Democracy in Uzbekistan

The monthly newsletter by the Nationwide Movement 'Yuksalish', Institute for Socio-Economic Initiatives, and the International NGO 'Regional Dialogue'

       Newsletter #40                                                                                      August 5, 2023      

This publication is prepared with the support of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)
of the US Department of State. The contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the INL or the United States Government 

Discussion of the Strategy "Uzbekistan-2030" Has Started

The CEC Approved the Results of the Presidential Election. Shavkat Mirziyoyev Won with 87.05% of the Vote

Uzbekistan's Central Election Commission has approved the results of the early presidential election held on July 9.

More than 15.6 million citizens, or almost 80% of those included in the voter lists, participated. Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected as President of Uzbekistan with 87.05% of the votes cast in the election.

The protocol reflects that 4.43% of voters voted for Adolat party candidate Robakhon Mahmudova, 4.02% for People's Democratic Party candidate Ulugbek Inoyatov and 3.74% for Abdushukur Khamzaev, candidate of the Ecoparty.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the newly elected president of Uzbekistan, took the oath of office at a joint session of the parliamentary chambers on July 14. The ceremony was broadcast live.

U.S. Says it Supports Reform Program of Uzbek President

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement following Uzbekistan's early presidential election that the United States is ready to help implement Shavkat Mirziyoyev's reform program and improve governance in the country.

The U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan has issued a statement on the results of the early presidential election.

The statement said the embassy “appreciates the participation of Uzbek citizens in the elections and notes their support for President Mirziyoyev at the polling stations.”

“As President Mirziyoyev embarks on his new mandate, the United States stands ready to help implement his program of reform and improved governance, including the rule of law, checks and balances between branches of government, and protection of individual rights. These principles, when upheld, are the foundation of representative governance,” the statement said.

“We look forward to working with President Mirziyoyev and the government of Uzbekistan to further deepen economic, educational, humanitarian and security cooperation between the United States and Uzbekistan,” the statement said.

CIS Mission: “Elections in Uzbekistan Were Transparent, Open and Fair”

The CIS observer mission for the early presidential election in Uzbekistan summarized the results of its work at a press conference.

The head of the CIS mission, Sergei Lebedev, noted that “all the necessary conditions for the work of international observers in the republic have been created”.

The Mission concluded that the July 9 elections were conducted in full compliance with the requirements of the Constitution and the Electoral Code of Uzbekistan.

In addition, the mission stated that “the elections were held on an alternative basis, were transparent, open, fair and in accordance with the principles of democratic elections, and ensured the right of citizens of Uzbekistan to freely express their will”.

Separately, Sergei Lebedev noted that “the elections were in line with the national legislation, and not some amorphous norms that were not enshrined anywhere”.

Khokims of cities and regions of Uzbekistan: who are they?

The Second Season of the “Initiative Budget” Started in Uzbekistan

The second season of the “Initiative Budget” project has started in Uzbekistan. Citizens through the Open Budget portal can participate in the allocation of part of the local budget by proposing projects to improve infrastructure, roads, schools and other facilities. The collection of proposals will last until August 6.

On July 17, Uzbekistan launched the second season of initiative budgeting, in which citizens can participate in the distribution of a part of the local budget.

The collection of proposals through the Open Budget portal will last 20 days - until August 6. After that, the stage of review and selection of proposals by a special commission will begin - from August 6 to August 26. Then voting is scheduled from August 26 to September 15.

According to preliminary estimates, more than 1.02 trillion soums will be allocated from district (city) budgets for this season (these funds will be increased until the end of the season).

Student Convicted of Spreading Nasheed Reference Has Had His Sentence Commuted

The cassation instance of the Supreme Court commuted the sentence of student Jakhongir Ulugmurodov, who was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for disseminating a reference to a nasheed (religious song). He was not acquitted, but was released from prison, having received a restriction of freedom.

The cassation instance of the Supreme Court took into account as mitigating circumstances his age, the fact that he was a student, had not been previously convicted, had a positive characteristic from the place of study, family conditions, sincere remorse for the deed.

