Update from Tashkent—Human Rights Watch's Work on Uzbekistan

The Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute hosted a discussion with Andrea Berg, Researcher, Human Rights Watch, Uzbekistan, and Rachel Denber, Deputy Director, Europe and Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch.

Andrea Berg heads the Human Rights Watch (HRW) office in Tashkent and is one of the few Western NGO representatives allowed to stay in the country. Prior to joining HRW, Berg was a senior researcher at the Institute of Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, Germany. She has conducted field research in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in the past several years, focusing on problems of democratization, community development, education, and gender issues. Berg has published widely in both academic and development journals and books.

Rachel Denber is Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch. Prior to her current post Denber was the head of Human Rights Watch's Moscow office from 1992–1997. She earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in international relations and a master's degree in political science from Columbia University, where she studied at the Harriman Institute. She specializes in countries of the former Soviet Union, and speaks fluent Russian and French. Upon joining Human Rights Watch in 1991 as a research associate, she traveled on research and advocacy missions in Russia, the southern Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Baltic states. She has written and edited reports on human rights throughout the region.

Cassandra Cavanaugh, OSI regional director for Central Eurasia and the Caucasus, introduced the event.

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The Open Forum speaker series aims to enhance policy debate on key issues facing Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the Middle East, and to raise public awareness of important developments in these regions. Monthly Open Forum events are held in New York and Washington, DC, and are attended by leading policymakers, scholars, NGO staff, and journalists. All events are free of charge.