February 16-17, 1999 - A delegation from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe led by Helle Degn, the Danish president of the OSCE's parliamentary assembly, visited Uzbekistan. Helle Degn met with a number of high-ranking officials at the Oliy Majlis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Center for Human Rights, the Constitutional Court, and the Ministry of Justice. Justice Minister Sirojiddin Mustafoev gave her some statistics on laws and organizations in Uzbekistan. The country has passed over 700 bills. There are 1,400 religious and 263 public organizations, five political parties and over 2,000 auditing office officially registered in Uzbekistan. Her visited coincided with the Tuesday blasts in Tashkent. In a news conference she admitted that her organization, often criticizing Uzbekistan for human rights violations, now understood what kind of problems Uzbekistan had to face. She also expressed her condolences to the families of victims.

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