Opinion
Human dignity at the heart of Uzbekistan’s reform agenda
The government’s way forward reflects the key aspects of the Constitution, which proclaims Uzbekistan a social state in which the human being, their life, freedom, honour and dignity are the ultimate value
For President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, national progress is measured not only by macroeconomic indicators or the facilities built across the country, but by qualitative shifts in people’s daily lives. "The greatest achievement of New Uzbekistan is the change in people’s lives, citizens who are confident in their own abilities, and a society that feels involved in the country’s future,” he said at a ceremony to present high state awards coinciding with the 35th anniversary of independence last August.
The government’s strategy reflects the key innovations of the Constitution adopted in 2023, which proclaims Uzbekistan a social state in which the human being, their life, freedom, honour and dignity are the ultimate value (Article 13). These rights are directly applicable (Article 20), and any contradictions or ambiguities in legislation governing relations between individuals and state bodies must be interpreted in the person’s favour.
Discussion of human rights overwhelmingly centres on the judicial system, yet rights are exercised every day: in classrooms, hospitals, workplaces, municipal offices, playgrounds and families.
New model
Over the past decade, Uzbekistan has built schools for 1.5mn students, kindergartens for 342,000 children and hospitals with 62,000 beds. It has also connected residential buildings housing more than 8mn people to district water supply networks. These gains reflect progress in the rights to education, health, a decent life and equal opportunity.
Expanding education, vocational training, science, research and sport are seen as the foundations of human capital. Education opens up life choices, mastering a profession paves the way to financial independence, and sport builds health and strength of character. Investing in these areas means investing in people who exercise their rights responsibly and take an active part in social life.
Another strategic dimension is a new model of interaction between people and the state. This means empowering citizens to raise the bureaucratic obstacles they encounter, building the capacity to hear their appeals, providing protection and redress when rights are violated, and expanding public oversight of the actions, or negligence, of public authorities. These are the key pillars of the human rights agenda.
Community-based networks in each local mahalla (district) embody this idea. As the primary institution of citizen self-governance and the most accessible authority, the mahalla is usually the first to learn of residents’ daily lives, needs and problems. The new ‘Mahalla’s Seven’ system identifies challenges at family and household level and addresses employment, business, and youth and women’s affairs in a cross-cutting manner.
As a result, more than a hundred types of social services and forms of assistance have been brought down to community level through one-stop ‘Inson’ centres. People no longer have to wander between agencies, and services are available on demand.
Poverty alleviation combines vocational training, job creation, preferential loans, subsidies and land plot allocation. These tools help people build a sustainable source of income and take control of their own lives.
Legal and institutional shifts in gender equality are also significant. Guarantees of equal rights and opportunities, protection against misconduct and violence, liability for sexual harassment and domestic violence, and stronger protection order mechanisms treat violence not as an ‘in-house family affair’ but as a violation of human rights.
Judicial interpretation alone, however, cannot help a woman who has suffered violence. A safe place to live, psychological support, social protection, legal advice and institutions that stand by her are what is most needed and most achievable. The rights of persons with disabilities similarly reflect the improved quality of life resulting from the reforms.
The 2020 Law ‘On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ and Uzbekistan’s 2021 ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities marked a paradigm shift. Persons with disabilities are no longer treated as recipients of social welfare, but recognised as independent rights holders.
The approach extends to prisons. Under a roadmap developed at the Ombudsman’s initiative, together with the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Interior Ministry and the National Centre for Human Rights, ramps have been installed at a number of penal institutions, Braille books supplied to prison libraries, and bathrooms refitted with tailor-made facilities.
The roadmap aims to prevent torture and bring conditions for inmates with disabilities into line with international standards. Convicts with mobility impairments are now paired with a healthy prisoner who is paid to provide care. This is tangible evidence that human rights remain inviolable even behind the closed doors of restricted-access facilities.
Ultimately, if rights were protected only within the mandates of public authorities, the state apparatus would become inefficient and slow to respond.
Uzbekistan therefore fosters the engagement of NGOs, civil society institutions, human rights activists, journalists and bloggers in public oversight. The 2018 Law ‘On Public Oversight’ was the first step, and the Concept for Civil Society Development, public councils under government bodies and public debate mechanisms have since opened wider room for such engagement.
NGOs are far from passive observers of development. They act as partners of the government, identifying and conveying people’s needs, assessing the local impact of legal acts and suggesting alternative solutions.
Well-reasoned media criticism, monitoring by human rights defenders and locally accumulated NGO experience help reveal adverse impacts and emerging challenges promptly. Such joint efforts improve the quality of government decisions and encourage wider public involvement in reform.
The Ombudsman bridges the individual and the state in this dialogue, including through engagement with civil society representatives. As a parliamentary institution, the Ombudsman oversees the implementation of legislation, examines appeals from the public, and recommends remedies for bottlenecks in both legislation and procedural practice.
Together with public groups, the Ombudsman conducts monitoring visits to closed facilities. These examine housing conditions, medical care, nutrition, sanitary standards, unimpeded access to lodging appeals, and compliance with international standards for preventing torture and inhuman treatment.
Group and individual interviews with convicts and prisoners form the core of these visits, and complaints gathered through in-prison ‘Ombudsman’s mailboxes’ are followed up with remedial action. Freedom of movement may be restricted by judicial decision, but human dignity must remain unimpaired regardless of an individual’s whereabouts. These missions therefore focus on protecting human dignity, preventing torture and embedding a culture of human rights in closed facilities.
Reform agenda
Uzbekistan intends to press ahead with its long-term, human rights-centred reform agenda. At the anniversary ceremony, President Mirziyoyev announced seven national programmes for the coming years, designed to further enhance human dignity. They cover knowledge and skills as the main driver of progress; healthy lives and rising life expectancy; a high-tech, high-productivity model of economic growth; a radical shift in the approach to water resources and the environment; the genuine independence of courts and the rule of law as a shared moral value; empowering mahalla communities to drive social progress; and strengthening Uzbekistan’s image as a peaceful and hospitable country.
Each sphere is linked to human rights. Education enables self-actualisation, healthcare guarantees a decent life, a high-tech economy generates employment and income, and ecology creates the conditions for a clean and safe environment. The rule of law builds confidence in justice, and the community stands beside each citizen as the closest source of social support. Peace and friendship, meanwhile, are the shared values that connect human rights, stability and progress.
Uzbekistan is therefore relying on human rights as the cornerstone of its democratic development strategy. The country firmly believes that respect for human dignity reinforces confidence in justice. That, in turn, boosts efficiency at every level of society, creating a virtuous cycle of self-sustained democracy and progress.
- The writer is Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of Oliy Majlis in Uzbekistan.