Via Serica in The Diplomat: The US Congress Should Ask What Happened in Karakalpakstan

July 1, 2026

On the fourth anniversary of the July 2022 crackdown in Nukus, Via Serica brought the unresolved human rights crisis in Karakalpakstan to an international policy audience through an article published in The Diplomat. The article examines the push in Washington to grant Uzbekistan Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) and asks whether deeper economic engagement should proceed without meaningful accountability for serious human rights abuses in Karakalpakstan. Via Serica argues that closer economic relations with Uzbekistan should be accompanied by meaningful scrutiny of the government's failure to provide accountability for the July 2022 crackdown in Karakalpakstan. In July 2022, Uzbek security forces used lethal force during largely peaceful demonstrations after authorities proposed constitutional amendments that would have removed Karakalpakstan's recognition as a sovereign republic and eliminated its constitutional right to a referendum on secession.. The Uzbek government announced an official death toll, but the identities of all those killed have not been publicly disclosed, preventing independent verification of the full death toll. The article warns against allowing expanding trade and strategic ties to overshadow unresolved questions of accountability, transparency, political imprisonment, and the rights of the Karakalpak people.

Read the article in The Diplomat: https://thediplomat.com/2026/07/the-us-congress-should-ask-what-happened-in-karakalpakstan/