Uzbekistan has set ambitious plans and goals in combating corruption. Back in December 2023, at the Anti-Corruption Excellence Awards Forum, where Uzbekistan was honored with the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award, H.E. Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, proposed developing and implementing a National Anti-Corruption Strategy through 2030, naming UNODC as a strategic partner. The President emphasized the importance of ensuring further transparency in activities, increasing the accountability of government agencies, improving the open data system, strengthening the legal framework, and enhancing institutional mechanisms in this sphere.
To achieve these goals, the Anti-Corruption Agency initiated the development of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2030 (NACS) and actively involved government authorities, expert communities, and international experts from different countries.
In June 2024, within the framework of the joint Action Plan to combat corruption for 2024-2025, UNODC and the Anti-Corruption Agency of Uzbekistan initiated the first review of the draft NACS 2030. For this purpose, UNODC invited international expert Mr. Jaroslavs Strelcenoks, former Head of the Anti-Corruption Agency of Latvia, to visit Tashkent and conduct a series of sessions from June 24 to June 28. These sessions included workshops and consultations with 27 national professionals from 15 state authorities, such as the Anti-Corruption Agency, Supreme Court, General Prosecutor's Office, Ministry of Justice, Law Enforcement Academy, Senate of Oliy Majlis, Ministry of Finance, representatives of civil society, and other national counterparts.
During the training, Mr. Jaroslavs Strelcenoks focused on the following priority areas:
All these sessions aimed to support the Anti-Corruption Agency in aligning the draft National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2030 with UNCAC norms and regulations, as well as engaging civil society and the private sector in the discussion process for further consideration of their position in the final draft of NACS 2030.
“The adoption of new regulations as part of the strategy's implementation cannot be considered the execution of any of its measures; it is merely the starting point. Each legislative novella, from a practical perspective, assumes that the public administration system has trained human resources and technical resources capable of ensuring the implementation of the novella. Additionally, civil society and the business sector must have a sufficient understanding of how they need to adjust their behavior or activity patterns to comply with the novella, as well as an understanding of the future costs associated with its implementation. If these conditions are not met, then the implementation of novellas in legislation must begin with appropriate preparation, which will also require time and resources. Furthermore, the implementation of each novella necessitates monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to demonstrate the progress and impact of the adoption of these novellas in legislation. All these elements must be considered when developing the National Anti-Corruption Strategy,” stated Mr. Azat Irmanov, National Programme Officer on anti-corruption, UNODC.
Another important aspect of strategy design is budgeting and fundraising. To cover this essential topic, Mr. Irmanov delivered a special session, stating that effective budgeting of anti-corruption strategies requires a comprehensive approach to cost assessment, taking into account both the direct costs of implementing measures and the need for investment in strengthening human and technical capacity.
Based on the above-conducted work, recommendations and comments on the strategy were developed by Mr. Jaroslavs Strelcenoks and UNODC’s Anti-corruption Unit. At present, the enhanced draft of the national anti-corruption strategy is being revised by the Anti-Corruption Agency.
The second round of national consultations is planned by UNODC for the 4th quarter of 2024 to support the Agency in finalizing the Strategy and presenting it to government stakeholders, the business sector, and civil society.
The initiative was organized with the support of the Government of Denmark.
Stay tuned for more updates on this important initiative!
