Journal of Civil & Legal Sciences
Open Access

Confessions, Norms and principles of international law and politics on tolerance, Freedom of religion and conscience, Inter- confessional tolerance

Today, the modern world has different kind of perspectives and problematic issues than other periods. In order to achieve a progress, the countries in throughout the world need to deal with each other and from that collaborative work humanity may succeed with new challenges also. In my article I researched some positive aspects of the relevance of supplying religious tolerance in the world and it is results in Uzbekistan in recent period.

The framework of the Strategy of Development of Uzbekistan has been established in our country and already became a vital program of development, which were an institutional approach to the development of interethnic and interfaith dialogue. Because this Action Plan could answer the many demands of the World Policy by it’s containing pragmatically reforms for nations. There is given one of the most significant topic is ensuring religious tolerance and freedom of conscience in it, for the all different 136 nations and more than 20 religions in Uzbekistan. As one of the important representative of UN Uzbekistan takes into acute consideration that abovementioned issues.

In particular, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated April 16, 2018 "On measures to improve the activities of the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan", the Conference on Religious Affairs under the Committee on Religious Affairs The new composition of the council was approved.

The composition of the Council has expanded from 9 to 17 members - Representatives of religious denominations operating in Uzbekistan. It is noteworthy that the council also included leaders of a small number of religious organizations. The main purpose of this council, which is a public consultative body, is to discuss the existing religious and social processes in Uzbekistan and may develop recommendations [1-10].

The main tasks of the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendship with Foreign Countries include ensuring and further development of interaction and cooperation of government agencies with national cultural centres and friendship societies located in the territory of the republic. A Public Council has been set up under the Committee to study, identify and satisfy the ethno cultural needs of citizens, to strengthen inter-ethnic relations, and to prevent possible conflicts for national reasons. The main expected result is the strengthening of public control over the activities of government agencies responsible for the implementation of state policy in this area.

The work on in-depth study of the traditions of the nation’s living in the territory of our country and the cultural and civilizational heritage, spiritual and philosophical significance of Islam has reached a qualitatively new level. The main purpose of this is to study in depth the historical roots of religious tolerance, interethnic relations and its development in today's conditions, based on the results of fundamental scientific research. In this regard, the Center for Islamic Civilization, the International Research Centres named after Imam Bukhari, Imam Termezi and Imam Moturidi were established.

At the same time, opportunities for quality religious education in relevant higher education institutions are expanding. A five-tier system of religious education has been formed, including secondary, higher religious education, master’s, primary doctoral and doctoral studies. The quota for admission of students to Islamic educational institutions has been doubled. The Tashkent Orthodox Seminary and the Tashkent Christian Seminary also continue their activities. Ensuring interethnic harmony and religious tolerance has begun to play an important role in the foreign policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The government pays special attention to establishing constructive dialogue and cooperation with international organizations and experts in this field.

During the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zaid Raad Al-Hussein and OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zanier, reforms in this area were discussed, and international experts discussed the issue. the changes were highly commended.

It is noteworthy that in 2017, for the first time in the history of independent Uzbekistan, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmad Shahid visited to Uzbekistan. On the basis of his recommendations, on May 4, 2018, the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan approved the "Road Map" to ensure freedom of religion and belief.

In general, the international community appreciates the work of our country to ensure interethnic harmony and religious tolerance, and is interested in the experience of Uzbekistan. In particular, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on September 19, 2017 at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly called for the establishment of tolerance and mutual respect, ensuring religious freedom, protection of the rights of believers, A clear example of this is the proposed adoption of a special resolution entitled “Enlightenment and 4Religious Tolerance” aimed at helping to prevent their discrimination, and the adoption of this document on 12 December 2018.

One of the important results of the reforms in this area is that in 2018, the US State Department removed Uzbekistan from the list of "countries of particular concern" on religious freedom.

In the elections to the UN General Assembly on October 13, 2020, for the first time in the history of our national statehood, Uzbekistan was elected a member of the UN Human Rights Council for a three- year term - 2021. Elected for 2023. 169 out of 193 member states of the United Nations voted for our country. Uzbekistan received the most votes in this election. No exaggeration to say that this is recognition of the policy pursued in our country, regardless of nationality and religion, aimed at ensuring human rights, including in the field of interethnic harmony and religious tolerance.

The results of this practical work are highly valued in the international arena. In particular, on December 7, 2020, the official website of the US State Department published a statement by Michael Pompeo entitled "The United States is taking action against violators of religious freedom." In his statement, Pompeo said that Uzbekistan had been removed from the list of countries under special surveillance, and acknowledged that this was the result of prompt and targeted measures taken by the Uzbek leadership in a short period of time. Samuel Brownback, the US Ambassador-at-Large for [6] International Religious Freedom, told reporters on December 11 that Uzbekistan had been removed from a special list of violators of religious freedom in 2020. It is recognized that Uzbekistan is one of the only countries on the list that seeks to fulfill its international obligations. This was announced by U.S. Senator Roger Vicker during a meeting of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) on December 11, 2020 in Washington to discuss Pompeo's statement. He noted that "The situation has changed" in the area of religious rights and freedoms in Uzbekistan.

All this indicates the strengthening of the role of Uzbekistan in International relations as a reliable and responsible entity.

In conclusion, as a result of reforms in our country to strengthen the environment based on positive and mutual respect in the field of interethnic harmony and religious tolerance, a new model of interethnic and interreligious relations has been created. This model is based on interethnic and interreligious dialogue between different nationalities and religions, a constructive approach and equality of all citizens before the law.

In this sense, the large-scale reforms carried out in Uzbekistan in recent years in the field of interethnic relations and religion have contributed to the formation of a system in the country that combines a new approach and strategic goals in these areas. The success of this system creates the basis for maintaining peace,ensuring the security of citizens and sustainable development in our country. After all, the main goal of the modern state is to ensure solidarity and stability in society, effective protection of human rights and freedoms.

In this regard, our Basic Law - the Constitution is not only a high- level political and legal document that determines the development of society and the state, but also an important basis that guarantees a decent lifestyle for every citizen of our country.