The state and civil society in New Uzbekistan are consolidating efforts to combat corruption

Over the years of independence, the role of civil society in Uzbekistan has become increasingly important. The representatives of civil society are not only involved, but also actively take the initiative in the life of society and the state. This role has manifested itself more and more clearly in the fight against corruption. There is no doubt that corruption and society are incompatible. The prerequisite for a prosperous society is a life free of corruption. And all the necessary foundations must be laid for this, which is primarily the task of the state.

To this end, Uzbekistan has first and foremost created a legal framework that is fully in line with the international standards set out in Article 13 of the UN Convention against Corruption.

The political will of President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to create the necessary legal framework to promote the active participation of civil society institutions in the prevention of corruption is reflected in the adoption of such legislative acts as the laws “On Combating Corruption”, “On Public Integrity”, Resolutions “On Measures to Organize the Activities of Public Councils under State Bodies”, “On Additional Measures to Ensure the Transparency of the Activities of State Bodies and Organizations and the Effective Implementation of Public Integrity”.

These norms and the Presidential decree “On Additional Measures to Improve the Anti-Corruption System in the Republic of Uzbekistan” form the basis for the organization of the Agency’s anti-corruption activities, which aim, among other things, to promote an intolerant attitude in society towards all manifestations of corruption through the development and implementation of comprehensive programs aimed at raising citizens’ legal awareness and legal culture, disseminating information on preventing and combating corruption, and conducting anti-corruption training. To this end, the Agency works closely with civil society institutions and other representatives of the non-governmental sector in various areas. These areas include the following:

1) Strengthening citizens’ legal awareness and legal culture;

2) Disseminating information on preventing and combating corruption;

3) Organization of anti-corruption training;

4) Organization of sociological, scientific and other studies on the state, trends and causes of corruption, the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures and the development of proposals to improve the effectiveness of preventing and combating corruption;

5) Participation in the processes to ensure transparency and openness of activities to prevent and combat corruption, in the coordination and monitoring of ensuring the openness of the activities of state bodies and organizations;

6) Support the implementation of effective public integrity through the activities of state bodies and organizations, etc.

All areas are interdependent and interlinked and have the invaluable task of shaping society’s intolerance of corruption and citizens’ anti-corruption culture. And to accomplish this task and fulfill the instructions of the Head of State, conceptual steps have been taken to create an institutional framework that ensures interaction between government agencies and civil society institutions.

Firstly. When the National Anti-Corruption Council was established, it was envisaged that 25 percent of civil society representatives would participate in its composition, and 37 percent in the territorial councils. It provides a platform for dialog between government agencies and civil society institutions on identifying priority areas of anti-corruption policy, discussing problematic issues and developing solutions, and most importantly, serves as a necessary platform to ensure accountability of heads of government agencies to the public.

Secondly. The Anti-Corruption Agency has established a Public Council, 63 percent of which is made up of civil society representatives. The members of the Council are actively involved in monitoring and evaluating anti-corruption action plans, commenting and proposing draft legislation, legal training and innovation in the field of anti-corruption. At the same time, the members of the Council establish interaction and cooperation with other Public Councils of state institutions and support them in improving their efficiency and capacity in carrying out public integrity by familiarizing themselves with anti-corruption tools. For example, the Public Council of the Agency initiated a hearing with the management of the Ministry of Health on the pressing issues of the public and to assess the status of implementation of the “Corruption Free Sphere” project in the healthcare system.

Thirdly. Effective cooperation was established with the national movement “Yuksalish” and the international non-governmental organization “Regional Dialogue” (Slovenia) to conduct sociological, scientific and other studies on the state, trends and causes of corruption, the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures and the development of proposals to improve the preventing and fight against corruption. As part of the joint activities, an Anti-Corruption Laboratory project was launched to analyze areas with a high risk of corruption with the involvement of the public and to develop recommendations for eliminating corruption factors and reducing corruption risks in the areas concerned. So far, studies have been conducted in areas such as the assessment of integrity and corruption risks in the admission of primary school students, factors and risks of impropriety in the organization of pre-school facilities based on public-private partnerships, corruption risks in the provision of obstetric services and risks of impropriety in the assessment of students’ knowledge in higher education.

Fourthly. The public is actively involved in the processes of monitoring the openness and evaluating the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies of government agencies, including by serving as members of expert commissions to evaluate these processes. For example, 33 percent of the participants in the expert group for the independent evaluation of the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures are representatives of civil society, while 18 percent of the members of the commission to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of transparency measures are representatives of the public.

The basis for quality public participation in the prevention of corruption is undoubtedly the adoption of the necessary measures to strengthen the legal awareness and legal culture of citizens, the dissemination of information on preventing and fight against corruption and the organization of anti-corruption training. To this end, training sessions are systematically organized with the participation of international experts and professionals representing civil society abroad to familiarize them with international standards and best practices in this area. Among other things, measures have been taken to increase the capacity of journalists, NGO representatives and bloggers to report on anti-corruption, to strengthen the role of Public Councils reporting to ministries and agencies and to provide them with knowledge on the use of anti-corruption tools, etc. The country has taken steps to introduce the United Nations Global resource for anti-corruption education and youth empowerment.

Another good practice was introduced: the tendering of grants and social contracts by the Public Foundation for the Support of Non-Profit Non-Governmental Organizations and Other Civil Society Institutions under the framework of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and international partners for corruption research and prevention. In particular, tenders were announced for 12 projects in 2021 and 2022. The projects concerned conducting public research, training journalists, working with women and young people and producing manuals for schools and preschools. For the implementation of these projects, non-governmental non-profit organizations were provided with 70,000 US dollars from international partners and 500 million Uzbek soums ($1 = 12 755,84 soums as of September 25.2024.) from the Public Foundation under the Oliy Majlis. It is noteworthy that most of the awarded non-governmental non-profit organizations operate in the regions (in Syrdarya, Fergana, Navoi and Bukhara regions).

It is encouraging that this practice has taken root in the regions and continues in the form of initiation and support of research by the Public Foundations under the Councils (Kengashes) of People’s Deputies of the regions and Tashkent. Thus, in 2023, on the initiative of the Kashkadarya, Bukhara, Fergana and Khorezm regions and the city of Tashkent, grant competitions for non-governmental non-profit organizations in the amount of 266 million 900 thousand Uzbek soums were announced on five topics. It is important to note that in 2024, grant topics for non-governmental non-profit organizations in the amount of 1,345, 4 thousand Uzbek soums were announced in all 14 regions.

The personal involvement of citizens in the fight against corruption is also becoming increasingly important. Therefore, following best practices abroad, a mechanism was introduced to reward people who report corruption offenses or otherwise contribute to the fight against corruption. In the last 2 years, more than 100 people who have reported corruption offenses have been rewarded. The Agency has an electronic “E-antikor.uz” platform and a call center that allow citizens to report corruption immediately. The fact that the call center received 2,300 calls in 2022 and more than 4,500 in 2023 shows that our society is developing an intolerant attitude towards corruption.

In December 2023, Uzbekistan, Tashkent city, was chosen to host the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award, initiated by the Emir of Qatar, due to its reforms and active fight against corruption. The award winners included non-governmental non-profit organizations, academics and journalists who serve as an example and motivation for strengthening the active position of representatives of civil society institutions and our country.

In order to improve the quality of public participation in corruption prevention and ensure comprehensive inoculation with the vaccine of integrity, these processes should of course be carried out systematically. In this regard, the decision of the President of Uzbekistan to establish a virtual Anti-corruption academy comes at just the right time. Basic courses will be organized for representatives of civil society institutions to impart knowledge in the field of anti-corruption. Most importantly, these courses will be accessible to all and free of charge. In addition, work is underway to establish a Regional Research Centre on corruption to share experiences, strengthen dialog and conduct research with the active participation of non-governmental, non-profit organizations.

Improving public knowledge and awareness will take the interaction between civil society institutions and government agencies to a new level and will not only improve the quality of public participation in the fight against corruption and public integrity. It will also be a lever to increase the accountability of public authorities to society. Work in this area has not yet been completed.

These and other measures are the result of the new policy of the new Uzbekistan, the main objective of which is to carry out reforms for the benefit of individuals and to ensure the development of a corruption-free society.

Source: Umida Tukhtasheva – Deputy Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan,  LL.D., Professor