Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 26 February, two Uzbek minors who had been left without parental care were repatriated from the Russian Federation to Uzbekistan, according to the National Agency for Social Protection of Uzbekistan.

Their return was facilitated with the assistance of staff from the Center for Temporary Detention of Juvenile Offenders under the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow.

Investigations revealed that one of the children had traveled to Russia based on a parental power of attorney, while the other had been engaged in labor migration since 2023. A ninth-grade student, he had traveled to Moscow with his sister’s husband, initially working as a cleaner and later as a dishwasher in a café.

Both minors were placed in the temporary detention center after being identified by law enforcement during a routine inspection. Authorities emphasized that a parental power of attorney allowing a child to travel abroad does not grant the accompanying person legal guardianship in another country.

So far, nine minors have been repatriated to Uzbekistan. In March, with the support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Agency for Social Protection, efforts will continue to return Uzbek children left without parental care abroad and implement measures to reintegrate them into family environments.