The court deducted from the sentence the period of 5 months and 4 days when the convicted person was in custody. The young man has to serve 2 years 6 months and 26 days of the sentence. He is forbidden to leave his place of residence from 22:00 to 6:00.

As a result of the hearing Ulugmurodov was immediately released from the courtroom. At the same time, the lawyer's complaint to acquit the defendant was rejected.

The OSCE/ODIHR Mission Presented Preliminary Conclusions on the Presidential Election

Uzbekistan's early presidential election, which took place on July 9, was “technically well prepared” but lacked “genuine competition”. These were the conclusions of international observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR).

ODIHR commenced election observation on 7 June and concluded its work on 18 July. On 10 July, mission representatives presented preliminary findings. The mission, headed by Ursula Gacek, consisted of 16 experts in Tashkent and 24 long-term observers in the regions. An additional 198 observers from 26 OSCE participating States were deployed on election day.

“All registered candidates had the opportunity to campaign freely, they had equal conditions for producing and distributing campaign materials, organizing events and access to state funding,” Ursula Gacek said at a press conference in Tashkent.

Nevertheless, according to observers, the election campaign “was sluggish” and campaign meetings “often looked staged”. Gacek also added that candidates did not express “alternative political views”.

The Mission noted that, as required by law, candidates received free airtime in state media, although coverage of the campaign was “limited” and the incumbent “received disproportionately more news coverage”.

Media “lacked analytical reporting”, ODIHR stated, which in turn prevented voters from “making an informed choice”.

While ODIHR observers reported that election day itself “proceeded calmly”, they assessed the voting process “negatively” in a significant number of polling stations. Among the “serious violations” observed by the mission were the addition of large numbers of voters to supplementary lists without adequate safeguards, the admission of voters without identification, and trust voting (on behalf of family members) and its lack of secrecy.

The Head of Mission noted that legislative reforms in Uzbekistan have addressed some of ODIHR's previous recommendations, although recommendations key to the democratic process “are not reflected in the legislation yet”.

UNDP's Pilot Initiative “Call Umida” Has Received Support from Influencers and Businesses

In November 2021, the UNDP Accelerator-Lab in Uzbekistan organized a brainstorming session to explore gender issues together. This involved the social media platform NeMolchi.uz / SukutSaqlama.uz, which raises important topics related to violence against women, reporting on cases of gender-based violence that often resonate in society.

Based on the results of initial surveys and stakeholder interviews, UNDP launched a pilot initiative in March 2022 called “Call Umida”. Umida means “hope” in Uzbek and is a common name for girls; in this case, it implies the hope of a safe place for support when a person faces street harassment.

The initiative has helped create a network of more than 300 safe spaces where children and women can find temporary shelter when facing street harassment.

A month after its launch, Uzbekistan hosted its first Anti-Street Harassment Week. A group of volunteers organized an awareness-raising campaign in support of the “Call Umida” initiative, which received positive feedback and an open willingness to start a conversation around this phenomenon and find both traditional and innovative solutions to the problem.

This initiative provided an opportunity for the private sector to engage in finding solutions to complex social problems such as street harassment of women. Taking into account the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the role that business can play in promoting and respecting women's rights, the initiative was proposed to numerous private companies operating in Tashkent. The first partners to join the initiative were large supermarket chains, restaurants, computer game clubs, pharmacy chains, co-working spaces and educational institutions.

Uzbekistan Is Making Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings

The U.S. Department of State has released the World Trafficking in Persons Report 2023, assessing how different countries are countering human trafficking.

Uzbekistan in the new report remained in the second category (Tier 2) - it includes countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA minimum standards, but make significant efforts to comply with them. The country has been in this category since 2021.

Among the efforts of the Government of Uzbekistan, the report's drafters note:

• investigating, prosecuting and convicting more traffickers;
• strengthening support for labor migrants abroad;
• Increased funding for Uzbekistan's only shelter for victims of human trafficking.

At the same time, the report notes, the government identified fewer trafficking victims, and some local officials continued to impose unofficial cotton quotas, which “may have helped maintain incentives for coercion in cotton harvesting.”

According to the data in the report, Uzbek authorities identified 93 victims of trafficking in persons in 2022, compared to 175 victims in 2021. Of these, 81 were victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation (80 women and one girl) and 12 victims of forced labor (all men).

All victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation were Uzbek nationals exploited in Uzbekistan, and all victims of forced labor were Uzbek nationals identified abroad.

The Government of Uzbekistan also reported 172 investigations last year: human trafficking for sexual exploitation (125), human trafficking (16), and unspecified child exploitation (31).

Thirty-five officials were punished administratively for violating labor laws - almost half the figure for 2021, the report said.

The List of Officials Combining Business with Public Service Was Published by the Anti-Corruption Agency

Uzbekistan's Anti-Corruption Agency has reported the discovery of new facts of conflict of interest among a number of heads of state bodies and organizations. The agency found that six officials - three district khokims, the head of the agency, the head of the Central Bank State Unitary Enterprise and the chairman of the committee - are founders of companies and farms. Some of them have already transferred their shares to others.

According to Article 13 of the Law “On State Civil Service”, a civil servant may not establish business entities, be their founder (participant), perform organizational, managerial and administrative functions in the company.

Despite this, cases of violations of the law in this area remain, the agency said.

The Anti-Corruption Agency made submissions to the above-mentioned state bodies and organizations, as well as to their superior bodies on the identified cases.

On 28 July, the President of Uzbekistan signed a decree recognizing ownership rights to unauthorized residential premises in Karakalpakstan.

The document notes that there are more than 43.4 thousand unauthorized houses in the republic, for which ownership rights have not been recognized.

In 2018-2019, when a one-time amnesty of rights to unauthorized constructions was announced across Uzbekistan, the rights to 50.3 thousand houses were recognized. Earlier, during the continuous inventory in 2016-2017, 71.9 thousand unauthorized constructions were legalized in Karakalpakstan.

The Decree approved the proposal of Jokargy Kenes to recognize the right of lease to land plots on which the housing of citizens built without title documents is located, as well as the ownership of buildings and structures on these plots.

Lists of objects falling under the amnesty are approved by local councils of people's deputies until August 1, 2024, and the final recognition of rights to real estate occurs after the relevant resolution of the Jokargy Kenes is issued. If the applicant has a territorial dispute with the owner of a neighboring plot, the application will be approved only after the dispute is resolved.

On 6 July, the President of Uzbekistan signed a decree on effective organization of state management in the sphere of competition development.

The Antimonopoly Committee, after its reorganization in January 2019, was subordinate and accountable to the Prime Minister of the country, but this situation led to a conflict of interest and dependence on the Cabinet of Ministers, whose ministries and agencies are present in almost all sectors of the economy and own stakes in monopoly companies.

The same situation is observed with the inspection bodies, which are still subordinate to ministries and departments.

Since July 2020, the Antimonopoly Committee has reported to the President and the Senate. But after the administrative reform at the end of 2022 and another reorganization, the Committee for Competition Development and Consumer Protection became part of the government again.

According to the new decree of the head of state, the committee will again report directly to the President and the Senate in its activities and must annually submit a report on the state of the competitive environment in the economy and consumer protection. The decree emphasizes that the committee will exercise its powers independently of state bodies and organizations.

The First Jadid Museum is Being Established in Bukhara

The Foundation for the Development of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan is establishing the first museum dedicated to the history of Jadidism in the “Khavli Poyon” house in Bukhara. This house belonged to Usmankhoja Pulatkhodjaev, one of the leaders of Central Asian Jadidism.

In the well-preserved old part of the house, necessary restoration work is planned, as well as the reconstruction of new buildings.

The museum will include an exposition consisting of manuscripts and personal items of Jadidism representatives, a specially created multimedia system revealing the history of Jadidism.

A research center is planned to be established at the museum to study the cultural heritage of the Jadids. Materials and archives will be available for scientists, providing all conditions for scientific activity.

Timurkhoja Pulatkhojaev, the son of Usmanakhoja Pulatkhojaev, one of the initiators of the museum, will donate his library, including ancient valuable manuscripts and an extensive collection of modern literature, to the fund of the future museum.

Current topics in blogs

President of Uzbekistan: “We Guarantee the Activity of Constructive Opposition”

In his inaugural speech on July 14, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that Uzbekistan will unconditionally guarantee freedom of religion and conscience, and will continue its policy of democracy and openness.

“We guarantee the activity of constructive opposition, I repeat once again, constructive opposition, freedom of speech and press, the rights of citizens to receive, use and disseminate information,” the President emphasized.

EU Expresses Support for Uzbekistan's Democratic Reforms

In a statement following the presidential election in Uzbekistan, the EU emphasized that it would continue to support the country in carrying out democratic reforms and “takes note” of the findings of the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission.

“The EU remains committed to supporting Uzbekistan in its efforts to implement democratic reforms and, in particular, to fully implement the recommendations of this and previous OSCE ODIHR election observation missions,” the statement emphasized.

The European Union has condemned the burning of the Koran in Sweden

“This act in no way reflects the views of the European Union. The burning of the Koran or any other holy book is offensive, disrespectful and a clear act of provocation. Manifestations of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance have no place in Europe,” the statement said.

The Agency for External Labor Migration urged Uzbek citizens in the Russian Federation not to go to work in the war zones in Ukraine and not to participate in the hostilities.

The agency recalled that according to Article 154-1 of the Criminal Code, the enrollment of an Uzbek citizen in military service, security, police, military justice or other similar bodies of foreign states is punishable by a fine of up to 300 basic calculation units or correctional labor for up to 3 years, and in case of recruitment - up to 5 years of imprisonment.

Matilda Dimovska Completes Her Mission as UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan

Bakhrom Sharipov, Chairman of the Committee for the Development of Silk and Karakul breeding, has withdrawn a lawsuit against Kun.uz and its journalist Shokir Sharipov. He demanded publication of a refutation of the investigation about him, apology and compensation of 1 billion soums.

On June 12, Kun.uz published an investigation by Shokir Sharipov, “Silk network of a state official. Has the activity become a lucrative job?” The material says that Bakhrom Sharipov is allegedly connected through his wife and other relatives with a dozens of companies specializing in the production of woolen fibers, silk and knitwear. The material points to a possible conflict of interest given that Bakhrom Sharipov heads the committee, which is the regulator of the industry.

New Appointments

A New Chinese Ambassador Has Taken Office

China's new Ambassador to Uzbekistan Yu Jun presented copies of his credentials to Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov.

“We have achieved many results in our cooperation. More are ahead. Uzbek-Chinese relations are developing at a high pace, and the available potential is even higher,” Bakhtiyor Saidov said in a publication in his Telegram channel.

Yu Jun was born in 1972. Previously, he worked in departments and offices of the country's Foreign Ministry, as well as embassies and consulates abroad.

Timothy Smart is the New British Ambassador to Uzbekistan

The new British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Timothy Smart, will arrive in Uzbekistan in early August.

Timothy Smart began his career at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in 1999. He has worked in Israel, Iraq, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and served as Ambassador to Madagascar from 2012 to 2017.

He has also served as Head of EU, Middle East, North Africa, Strategic Communications and Eastern Mediterranean at the UK Foreign Office.

Umid Shadiev Headed the Tourism Committee

Success Stories of NGOs in Uzbekistan

Central Asian Youth Forum Held in Fergana Valley

On July 20-21, 2023, within the framework of the “Child and Youth Friendly Local Governance” initiative, a delegation with the participation of the head of the cooperation department of the Embassy of Switzerland in Uzbekistan, the head of the UNICEF office in Uzbekistan and representatives of the Yuksalish movement visited the cities of Buston in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and Yangibazar in Khorezm region.

In February, following the presentation of action plans by the khokims, both cities received additional resources in their budgets of $30,000 to implement programs to improve the well-being of children and youth in their cities in 2023.

Contributing team:

Elvina Mustafina
Shamshod Yunusov
Munis Alieva
Sukhrob Tukhtamishev
Lyudmila Stayshyunayte

Layout:
Jasur Oltinboyev

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