Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The National Agency for Social Protection under the President of Uzbekistan has put forward an initiative to amend current legislation aimed at strengthening the protection of children from violence. This was announced by the agency’s First Deputy Director, Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva.

In a statement published on Instagram, she raised a pressing question: “I often wonder — at what moment does an adult stop seeing a human being in a child? When does irritation become a justification for cruelty?”

Mirziyoyeva emphasized that a child’s right to protection must not depend on external circumstances: “A child should not have to ‘grow into’ the right to be protected. It should belong to them from their very first breath — unconditionally.”

According to her, in recent months, the National Agency for Social Protection has been consistently intensifying its efforts to prevent violence against children, and this work is now entering a qualitatively new phase.

As part of the initiative, the agency is drafting amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes aimed at tightening liability for crimes against minors. The goal is to ensure that punishment for such offenses is inevitable, just, and as severe as possible, eliminating any possibility of mitigating circumstances.

An interagency working group has been established, including representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Preschool and School Education. Key proposals include harsher penalties for those who harm children, a lifetime ban on working with children for individuals found guilty of abuse, and the implementation of unified response protocols to ensure swift accountability and real protection for victims.

“I don’t believe violence is an accident. It is always a conscious decision made by an adult. And that means another decision must be made in response — to stop it. Not to justify it. Not to look away. Because when we act otherwise, we risk losing the right to call ourselves human,” concluded Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva.