In Uzbekistan, strengthening interethnic and interfaith solidarity is always a priority of state policy

In recent years, geopolitical tensions have been increasing in different regions of the world, and interethnic conflicts and contradictions on religious grounds continue to worsen.

In the context of such instability, maintaining an open and constructive dialogue between different religious and cultural groups is becoming vital. Strengthening religious tolerance helps to create an atmosphere of mutual understanding, respect and generosity in society, which in turn alleviates tensions and prevents the escalation of conflicts.

Despite the enshrinement of the principle of human rights protection in the legislation of many countries, this norm is subject to restrictions, violations and attacks. According to experts, people living even in some developed countries of the world experience intolerant attitudes towards themselves or face quite serious restrictions on the rights and freedoms of certain national groups. Persecution, repression and discrimination based on ethnic origin, faith or unbelief are becoming everyday reality for many people.

In this regard, today ensuring interreligious tolerance and interethnic harmony is a collective responsibility of the world community.

Every year on November 16, the world celebrates the International Day of Tolerance. On this day in 1995, UNESCO Member States adopted the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance. According to this document, tolerance is a political and legal need, a duty to promote human rights, pluralism, democracy and the rule of law. Everyone can hold their own beliefs and recognizes the same right for others, while the views of one person cannot be imposed on others.

In 1996, the General Assembly invited UN Member States to celebrate this day annually and to organize appropriate events for it, aimed at both educational institutions and the general public.

The UN, in turn, called on the international community to develop and improve public policy in order to ensure equal opportunities for all groups and individuals in societies.

The Republic of Uzbekistan also expresses its firm commitment to ensuring and strengthening tolerance by deepening mutual understanding between cultures and representatives of different nations living in the country. These principles are the basis of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan and are enshrined in national normative legal acts aimed at protecting and ensuring human rights regardless of race, nationality, language, religion and social origin.

Constitutional guarantees provide all citizens of the country with equal socio-political conditions and opportunities for realizing their interests and participating in the socio-political life of the country.

It should be noted that the policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan on establishing interethnic and interfaith harmony is fully consistent with the main provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international legal documents. The priority areas of the political course chosen by Uzbekistan were the protection of human rights and freedoms, ensuring security, interfaith harmony and tolerance. These areas were reflected in the "Strategy of Actions for Five Priority Areas of the Country's Development in 2017-2021", "Strategy for the Development of the New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026" and the Strategy "Uzbekistan - 2030", adopted on the initiative of the President of the country Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

In particular, in the fifth direction of the "Strategy for the Development of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026" the tasks of further improving the system of state support for national and cultural centers, implementing the concept of state policy in the field of interethnic relations, creating favorable conditions for young people of different nationalities, strengthening patriotism, improving the culture of interethnic communication based on tolerance are outlined. In addition, one of the important goals of the Strategy "Uzbekistan - 2030" is to strengthen the atmosphere of interethnic harmony in society and develop friendly relations with foreign countries, as well as bringing the number of friendship societies in the country to 60 and increasing the number of sister cities.

According to these documents, ensuring social unity and religious tolerance in the country is an integral part of the development of Uzbekistan as a modern state. In particular, in recent years, more than 50 legislative acts and about 40 decisions have been adopted in the field of state building, ensuring interethnic harmony, freedom of conscience and belief. Most of these legal acts are aimed at expanding the rights and freedoms of citizens regardless of their religion or nationality, including active involvement in the management of public and state affairs.

By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated May 19, 2017, for the first time in the practice of Uzbekistan, an interdepartmental public administration body was created to coordinate the implementation of a unified state policy in the field of interethnic relations - the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendly Relations with Foreign Countries. Also in 2019, the Concept of State Policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Field of Interethnic Relations was approved, providing for the implementation of a unified state policy in this area, the formation of mutually respectful relations between representatives of different nationalities and peoples.

The activities of the Committee on Religious Affairs, which coordinates the relationship between government agencies and religious organizations, have also been improved.

At present, these government agencies are making a significant contribution to ensuring tolerance, interethnic and interfaith harmony in the country.

New mechanisms for interfaith dialogue have also been developed. In 2018, a new composition of the Council on Confessions under the Committee on Religious Affairs was approved, which expanded from 9 to 16 members due to representatives of all faiths. The main tasks of the Council are to ensure tolerant interaction between religious organizations, assist them in their activities, jointly develop proposals and measures to ensure interreligious cooperation.

Along with this, the "Tolerance Week" is held annually in Uzbekistan at a high organizational level, timed to coincide with November 16 - the International Day of Tolerance. All events allow demonstrating the positive experience accumulated by Uzbekistan in strengthening mutual unity and harmony, friendly ties between peoples and religious confessions, educating young people on the basis of the noblest ideas. As part of the "Tolerance Week", events aimed at maintaining peace and harmony between peoples, essay competitions, exhibitions "National Traditions and Customs", musical events, poetry evenings, festivals are organized in mahallas and educational institutions of the country. Scientific, practical and educational events will be held on the topics "We are one people living in one country", "Religious education and interethnic tolerance - a condition for the stability of society", "Interethnic harmony and tolerance - ancient values", as well as round tables.

At the same time, in 2019 and 2022, the holding of the international forum "Dialogue of Declarations" by the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with the Institute for Global Engagement (USA) with the support of the relevant ministries and departments of Uzbekistan in the historical cities of the country is part of Uzbekistan's consistent efforts to practically implement the principles and provisions enshrined in the Special Resolution of the UN General Assembly "Enlightenment and Religious Tolerance", adopted in 2018 on the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as the main UN document.

Following this forum, representatives of various faiths, prominent theologians, religious scholars and legal scholars from 10 countries of the world adopted the "Bukhara Declaration", which emphasizes the important contribution of Uzbekistan to the establishment of ideas of religious tolerance and interethnic harmony on a global scale.

At the same time, the President of the country Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in his speeches at high-level events, repeatedly draws the attention of the international community to the inadmissibility of manifestations of religious intolerance and Islamophobia, which have recently been observed in some countries.

In particular, in 2023, at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Head of our country put forward a number of ideas and initiatives that also concern ensuring interreligious tolerance.

The practical implementation of the initiatives of the Head of the country was the holding of international scientific and practical conferences on the topics "The Role of the Scientific Heritage of Imam Termizi in Islamic Civilization" and "Islam - the Religion of Peace and Goodness" in the cities of Termez, Tashkent and Khiva in October of this year. More than 70 leaders of international organizations, religious figures, muftis and famous scientists from 22 countries of the world, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Oman, Russia, the USA, France, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India and Pakistan, took part in the events.

The main goal of the conference was the widespread promotion of the values ​​of Islam, its peaceful essence in the context of intensive globalization, educating young people in the spirit of religious tolerance and respect for universal values, as well as conveying to the international community the experience of Uzbekistan and its efforts to maintain a balance of religiosity and secularism.

Following the conference, prominent religious figures unanimously supported the teachings of Uzbek theologians, free from extremist interpretations, which contribute to the strengthening of interethnic and interfaith relations. And also, through education, they called on the world community to confront dangerous conspiracies that threaten global stability.

The implementation of these initiatives has allowed us to create a platform for disseminating the unique experience and established traditions of religious tolerance in our country at the regional and international levels, to strengthen expert dialogue and exchange of opinions on ensuring interfaith harmony between countries.

Obviously, the interethnic factor plays a major role in maintaining socio-political stability. Historically, representatives of various cultures, faiths and civilizations - different peoples and ethnic groups - have lived in friendship and good neighborliness on the territory of Uzbekistan. Even in the most difficult periods of the history of Uzbekistan, there were no conflicts on religious grounds between representatives of different faiths. Peaceful coexistence was largely facilitated by such ancient qualities inherent in the inhabitants of the region, regardless of their nationality and religion, as mutual respect, kindness, hospitality and cordiality. The continuity of these qualities and traditions, passed down from generation to generation, ensure tolerance in a diverse society.

Currently, representatives of more than 130 nations and nationalities live in the country, more than 150 national cultural centers and about 40 friendship societies operate, the activities of which are based on the principles of careful attitude to history and comprehensive support of cultural and spiritual values, national traditions and customs of all peoples and ethnic diasporas living in Uzbekistan.

At the same time, more than 2,300 religious organizations of 16 different faiths operate in our country, including: Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Full Gospel, Adventist and other Christian churches, as well as religious communities of Jews, Baha'is, Krishnaites and Buddhists. Representatives of different faiths in our country freely celebrate their various religious holidays.

The culture of tolerance is an important element of a harmonious society, so its education must begin in early childhood, especially during school years. During this period of life, moral values ​​and the ability to be tolerant of people of different cultures, nations and religions are formed, which contributes to positive interaction and mutual understanding. In Uzbekistan, where representatives of many nations and nationalities live, education in more than 10 thousand general education institutions is conducted in 7 languages ​​- Uzbek, Karakalpak, Russian, Tajik, Kazakh, Turkmen and Kyrgyz.

Strengthening interethnic and interfaith solidarity in Uzbekistan, educating the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism, national and universal values, is always a priority of the state policy, which is practically reflected in reality.

The principles of tolerance and humanity have deeply penetrated into all spheres of life of our society. In any region of the country there are mahallas, where representatives of different ethnic groups and faiths live peacefully and amicably. They jointly celebrate national holidays, help and support each other. Thus, in places of their compact residence, mutual enrichment of cultures occurs, which is an important element in ensuring tolerance and stability in society.

In general, the policy pursued in Uzbekistan in the field of strengthening mutual respect, tolerance between representatives of all nations and nationalities living in Uzbekistan, as well as various religious confessions, is designed to ensure interethnic and interreligious unity in society.

At a time when national-ethnic relations in the world are becoming more complicated, and even in the most developed countries problems of discrimination, humiliation and oppression of representatives of a small number of nations are emerging, the principles of ensuring interethnic and interfaith harmony chosen by Uzbekistan, without exaggeration, can be considered as an exemplary example. The way of life of the peoples of Uzbekistan, formed over the centuries, continues to serve as a solid basis for establishing a dialogue between peoples and ensuring interfaith tolerance, stability of society and development of the state.

Samariddin Sattorov,

Chief Researcher of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan