Reforms carried out by the Republic of Uzbekistan in the fourth quarter of 2019 and aimed at improving the human rights situation and strengthening the institution of civil society

In the Republic of Uzbekistan, in the 4th quarter of 2019 (October - December 2019), a number of regulatory legal acts were adopted aimed at improving the human rights situation in the country, developing civil society and strengthening the rule of law.Some of them represented the continuation of the reforms initiated with the advent of President Mirziyoyev and the Action Strategy voiced by him.

I. Civil Society

In the fourth quarter of 2019, as part of the development of the civil society in Uzbekistan, it is worth noting two main adopted regulatory acts.

First of all, it is necessary to mention the Law On Volunteering, which entered into force on December 2, 2019. This law was the firstof its kind in the history of independent Uzbekistan, a document that gave a legal definition of volunteering and regulating relations and forms in the field of organizing and conducting volunteer activities in the Republic.

The law also defines the goals and objectives of volunteer activities, establishes the procedure for participation and support by self-government bodies of citizens and NGOs of volunteers.

One of the most important points of this normative legal act is the establishment of measures to stimulate and support volunteer activities, including rewarding, in recognition and appreciation of the merits of individuals and legal entities in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

As mentioned earlier, this law will contribute to the development of civil society by stimulating, developing and supporting the activities of volunteers and establishing a clear legal mechanism for regulating volunteer activities.

Also, in the framework of the development of the civil society, in October 2019, Resolution of the President “On measures to support the activities of the center for the development of civil society” was adopted, aimed at further development of the Center for the Development of Civil Society, an institution dealing with issues directly related to the development and promotion of the civil society in the country.

This resolution, among other things, is aimed at creating an integrated and independent system of comprehensive study, analysis and evaluation of ongoing  reforms to build a strong and independent civil society in the Republic, carried out by the Center for the Development of Civil Society and the subsequent development of measures and a proposal to strengthen the institution of civil society.

The resolution also defined the main tasks and directions of the Center’s activities, as well as in the framework of improving and simplifying the work on developing the civil society institution, the heads of state bodies were obligated to fully support and assist the Center in fulfilling its tasks, namely the development of the civil society.

This normative legal act, in order to increase the awareness of citizens of Uzbekistan, as well as the international community about the state of civil society in the Republic and the measures taken by the Center in the framework of the development of civil society, establishes mandatory publication and media coverage of the results of analyzes and studies of the state of civil society.

In addition to the above-mentioned documents, in the 4th quarter of 2019, the Resolution of the President “On additional measures to improve the effectiveness of public control over ongoing reforms in the socio-economic sphere, as well as the activity of citizens in the implementation of democratic reforms in the country” was adopted in the Republic.

The purpose of this normative legal act is to increase the level of citizen participation in the life of the state, strengthen public control and create additional conditions for the active work of citizens in the process of government and the implementation of public oversight over decisions of the government and state bodies.

So, in conformity with the resolution, a procedure will be established in accordance with which the results of public discussion of regulatory legal acts will be submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the Cabinet of Ministers, with the obligatory indication of the results of the consideration of proposals received in order to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of proposals in the final version of the regulatory legal act.

The resolution also prescribes a reduction in the rates of state duties levied on the state registration of non-profit non-governmental organizations, along with the creation on O'zbekiston TV channel of a series of programs aimed at broadly explaining and promoting the tasks in the field of developing civil society and raising the legal awareness of citizens, which in turn will also contribute to the development and strengthening of civil society.

II. Human rights

In the field of the protection of human rights, at the end of 2019, the Republic adopted a number of normative legal acts aimed, among other things, at strengthening the rights of women in Uzbekistan.

Thus, in November 2019, Resolution of the President “On improving the quality and further expanding the coverage of medical care provided to women of reproductive age, pregnant women and children” was issued.

The purpose of this regulatory act, in accordance with the Concept of Development of the Healthcare System of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2019-2025, is to improve the system of providing modern, high-tech, specialized and international standards of medical care for women of reproductive age, pregnant women and children.

The Resolution identifies priority areas for improving the quality of medical care provided to women of reproductive age, such as expanding the coverage of medical care, creating a modern infrastructure for the provision of highly qualified and timely medical care, strengthening the material and technical base, along with repairing existing and constructing new medical care facilities for women of reproductive age, pregnant women and children. It is also worth noting the mandatory implementation of measures to create conditions for medical and social rehabilitation and the participation of children with disabilities in public life.

Also, speaking about the changes in the field of women's rights that occurred in the 4th quarter of 2019, it is also necessary to mention the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers “On measures to ensure the employment of women, further improvement of the system of development of entrepreneurship among them” dated November 20, 2019.

This regulatory document is aimed at further improving the system of employment of women and the development of entrepreneurship among them.

Under this resolutionand with the support of the Public Fund for the Support of Women and Family, 88,294 thousand unemployed women and girls will be employed.

Also, for the development of entrepreneurship among women, the resolution provides for assistance in the allocation of credit funds in the amount of more than 85 billion soums based on the recommendations of the Women's Committees.

Concluding the topic of new regulatory acts in the field of human rights protection, it is also worth mentioning the ratification by the Republic, in December 2019, of the Protocol to the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters.