Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 11 May 2022, Tashkent hosted an international conference on "constitutional reforms: the role and status of civil society institutions", organized by the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights, the Center for Sustainable Development, the National Association of Non-Governmental Non-Profit Organizations Uzbekistan, as well as the Institute of State and Law of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the support of the Law Reform Program (LRP) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The purpose of the conference is exchange of views on national and foreign experience in the field of strengthening the constitutional and legal status of civil society, securing constitutional guarantees for development and mechanisms for protecting civil society as an essential condition for the implementation of the principle "Society is the initiator of reforms" and sustainable development, as well as the role and significance of institutions civil society in the implementation of constitutional reforms.

This event was organized in offline and online formats with the participation of national and foreign experts, representatives of government agencies, academic institutions and universities, various civil society institutions of Uzbekistan and international organizations.

The speakers who spoke at this international conference emphasized that in recent years the country has carried out systematic work to ensure human rights, strengthen the accountability and openness of state bodies, increase the role of civil society institutions, the media, the political activity of the population and public associations.

Civil society institutions play an important role in ensuring and protecting human rights, in raising the legal culture of the population and the culture of human rights, as well as in building a peaceful, stable, democratic society, protecting human dignity, rights, freedoms and legitimate interests, achieving universal and national goals sustainable development.

More than 200 acts of the President and the Government of the country are being implemented, in particular, the Concept of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the development of civil society in 2021-2025.

As a result, over the past five years, in particular:

• The number of non-governmental non-profit organizations increased by 22 percent, including about 200 large republican NGOs that started their activities. Today, these civil institutions play an important role in ensuring and protecting human dignity, rights and freedoms, improving the legal culture of the population and shaping a culture of tolerance and human rights in society, implementing the most important tasks of sustainable development;

• The amount of funds allocated from the State budget to support the activities and implementation of socially and socially significant projects of NGOs (subsidies, social orders and grants) has increased by more than five times.

In 2022 alone, state support will be provided for more than 700 programs and projects of NGOs and other civil society institutions, in the implementation of which more than 3,000 public organizations will participate. NGOs and other civil society institutions will be involved in supporting talented youth, involving them in the work on the introduction of digital technologies, raising the legal awareness and culture of the population. Support will be provided to 150 national cultural centers to strengthen peace, friendship and tolerance among more than 130 nations and peoples living in Uzbekistan.

The rule of law can exist only where and when civil society actually exists. In turn, civil society is unthinkable without the freedom and dignity of man. Therefore, large-scale and dynamic reforms in the new Uzbekistan are aimed at building a state that cares about the dignity, ensuring the legitimate interests and well-being of every citizen, and on the basis of the further development of a free civil society.

The fundamental book of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev “The Strategy for the Development of New Uzbekistan” provides for: giving the “People’s reception rooms” of the President the status of a constitutional body; codification of legislation on civil society institutions, adoption of the Information Code; development of a new version of the law on public control, laws on the organization of public discussion of normative legal acts, on regional, district, city Kengashes of people’s deputies, their regulations and control activities; approval of the concepts for the development of the country’s legislation, "electronic parliament and electronic Kengash of people’s deputies", as well as programs of the people’s and "people-loving" state.

As a result of the forum, it is planned to adopt the TASHKENT DECLARATION of the conference. This document has been prepared taking into account international legal acts adopted within the framework of the UN, OSCE, EU, SCO, CIS and other international structures in order to increase the role and importance of civil society institutions, their participation in state and public administration. As a result of the event, it is planned to publish a collection of analytical materials and abstracts of the conference.