Dimension.

The purpose of this annual event is to discuss the implementation of a wide range of OSCE commitments concerning the observance of human rights and the development of democracy, as well as to exchange best practices in these areas. This year, the conference is held under the chairmanship of the Republic of Malta with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

In his speech at the plenary session, Jakhongir Azimov stated:

"From exposing corruption cases, to alarming on water scarcity in the country and Central Asia to covering ruthless deaths caused by car accidents and systemic failure in ensuring safety of citizens, the media in Uzbekistan are continuing to watchdog state decisions. Since Uzbekistan stood on the path of openness and transparency, all those represented in media landscape have been playing a pivotal role in making sure that interests of people are at the forefront of state decisions."

The Director of the Mass Media Foundation also noted that Uzbekistan's media still have many opportunities to enhance their professional activities. This concerns both the expansion of covered topics and the improvement of the quality of cooperation with the press services of various bodies.

The full version of the speech is available in English in the following link.