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Report of the mission to Kyrgyzstan by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights concerning the killings in Andijan, Uzbekistan, 13 -14 May 2005

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Executive Summary

Events in Andijan (Uzbekistan) between 12 and 14 May 2005 resulted in the deaths of between 176 and possibly several hundred more men, women and children. In response, the High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the Government of Uzbekistan to permit the deployment of an independent investigation to Uzbekistan; after no positive response was received, the High Commissioner decided to send an OHCHR mission from 13 to 21 June 2005 to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. The purpose of the mission was to gather information from eyewitnesses who had fled to Kyrgyzstan and as a preparatory step for the eventuality of agreement on an independent, international investigation.

This report does not purport to be a full reflection of what occurred in Andijan, which can only be established on the basis of a comprehensive independent, international inquiry with appropriate access in Uzbekistan. The objective of this report is to reflect the unfolding of events as they emerged from the largely consistent accounts given to the OHCHR mission by the eyewitnesses interviewed in Kyrgyzstan. The report focuses on the widespread allegations of grave violations of human rights that emerge from these accounts and makes recommendations on the necessity for further investigation.

Consistent, credible eyewitness testimony strongly suggests that grave human rights violations mostly of the right to life, as enshrined in article 6 of the ICCPR and article 24 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan, were committed by Uzbek military and security forces. Several provisions of the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials were violated. It is not excluded - judging from the accounts of the eyewitnesses interviewed - that the incidents amounted to a mass killing.

In the light of these findings, the recommendations of this report include:

a) The need for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry which should be tasked with investigating any serious violations of human rights committed during the Andijan and related events and establishing the facts and circumstances concerning such violations and those responsible for them. The commission should include forensic and ballistic expertise as well as crime scene investigators. It should enjoy full cooperation from the Uzbek Government. The Commission should be requested to recommend any further action that it deems necessary.

b) The urgent need for a stay of deportation to Uzbekistan of the Uzbek asylum-seekers and eyewitnesses of the Andijan events who would face the risk of torture if returned. As UNHCR has already indicated and initiated, the recognized Uzbek refugees as well as the asylum seekers in Kyrgyzstan urgently need to be relocated to a third country. The international community, under the guidance of UNHCR, should take up this task.

c) The international community must be granted access to the four asylum seekers who were deported from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan.

d) In light of the consistent pattern of human rights violations in Uzbekistan, the international community may also consider the need for the establishment of a public mechanism of the Commission on Human Rights.

Based on the results of the OHCHR mission, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on 23 June 2005, addressed a letter to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan reiterating her call for an independent international investigation. No response has yet been received.

I. Introduction

1. The incidents in Andijan (Republic of Uzbekistan) between 12 and 14 May 2005 resulted in the deaths of between 173 and possibly several hundred more men, women and children. About 500 survivors of these incidents fled Andijan, crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan and were, at the time of the mission, located in a tent camp near Jalalabad (Kyrgyzstan).

2. On 18 May 2005, the High Commissioner for Human Rights (High Commissioner) called for an international investigation into the causes and circumstances of the incidents in Andijan. The Secretary-General of the United Nations supported this call which thus far has not been accepted by the Government of Uzbekistan. The High Commissioner subsequently decided to send a mission from her Office to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.

3. This mission was intended as a preparatory step for a possible independent international investigation into the events in Andijan. The mission was tasked with collecting information on the causes and circumstances of the incidents in Andijan. The mission sought in particular to:

a. Gather information from eyewitnesses and others having credible knowledge of the events in and around the city of Andijan, Uzbekistan, since 12 May 2005 with regard to the alleged serious violations of human rights which took place there during that time;

b. To the extent possible, establish the facts and circumstances concerning such violations and those responsible for them; and

c. Make recommendations on the necessity of further investigation.

4. The mission was carried out from 13 to 21 June 2005 in Kyrgyzstan. The principal source of the OHCHR mission's findings were extensive meetings and interviews with eyewitnesses to the events relating to the mission's mandate. In particular, the mission carried out interviews of 38 Uzbek eyewitnesses in the Jalalabad camp, as well as detention facilities in Jalalabad and Osh (some of the eyewitnesses who had been separated from the camp were held in these detention facilities). In addition to the interviews, OHCHR collected 62 written testimonies of eyewitnesses of the Andijan events, who were located in the camp.

5. The interviews followed an established pattern and the interviewees were asked the same questions in an agreed order individually and/or in the presence of someone they trusted. Before starting the interview process, the purpose of the mission, its terms of reference and the fact that the names and testimonies would be kept confidential were explained to the persons concerned.

6. This report does not purport to be a full reflection of what occurred in Andijan. The objective of this report is to reflect the unfolding of events as they emerged from the accounts given to the OHCHR mission by the witnesses interviewed in Kyrgyzstan. The report focuses on the credible allegations of grave violations of human rights that emerge from these accounts and makes recommendations on the necessity for further investigation.

7. Based on the results of the OHCHR mission, the High Commissioner, on 23 June 2005, addressed a letter to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan reiterating her call for an independent international investigation. This was deemed especially important because the information received from the Government of Uzbekistan on the events in Andijan significantly differed from the accounts the OHCHR mission has received from the eyewitnesses.

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