Uzbekistan’s new leadership from the very first days in office launched an aggressive anti-corruption campaign to ensure the smooth implementation of comprehensive reforms in all spheres of public and social life. It changed the focus from state bodies and began to attract civil institutions as the main subjects in this endeavor. Additionally, the transparency of the state bodies was recognized as another essential part of public control.
The Action Strategy on five priority directions for development in the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2017 to 2021 helped kick off an active campaign on fighting corruption. The adoption of this document was organized in an open and transparent manner with every article scrutinized by society and experts. This precedent for public discussion of the draft regulations made the participation of citizens in drafting laws and other legal acts a norm. So far more than 25,000 proposals on more than 8,500 draft laws have been submitted by the people.
At the same time, the government created conditions to ensure the people’s right to appeal to the leadership, including the president of Uzbekistan. People’s liaison offices, virtual reception centers and citizen’s offices were established to bring people and government agencies closer.