Speeches Shim
On March 17, the U.S. Embassy handed over personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Agency for Sanitary and Epidemiological Wellbeing (ASEW) as part of the United States’ second PPE donation to Uzbekistan to prepare for the potential spread of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19.
The Civil Society Support Program in Central Asia is a five-year, $18 million program implemented by Eurasia Foundation to cultivate a vibrant and responsive civil society throughout the region, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and build a new generation of forward-looking civil society leaders (2019-2024).
Over two years ago, Alim was looking for work (name changed to protect the identity of the individual). Like many people in Uzbekistan, Alim was considering traveling abroad to find work where he would be able to earn higher wages than what he could find at home. One of Alim’s acquaintances was a local recruiter and offered him the chance to work at a construction site in a nearby country, promising good living conditions and a monthly salary of US $700. But when Alim arrived to work on a construction team building cottages, his passport was taken away. Alim began working for the construction company but after a month, he still had not been paid. Alim was told by his employer that the employer was sending Alim’s wages to the recruiter to pay him for recruiting Alim.
The USAID Dignity and Rights program, implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is designed to advance human rights and dignity in Central Asia, both as an issue of public policy, as well as civic culture. The project focuses on citizens’ and migrants’ awareness of their labor rights and the civil sector’s capacity to help protect the human rights of migrants and potential migrants as well as the rights of migrants’ families. The Dignity and Rights project addresses challenges related to violations of migrants’ rights and counter trafficking in persons in Central Asia and presents a targeted and unified intervention for a strong, regional, human rights response to these challenges.
Today, USAID’s Smart Waters project convened water sector national partners from five Central Asian countries and Afghanistan for the eighth Regional Steering Committee for water coordination in Burabay, Kazakhstan. The meeting facilitated the exchange of information and ideas among participating countries and the sharing of national best practices at a regional level.
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