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Uzbekistan's president Shavkat Mirziyoyev, (right, with Russian president Vladimir Putin) has taken 'baby steps' in improving the country's human rights record, since the death of brutal dictator Islam Karimov in 2016 (Photo: Wikimedia)

Uzbekistan not even close to meriting EU's trade scheme

Imagine a man has for years been nasty to his family. One day he starts being a little bit nicer to them and promises to get much better in future. Is this the time to give him a citizenship award for his slight change in behaviour?

That's essentially the question the European Union is facing over its relations with Uzbekistan. Some in Brussels think such a prize is already due, despite the fact that the central Asian country over decades has had one of the world's worst human rights re...

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The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Hugh Williamson is director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch.

Uzbekistan's president Shavkat Mirziyoyev, (right, with Russian president Vladimir Putin) has taken 'baby steps' in improving the country's human rights record, since the death of brutal dictator Islam Karimov in 2016 (Photo: Wikimedia)

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Author Bio

Hugh Williamson is director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch.

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