Uzbekistan Legislative Chamber Adopts Law Protecting Women and Children

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — At a regular session, the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan considered and adopted a draft law aimed at improving the system for protecting women and children from violence and enhancing the effectiveness of investigations into related crimes.

The country continues systemic reforms to ensure human rights and freedoms, including protection against sexual violence and actions violating moral norms.

Practice shows that during investigations of crimes against sexual freedom, issues persist with improper application of the law and insufficient protection of victims’ rights.

The draft law provides for transferring to the prosecution authorities the powers to investigate crimes against sexual freedom, youth rights, and morality.

In protecting children from violence, the prosecution is tasked with reviewing such cases, conducting preliminary investigations, and strengthening oversight of sentence enforcement.

Special attention is given to improving investigations of crimes committed by officials, including cases resulting in death. Additionally, the law establishes strict procedures for serving sentences by those convicted of crimes against the sexual freedom of minors: individuals convicted under Articles 118 and 119 of the Criminal Code will not be sent to correctional colonies.

Deputies emphasized that the amendments will ensure reliable protection of women’s and children’s rights, improve the quality of detection and investigation of sexual offenses, guarantee the inevitability of punishment, and strengthen prosecutorial oversight during investigations.

After discussions, the draft law was adopted by the Legislative Chamber and sent to the Senate for further review.