Yangiliklar - O‘zbekiston Respublikasining Belgiya Qirolligidagi elchixonasi

Ўзбекистон Республикаси Президенти Шавкат Мирзиёев 2 июль куни Нукус шаҳрига ташриф буюрди.

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Президент Республики Узбекистан Шавкат Мирзиёев 2 июля посетил город Нукус.

Как известно, в эти дни в нашей стране продолжается обсуждение конституционной реформы. Согласно действующему законодательству, парламент наделен полномочием внесения изменений в Основной закон. Но Президент предложил рассмотреть соответствующий проект закона на всенародном обсуждении и принять его путем референдума.

Однако в отдельных случаях встречается недопонимание толкования сути данного вопроса. В частности, группа лиц выразила недовольство некоторыми нормами, предусмотренными проектом, касающимися Республики Каракалпакстан. Вследствие чего 1 июля этого года на центральных улицах города Нукуса были организованы демонстрации. Предприняты попытки незаконного захвата зданий местных органов государственной власти.

В связи с этим глава государства прибыл в город Нукус и провел встречу с депутатами Жокаргы Кенеса и представителями общественности Каракалпакстана.

Шавкат Мирзиёев отметил, что конституционная реформа является вопросом, имеющим чрезвычайно важное значение для сегодняшней и завтрашней жизни нашей Родины. В ходе обсуждений наш многонациональный народ высказывает множество предложений и рекомендаций.

Согласно процедуре, обнародованный проект Конституционного закона “О внесении изменений и дополнений в Конституцию Республики Узбекистан” пройдет всенародное обсуждение. После этого на основе выдвинутых гражданами мнений и замечаний он будет доработан Законодательной палатой. Затем проект будет вынесен на референдум Республики Узбекистан, и наши граждане посредством свободного голосования выразят свое волеизъявление по данному вопросу. Только после этого вносимые в Конституцию Республики Узбекистан изменения и дополнения будут иметь законный характер.

– Словом, этот процесс займет столько времени, сколько потребуется для совершенствования обновляемой Конституции. В этой работе мы будем действовать, только советуясь с нашим народом, – сказал Президент.

Данный проект Конституционного закона, представленный вниманию нашего народа, еще не принят, а лишь вынесен на всенародное обсуждение С учетом этого, а также этнических, культурных особенностей, национальных обычаев и ценностей, особого юридического статуса Республики Каракалпакстан считаю необходимым оставить в проекте без изменений нормы относительно правового статуса Республики Каракалпакстан. То есть, статьи 70, 71, 72, 74, 75 Конституции останутся неизменными.

– Еще раз повторю: бережное сохранение уз дружбы и братства, согласия и взаимного уважения, формировавшихся между узбекским и каракалпакским народами на протяжении столетий, царящей в нашей стране атмосферы мира и стабильности – наш общий долг. Мы вместе обязательно построим Новый Узбекистан, Новый Каракалпакстан!, – отметил глава государства.

Подчеркнуто, все реформы, их обсуждения, безусловно, должны осуществляться на основе демократических принципов и правовых норм.

Вместе с тем к тем, кто пытается подорвать мир, спокойствие и общественную безопасность, будут приняты строгие меры в соответствии с законодательством. У Республики Узбекистан достаточно сил и возможностей для практического обеспечения принципа “Закон превыше всего, наказание за преступление неотвратимо”.

Президент призвал всех наших сограждан к единству и сплоченности, благоразумию и не поддаваться различным провокациям и подрывным действиям.

В ходе встречи выступили депутаты Жокаргы Кенеса Республики Каракалпакстан, представители общественности и высказались в поддержку братства и единства нашего народа.

“Freedom House” халқаро нодавлат ташкилоти докладлари муносабати билан тузилган медиа-интервенция режалари доирасида “Ўзкомназорат” давлат инспекцияси томонидан тақдим этилган Ўзбекистонда Интернет эркинлиги ва персонал маълумотларга янгича муносабатлар мавзуларига бағишланган мақолалар рус ва инглиз тилларида.

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Article С6 of Media Intervention Plan on "Internet Freedom in Uzbekistan" for 2022 report of the Freedom House international non-governmental organization

“New approaches to personal data: security measures are being improved”

The human right to protect personal information is one of the fundamental rights in the modern information world. The methods of its processing with the use of technical means and their vulnerability make it possible to access to confidential information of third parties, which can cause damage to the individual and her interests.

Personal data is spreading faster and faster due to advent and development of technology. In a contemporary modern digital reality, such information can be used against a person. Therefore, states around the world are trying to ensure the protection of the personal data of their citizens.

Europe

The European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to protect personal data. This document was adopted in April 2016, it entered into force in May 2018. It applies not only to EU member states, but also to any legal entity, even a foreign one, that processes personal data of EU citizens.

USA

In the United States, federal law defines only the duties of government agencies in the field of personal data protection. Regulations that relate to legal entities processing personal data are adopted at the state level. For example, in the state of California in 2020, a law was adopted regulating the rules for data collection and work with them. In accordance with this law, an individual who uses the services of Internet companies has the right to know: what information is collected about him by Internet companies, for what purpose the companies collect this information, how the data will be used.

Malaysia

In 2010, the Personal Data Protection Act of Malaysia introduced a ban on the transfer of personal data outside the country. Cross-border transfer of personal data is possible only under certain conditions and in a number of exceptional cases. The consent of the subject of personal data must be obtained if there is a need to fulfill the contract between the subject and the operator, the need to fulfill the contract between the operator and a third party, which was concluded at the request or in the interests of the subject of personal data.

India

In accordance with India's National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy, all data collected using government resources must be stored in India. In February 2014, the National Security Council of India proposed to ensure the localization of all personal data of Indian citizens within territory of India.

All the reforms carried out in Uzbekistan are based on universal principles enshrined in the Constitution, and according to these principles, the highest value is a person, his life, freedom, honor, dignity and other inalienable rights.

Today, large-scale measures are being implemented in our country to ensure reliable protection of rights and freedoms, respect for the honor and dignity of the individual. Their results can be seen in high milestones achieved in recent years, in improvement of the welfare of the people, in the growth of the country's authority on the world stage.

The Constitution guarantees legal protection to its citizens both on its territory and abroad. At the same time, according to the Law "On Principles and Guarantees of Freedom of Information", legal entities and individuals who receive, own and use information about citizens are liable under the law for violating the procedure for using this information.

Currently, large-scale measures are being taken in Uzbekistan aimed at ensuring its independence, transformation into an independent state institution for the reliable protection of human rights and freedoms. The new requirements of the Law "On Personal Data" will improve the standards for storing personal data of citizens of the republic, strengthen the security of personal data of citizens.

As part of the reforms carried out by the President of Uzbekistan, the country pays special attention to improving the culture of using information and communication means by citizens, preventing violations of privacy related to the disclosure of personal and confidential information on the Internet, as well as creating a system of combating against cybercrime.

An accelerated development of information and communication technologies is one of the main priorities of the state policy of Uzbekistan. The digital economy is turning into a "driver" sector in the strategy of further development of the republic, the range of IT-services is constantly expanding and exports are increasing, the goal of transforming Uzbekistan into a regional IT-center is being systematically achieved, and in the era of expanding the information space and the development of digitalization, constant work is being carried out with competent authorities and departments to protect against cyber threats.

Regulation of relations in the field of personal data in the Republic of Uzbekistan is carried out by the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Personal Data" of July 2, 2019 No. ZRU-547 (adopted by the Legislative Chamber of the Republic of Uzbekistan on April 16, 2019, approved by the Senate of the Republic of Uzbekistan on June 21, 2019).

According to Article 8 of this Law, the authorized state body in the field of personal data is the State Personalization Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

In turn, the State Personalization Center exercises, within its powers, state control over compliance with the requirements of the legislation on personal data, and makes mandatory prescriptions for legal entities and individuals to eliminate violations of the legislation on personal data.

At the beginning of this year, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed the Law "On Amendments and additions to certain legislative Acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan" No. ZRU-666 of January 14, 2021.

This regulatory legal act introduced a new Article 271 (Special conditions for processing personal data of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan) into the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Personal Data" No. ZRU-547 of July 2, 2019, according to which, "the owner or operator when processing personal data of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan using information technologies, including in the world information network Internet, is obliged to ensure their collection, systematization and storage in personal data databases on technical means physically located on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan and registered in accordance with the established procedure in the State Register of Personal Data databases.".

It should be noted that in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Personal Data", as well as in order to effectively organize state control over compliance with legal requirements when processing personal data of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan approved Resolution No. 255 of April 29, 2021 "Regulation on the procedure for state control over compliance with certain conditions storage of personal data of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan".

According to this Provision, the State Personalization Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, on the basis of the information received, within its competence, submits to the State Inspection for Control in the Field of Informatization and Telecommunications of the Republic of Uzbekistan a conclusion on violations of special conditions for processing personal data of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan for taking measures against owners and (or) operators in accordance with the procedure established by law.

It should be noted that many services, particularly, payment services, are provided exclusively in electronic form in the information space. Therefore, the volume of personal data in these processes has increased significantly, i.e., many of our citizens have to enter their personal data into these information systems for objective reasons.

In such circumstances, each country has the right to protect the personal data of its citizens by making appropriate requirements.

The above is especially relevant taking into account the trends of increasing cases of data leakage in social networks and other Internet resources in the world. As a result, the personal data of millions of people, as well as citizens of Uzbekistan, become stolen. At the same time, there is an increasing risk that illegally obtained personal data of citizens may be used by certain structures and others to realize their socio-political and economic goals.

In many countries, for example, in Canada, Australia, Argentina, companies that have access to personal data of citizens are required to store them on the territory of the country.

In this context, it can be confidently stated that the requirements of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Personal Data" allow to unify the norms for storing personal data of citizens in the Republic of Uzbekistan, which not only ensures the security of personal data of citizens, but also stimulates the further development of the IT-industry.

At the beginning of last year, all owners and operators of personal data, both domestic and foreign, were informed of the need to ensure compliance with the requirements of Article 271 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Personal Data" when processing personal data of citizens.

According to the results of monitoring conducted by the authorized body in the middle of last year, it was revealed that in foreign social networks and messengers, personal data of citizens are processed in violation of the requirements of national legislation. In this regard, the prescriptions have been issued to some companies that own social networks.

Most of the companies that received letters and prescriptions, correctly and adequately perceived the essence of the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and at the moment, the authorized bodies, together with many global IT-companies, are working purposefully to assist and assist in resolving issues of placing their technical means of processing personal data of citizens on the territory of the republic.

As a result, currently the database of personal data of some foreign companies is already localized on the territory of the republic.

In accordance with the current procedure for processing personal data of citizens of the republic, a systematic work is underway to improve the relevant laws and regulatory documents in this direction, taking into account public opinion and foreign experience.

In particular, the relevant ministries and departments in Uzbekistan are currently working to create conditions for free access to foreign social networks and messengers on the territory of the republic. This is an important step towards liberalizing the rules defining the use of personal data, and, first of all - access to them.

Unofficial translation

Article A3 of Media Intervention Plan on "Internet Freedom in Uzbekistan" for 2022 report of the Freedom House international non-governmental organization

"Freedom of Internet use in Uzbekistan. Does the legislation work?"

- guarantees of access to Internet resources;

- comments on the problem of access to certain social network resources (taking into account the interests of the state);

- analysis of the ongoing work to ensure information security.

In recent years, thanks to the political will of President Sh.M.Mirziyoyev, reforms have been carried out in the information sphere of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the field of ensuring public access to information, including on the Internet, by increasing the openness and transparency of the activities of state bodies, increasing guarantees of freedom of speech and the development of the media. The Republic of Uzbekistan continues its policy of ensuring a full freedom of expression in our country and strengthening the media as a real fourth branch of government.

It should be emphasized that for these purposes, a close attention is paid to improving legislation taking into account advanced foreign experience. A solid legal framework has been created for the development of the media, ensuring freedom of speech and information, as well as improving the legal framework for activities and protection of professional rights of journalists.

More than 20 laws have been adopted in order to liberalize the activities of the media and ensure the rights of journalists. Mechanisms have been created from the state to support the media (provision of tax benefits and preferences, provision of state subsidies, grants and social orders, as well as social support for editorial staff).

An important aspect is the simplification of the procedure for registration and licensing of media activities, as well as the improvement of the procedure for registering websites on the global Internet as mass media.

In addition, legal mechanisms have been established to provide governmental support to journalists and creative teams by providing benefits and preferences for taxes and other mandatory payments, providing financial and social assistance, expanding the rights and obligations of the founder, editor, and journalist. All this contributes to the creation of legal, economic and organizational conditions that ensure freedom of activity, access to information, protection of mass media from illegal decisions of government agencies, actions or inaction of their officials.

It should be particularly noted that the current legislation has been amended accordingly in order to liberalize criminal liability. In particular, the punishment in the form of imprisonment for slander and insult has been abolished.

In general, there is a dynamic expansion of the information space of Uzbekistan due to the ongoing policy of support and development of media. So, over the past 5 years, the number of registered mass media has increased by 29% and amounted to 1,962 units. 677 of them are online media, which are updated daily with up-to-date information about events taking place in the country and abroad, analytical materials on socio-economic, socio-political issues. In addition, there are large number of users who identify themselves as a blogger and are actively engaged in media activities. It should be emphasized that in recent years there has been an activity of the media and civil society in the process of developing mechanisms for self-regulation of the information sphere.

In recent years, the restoration of technical access to the web resources of number of foreign publications and human rights organizations has been ensured. Among them are the websites "Voice of America", "Eurasianet", "BBC", " Deutsche Welle", "Amnesty International", "Human Rights Watch", "Reporters without Borders" (Reporters sans frontieres), etc.

In the latest "Press Freedom Index" for 2022, Uzbekistan improved its position by 24 points compared to last year's rating.

According to the report of the UN’s International Telecommunication Union for 2021, Uzbekistan was among the four countries that met the UN indicators on two percent availability of prices for broadband mobile Internet services.

As a result, the population of Uzbekistan is becoming an active Internet users, social networks are gaining more and more popularity in the country. At the same time, almost 55% of the population of the republic is young people. The most active users of social networks are mainly teenagers and young people under 35 years of age. Today, according to the Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications of Uzbekistan, 27.2 million people use the Internet in the republic. 25 million of them use the mobile Internet and communicate in messengers.

The state policy in the field of informatization is aimed at creating an integral and self-sufficient national information system, taking into account current global trends in the development and improvement of information resources, technologies and systems.

According to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Informatization", the main directions of the state policy in the field of informatization are:

– realization of the constitutional rights of every citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan to freely receive and disseminate information, ensuring access to information resources;

– creation of all favorable, exhaustive conditions for access to international information networks and to Internet worldwide information network.

In accordance with Article 121 "Dissemination of publicly available information on the Internet World Information Network" of the Law "On Informatization", the owner of a website or a page of a website or other information resource, including bloggers, is obliged to prevent the use of websites and (or) pages of a website or other information resource in the Internet worldwide network, in particular:

– calls for a violent change of the existing constitutional system, territorial integrity of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

– propaganda of war, violence and terrorism, as well as ideas of religious extremism, separatism and fundamentalism;

– dissemination of information inciting national, racial, ethnic or religious enmity, as well as discrediting the honor and dignity or business reputation of citizens, allowing interference into their private life;

– propaganda of pornography, the cult of violence and cruelty, as well as incitement to commit suicide.

As a result of monitoring conducted by the authorized body in the period 2021-2022, 4880 violations were detected on 980 information resources within the "UZ" domain zone.

In order to eliminate the mentioned violations, over 350 prescriptions were issued to Internet service providers, registrars and administrators of the "UZ" domain zone.

In case of non-compliance with the requirements of the legislation, a specially authorized body restricts access to websites and (or) pages of Internet websites, in strict accordance with the norms of national legislation.

The global processes of information globalization dictate not only the need for the widespread introduction of ICT into the economy and other spheres of life of countries, but also ensuring the security of information systems. The Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the first country in Central Asia joined to international security system in the field of information and communication technologies.

The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Principles and Guarantees of Freedom of Information" regulates measures to ensure information security at all three levels: individuals, society and the State. Therefore, this document is rightfully considered fundamental, on the basis of which public relations are regulated when receiving, using, storing data, in the field of information technology, including information security.

In accordance with Article 14 of this Law, the information security of society is achieved by ensuring the development of the foundations of a democratic civil society, freedom of the media, prevention of illegal informational and psychological impact onto public consciousness.

It should be noted that information security is one of the most important directions of the state policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

According to the International Telecommunication Union, the global damage caused by cybercrime amounted to about 6 trillion US dollars in 2021. Today, Uzbekistan pays special attention to strengthening cybersecurity at the national level.

In this connection, on April 5, 2022, Uzbekistan adopted the Law "On Cybersecurity". This document defines new principles for the development of the cybersecurity sector for the next decade, allows establishing international norms and standards of cybersecurity, strengthening cooperation with partners around the world to promote an open, stable and secure cyberspace.

Ўзбекистон Республикаси Президенти Шавкат Мирзиёевнинг 20 июнь куни Конституциявий комиссия аъзолари билан учрашдаги нутқи

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L'OBJECTIF PRINCIPAL DE LA RÉFORME CONSTITUTIONNELLE EST DE GARANTIR DANS LA PRATIQUE L'HONNEUR ET LA DIGNITÉ DE L'HOMME, LES INTÉRÊTS DU PEUPLE

Déclaration du Président de la République d'Ouzbékistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev lors d'une réunion avec les membres de la Commission constitutionnelle de l'Oliy Majlis le 20 juin 2022

Quatrièmement, notre idée nationale est fondée sur les qualités humanistes de notre peuple, notamment la générosité, l'aide désintéressée aux nécessiteux et la création de conditions égales pour les personnes handicapées.

Environ 1 million de personnes handicapées vivent actuellement dans le pays. Ces dernières années, la politique de l'état concernant le soutien et la création des conditions égales pour eux a été portée à un tout autre niveau. En particulier, la Loi des droits des personnes handicapées a été adoptée par le Parlement, la Convention internationale relative aux droits des personnes handicapées a été ratifiée et un cadre juridique solide a été mis en place.

Sur cette base, les droits des personnes handicapées sont garantis par l’égalité d’accès aux possibilités offertes par la société, y compris la circulation, les services de santé, l’éducation, les sports, l’emploi, la réadaptation et la participation à la vie sociale et politique.

Il est désormais le principe « les personnes handicapées sont des membres à part entière de la société », leurs droits et garanties constitutionnels sont notre devoir humain. Je propose notamment l'inclusion de ces dispositions : « il est interdit d'isoler les personnes handicapées, de restreindre leurs droits, de ne pas créer les conditions pour leur accès aux installations et aux services. Pour réaliser leurs droits et libertés et leurs intérêts légitimes, l’état crée les conditions nécessaires et l’égalité des chances. L'éducation inclusive est organisée dans les établissements d'enseignement pour les enfants qui ont besoin d'une attention particulière ».

Cinquièmement, l’objectif important de la réforme constitutionnelle est d’assurer une protection fiable des droits de l’homme au travail et à des conditions de vie décentes, de protéger contre le chômage et de réduire la pauvreté.

Les livres « de fer », « de femmes » et « de jeunes », le système de travail dans le cadre des makhallas et des familles, mises en œuvre afin de prévenir les problèmes sociaux, donnent ses premiers résultats positifs dans le pays dans une courte période de temps. Cependant, des garanties constitutionnelles solides sont nécessaires pour que ce travail soit mené de manière régulière et systématique et que le processus soit irréversible.

En outre, je propose de consacrer dans notre Loi fondamentale le droit de chacun à travailler dans des conditions favorables, à un salaire décent et à introduire une norme selon laquelle le salaire minimum doit être suffisant pour la vie de la personne et de sa famille.

Depuis des temps immémoriaux, notre peuple a des qualités telles que le respect et l’attention aux femmes qui donnent vie à la nouvelle génération et éduquent des enfants. La Loi fondamentale devrait interdire le re

Ўзбекистон Республикаси Президенти Шавкат Мирзиёевнинг 20 июнь куни Конституциявий комиссия аъзолари билан учрашувдаги нутқи

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L'OBJECTIF PRINCIPAL DE LA RÉFORME CONSTITUTIONNELLE EST DE GARANTIR DANS LA PRATIQUE L'HONNEUR ET LA DIGNITÉ DE L'HOMME, LES INTÉRÊTS DU PEUPLE

Déclaration du Président de la République d'Ouzbékistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev lors d'une réunion avec les membres de la Commission constitutionnelle de l'Oliy Majlis le 20 juin 2022

Chers membres de la Commission et participants à la réunion !

J’ai le plaisir de vous rencontrer aujourd’hui, à l’occasion d’une période de réformes politiques très importantes pour notre peuple.

Dans un temps très court, la Commission constitutionnelle a fait un travail considérable pour améliorer la Loi principal du pays.

Aujourd'hui, nous nous sommes réunis pour échanger des vues, au cours d'un dialogue ouvert pour aborder des priorités dans cette direction.

Il ne fait aucun doute que les travaux de la Commission constitutionnelle renforceront encore le cadre juridique des réformes dém

Адлия вазирлиги томонидан тайёрланган “Legal guarantees for NGO activities: steps towards recognized standards” мавзусидаги мақола

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Legal guarantees for NGO activities: steps towards recognized standards

In recent years, civil society institutions in Uzbekistan, including non-governmental non-profit organizations (NGO), are involved in various spheres of public life, as well as actively participating in the new stage of reforms in the country.

In particular, the third sector is exercising effective public control and social partnership between public and non-governmental organizations. In addition, the activities of NGOs play an important role in protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, improving their social, economic activity and legal culture.

The Government of Uzbekistan is taking long-term measures to strengthen the role of NGOs in all areas of public and social life, based on the UN recommendations. In accordance with Article 18 of the UN General Assembly "Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms"[1] non-governmental organizations have important role to play and a responsibility in safeguarding democracy, promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms and contributing to the promotion and advancement
of democratic societies, institutions and processes.

Therefore, in Uzbekistan special attention is paid to improving the legal framework for the activities of NGOs and their development in accordance with international standards.

Since the start of accelerated reforms in the field of civil society development
in 2017, 7 important legal documents have been adopted to provide legal guarantees to NGOs. As a result:

- terms of agreement with the judiciary on the planned activities of NGOs have been canceled and the procedure for notification has been introduced. Therefore, today NGOs carry out their activities freely and without bureaucratic barriers. This is evident in the number of events held by them. In 2021, the number of events organized by NGOs exceeded 11,000[2];

– the issues of receiving funds from foreign donors, accepting grant funds to the accounts of NGOs in any banking institutions have been simplified. Previously, such banking operations were carried out only in a relatively small number
of branches of Asaka Bank and the National Bank, which partially prevented NGOs from freely managing their funds.

The repeal of this procedure complies with the Principle 51 of Recommendation CM/Rec (2007)14 of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to member states on the legal status of non-governmental organisations in Europe, which states that NGOs with legal personality should have access to banking facilities[3];

– the financial freedom of NGOs has been expanded, and now the total amount of funds received by NGOs from foreign sources has been increased from twenty to one hundred times the base calculation amount (from about $ 546 to $ 2,733). As a result, in 2018, NGOs attracted $ 9.2 million in foreign investment, while by 2020 this figure increased of 5 times and reached to $ 51.3 million.

Undoubtedly, these opportunities will serve to further strengthen the financial and technical base of NGOs, significantly increase the scope and efficiency of their activities;

– launched a single interactive portal "shaffofxayriya.uz", which will ensure full transparency in the collection and distribution of charitable funds, establish public control over their targeted use;

– the Ministry of Justice has launched a web resource "e-ngo.uz", which allows to provide services in electronic form for the convenience of NGOs. In 2021 alone, more than 11000 public services were provided to non-governmental organizations through this portal[4];

– reporting types of non-governmental organizations have been reduced and their form has been simplified and become fully electronic. Due to the simplification of NGOs' reporting to the judiciary and tax authorities, the rate of timely and quality reporting by non-profit organizations increased by 35%, and the number of sanctions applied to them by the judiciary decreased by 80.9%;

– the introduced information systems allowed to register NGOs, as well as to reduce the registration period of their symbols by half - to 15 days. As a result, one of the bureaucratic barriers to the activities of non-governmental organizations has been eliminated, which has led to a significant increase in their number.

For example, in 2014 total number of NGOs was 7866, while in 2016 this amounted to 8447, in 2018 – 9860, and by the end of 2021 the number of NGOs reached to 10034. The fact that since the beginning of 2022 alone 232 non-governmental non-profit organizations have been registered demonstrates to the effectiveness of work in this area[5].

Special attention is also paid to the procedures for simplifying the registration of NGOs by ensuring transparency and eliminating standards that do not meet modern requirements, and the draft Code of NGOs is being revised thoroughly.

In developing the draft Code, working groups and experts are studying international standards and best international practices in this area (USA, Germany, France, Russia, Georgia, etc.).

It should be noted that the adoption of medium-term policy documents, such as the Strategy of Actions on five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021 and the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On approval of the Concept of Civil Society Development
in 2021-2025" aimed at ensuring the active participation of third sector in important political, social and economic spheres of the country shows the strong political will of the Uzbek leadership.

Furthermore, Uzbekistan also attaches great importance to the financial support of non-governmental organizations. In particular:

– special attention was paid to the formation of the institutional framework for financial support of non-governmental organizations. In particular, the Public fund for support of non-governmental organizations and other civil society institutions under the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the National association of non-governmental organizations of Uzbekistan were established.

– In 2021, the Public fund for support of non-governmental organizations and other civil society institutions allocated 16 billion soums (1.45 million US dollars) from the state budget to finance more than 290 programs and projects of NGOs and other civil society institutions;

- in the regional centers so-called “houses of non-governmental organizations” were established which helped to solve the problems of about 500 NGOs and their socially useful activities were restored[6]. In particular, newly established non-governmental non-profit organizations operating in these areas, as well as in socially important areas, were housed in these buildings on a free of charge basis.

Such opportunities will serve as a significant financial support for some NGOs with insufficient material and technical base to operate, while financially
and economically independent NGOs can direct saved funds to new projects.

– the abolition of the fee for the state registration (re-registration) of symbols of public associations of persons with disabilities, veterans, elders, women, children is in line with Council of Europe Recommendation No. 14 of 2007 on the Legal Status of Non-Governmental Organizations in Europe.

Principle 57 of this recommendation states that “NGOs should be assisted in the pursuit of their objectives through public funding and other forms of support, such as exemption from income and other taxes or duties on membership fees” [7].

– In addition, State duty for registration of regional non-governmental organizations was reduced to the 50 percent of its initial amount;

– by 2021, the amount of funds allocated from the state budget for state support of NGOs and other civil society institutions has increased dramatically. For instance, by 2021 amount of finances allocated for the state support of NGOs increased by 36 times compared to 2008, 16 times compared to 2010 and 6.5 times compared to 2017.

Growth dynamics of funds allocated from the state budget in 2008 - 2021 (in USD thousands)

Diagram - 1

Over the past five years, the government has allocated 171.2 billion soums ($ 15.5 million) from the state budget to support the active participation of non-governmental organizations and other civil society institutions in the implementation of projects aimed at addressing pressing socio-economic issues.

It should be noted that the social partnership between NGOs and public agencies is also developing rapidly in support of vulnerable groups, especially women, youth, legal education and entrepreneurship. For example:

– in the form of social partnership major projects of NGOs and other civil society institutions were implemented covering such areas as education, culture, medicine, ecology, cadastre, construction, utilities and employment. Overall amount of these social partnership projects reached to 11 billion soums ($ 1.03 million);

– In order to ensure the transparency of civil society institutions,
the development and implementation of a non-governmental organizations transparency index was an important factor in ensuring transparency in the implementation of social projects in this area.

In 2021 based on this methodology, the assessment was conducted on the basis of information provided by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the National association of non-governmental organizations of Uzbekistan on the activities of more than 100 national NGOs. In turn, the transparency of the activities of non-governmental organizations contributes to increasing public confidence
in NGOs and attracting the necessary resources.

It should be noted that despite the ongoing reforms launched by state to create conveniences and benefits for non-governmental organizations, to ensure their freedom of activity, there are still pressing issues in this area.

In particular, it is necessary to increase the number of social partnership projects between NGOs and state with allocated funds by public agencies at the expense of extra-budgetary funds, to work on the preparation and implementation of grant projects which possess social significance.

At the same time, in order to increase the legal knowledge and literacy
of representatives of non-governmental organizations and to inform them about the requirements of the legislation, need to organize awareness-raising courses and a series of seminars with wide involvement of NGOs.

Despite the creation of an adequate legal framework, in practice social partnership needs to be strengthened further as a priority area. Development of cooperation between government agencies and non-governmental organizations can become an effective mechanism for addressing a wide range of social problems
of citizens.

To conclude, the measures taken in our country are aimed at strengthening NGOs so they could contribute to the development of civil society, support government activities in this area, as well as ensuring their active participation in the new stage of reforms taking place in Uzbekistan.

The implementation of the above-mentioned priorities will allow NGOs to be actively involved into coping with pressing issues of society, offering innovative ideas for further socio-economic and political-legal development of the country and serve as an effective platform for the exchange of views on important issues of further development of the state and society.

Muzraf Ikramov,

Deputy Minister of Justice

of the Republic of Uzbekistan

[1] Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

adopted 09 December 1998 by General Assembly resolution 53/144. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/declaration-right-and-responsibility-individuals-groups-and#:~:text=Everyone%20has%20the%20right%2C%20individually,the%20national%20and%20international%20levels.

[2] “Looking at the activities of NGOs: what is changing?“ (Нодавлат нотижорат ташкилотлари фаолияти соҳасига назар: нималар ўзгармоқда?), 18.03.2022 y. https://yuz.uz/news/nodavlat-notijorat-tashkilotlari-faoliyati-sohasiga-nazar-nimalar-ozgarmoqda.

[3]Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)14 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the legal status of Non-governmental organisations in Europe, 2007. https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/7/0/33742.pdf.

[4] “Coworking centers, NGO houses, grants, new platforms” (Коворкинг-марказлари, “ННТ уйлари”, грантлар, янги платформалар), 15.06.2022 y. https://www.minjust.uz/uz/press-center/news/103870/.

[5]Official page of the portal of Non-governmental organizations of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan. https://e-ngo.uz/.

[6] “Looking at the activities of NGOs: what is changing?“ (Нодавлат нотижорат ташкилотлари фаолияти соҳасига назар: нималар ўзгармоқда?), 18.03.2022 й. https://yuz.uz/news/nodavlat-notijorat-tashkilotlari-faoliyati-sohasiga-nazar-nimalar-ozgarmoqda.

[7] Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)14 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the legal status of Non-governmental organisations in Europe, 2007. https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/7/0/33742.pdf.

Адлия вазирлиги томонидан тайёрланган “Legal guarantees for NGO activities: steps towards recognized standards” мавзусидаги мақола

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