UNIVERSITY OF WORLD ECONOMY AND DIPLOMACY
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Professor Schwartz next visited the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from April 22 to 26. Schwartz visited UWED to investigate the prospects for collaboration between the Disability Rights Clinic at Syracuse University and the law clinic at UWED, which is seeking to expand its agenda to address disability rights issues in Uzbekistan. In eleven meetings over four days, Professor Schwartz addressed UWED’s law clinic faculty and students, along with Deaf students from a local high school, and members of the law enforcement and judicial communities.
Schwartz was also interviewed on Uzbek TV about his visit. Schwartz stated,
“Syracuse University would like to establish relations with Uzbekistan to create a new system for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. For this purpose, I came to your country. Uzbekistan has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and now it is time to fully implement the rights enumerated in the CRPD.”
There is much work to do to help Uzbekistan in meeting its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The work with UWED and the other Uzbek partners will also benefit Syracuse’s law students as they acquire knowledge of international human rights law and the challenges of overcoming inaccessibility, both structural and programmatic, in a country like Uzbekistan.
During his meetings in Tashkent, Professor Schwartz stressed two vital principles that illuminate disability rights advocacy. One, “Nothing About Us Without Us” expresses the idea that people with disabilities are central to the process of addressing discrimination and inequality. Two, the presumption of competence on the part of people with disabilities expresses the value of equality and respect. Schwartz made clear that a partnership between the University of World Economy and Diplomacy and Syracuse University must reflect these principles.
Like every other country in the world that has ratified the UN CRPD, Uzbekistan faces challenges and opportunities in complying with the treaty. In May 2022, questionnaires were sent to approximately 30 state bodies and non-governmental organizations in Uzbekistan regarding the country’s compliance with the CRPD. The responses highlighted several problems:
People with disabilities are viewed as recipients of charity and rehabilitation services, not as potential employees of government and private businesses;
Financial support for employers hiring people with disabilities and vocational training for these workers have yet to be established;
Higher education institutions and mass transit are not accessible.
Professor Schwartz and his UWED partners explored how a relationship between UWED and Syracuse University could address the challenges facing Uzbekistan. For instance, Schwartz suggested that the first step should be the formation of a disability advisory group (DAG) drawn from a wide range of people with disabilities who have experience and expertise (e.g., the Deaf Society of Uzbekistan), and the adoption of a rights-based approach to human rights law compliance in Uzbekistan. Guided by the DAG, Schwartz argued, a project of “law reform” bolstering Uzbekistan’s commitment to the rights of people with disabilities under international and national law could consist of the following:
Adopt a judicial training program for the entities of the State Party – e.g., judges, prosecutors, police officers – about their responsibilities under the CRPD and domestic law, and adopt a community-based training program teaching people with disabilities about their rights under the CRPD and domestic law;
Establish a “Trainers Training Trainers” program whereby experts, both disabled and non-disabled, train people to educate Uzbek society about responsibilities and rights under the CRPD and domestic law;
Develop a national disability awareness campaign – e.g., a short sign language video with captions and voice-over designed to raise social consciousness about inclusion and equality;
Direct resources toward the training and certification of Uzbek sign language interpreters;
Conduct joint research between UWED’s disability law clinic and Syracuse University’s Disability Rights Clinic (qualitative research designed to amplify disabled people’s narratives of inaccessibility, and to petition for law reform);
Hold joint Zoom classes between the law students at both universities;
Host an international disability law moot court competition.
Image One: This is a group of Uzbek law students from the law clinic at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. We had dinner at a restaurant in the city and engaged with Michael and Patricia Schwartz in a spirited dialogue about clinic work on behalf of disability rights. Uzbekistan ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the law students were excited about the possibilities for advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities in their country.
Image Two: Professor Michael Schwartz met with the chair of the Human Rights Council and engaged in an exchange of views on the importance of honoring the human rights of people with disabilities in Uzbekistan. Also discussed was the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States.
Image Three: Professor Michael Schwartz, his wife, Patricia Schwartz, and Richard Rubin, the second American sign language interpreter joined a class of students at the school for the Deaf in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This was an oral school in that the emphasis was on learning how to speak and read lips, but many, if not all, the students knew Uzbek sign language.
