Officials reported that the Ombudsman for Children's Rights of Uzbekistan received 1147 appeals during the first half of 2026. These results were presented during a briefing organized by the Information Service of the Commissioner of the Oliy Majlis on Children's Rights.
Following the analysis of complaints and inspections, eight criminal cases and 15 administrative offenses related to violence against children were initiated. Additionally, prosecutors overturned six decisions to refuse to initiate criminal cases, deeming them unfounded, and forwarded the relevant materials for further review.
In the first six months of 2026, Ombudsman's office staff visited 56 closed institutions housing minors. During these visits, they held individual and group meetings with over 1289 children.
In response to identified violations of children's rights, the prosecutor's office issued nine measures of prosecutorial response, including four recommendations, three warnings, and two conclusions. As part of efforts to improve the legislative framework, proposals were prepared for 43 draft normative legal acts concerning the protection of children's rights.
To raise public awareness about national legislation and international standards for child protection, 1048 materials were published in the media. The Ombudsman, together with UNICEF, conducted a sociological study involving over 9500 children to assess awareness of the Law on the Protection of Children from All Forms of Violence. Furthermore, with the assistance of the Ombudsman and national and foreign government bodies, 22 children who were outside Uzbekistan were returned to the country.
During the past week, specifically from July 13 to July 19, state bodies of Uzbekistan received a total of 19,890 appeals from the population, containing 21,282 different questions. Among the most pressing issues for the republic's residents are problems with social benefits, alimony collection issues, and power supply failures.
The National Agency for Social Protection (IHMA) registered the highest number of appeals, receiving 3,432 requests. The Ministry of Energy was second in terms of appeals, processing 2,950 requests. Additionally, a significant number of appeals were received by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (2,630 requests), the Bureau of Enforcement (1,880 requests), the Prosecutor General's Office (1,125 requests), and the Ministry of Health (1,680 requests).
Analyzing the specific problems that concerned citizens, issues related to the payment of child allowances were the leaders, with 1,750 appeals recorded. Second place was held by requests for alimony collection, numbering 1,049 appeals. Third place in this category was taken by complaints about electricity outages, which received 1,112 appeals, as well as 356 requests regarding the repair of the power supply infrastructure.
Among other common reasons for citizens' appeals were issues related to the provision of liquefied gas in cylinders (844 appeals), cases of offenses (416 appeals), and investigation and procedural processes (376 appeals). Furthermore, citizens appealed for one-time financial assistance (359 appeals). It is worth noting that previously, Uzbekistan's energy services had called on the population to use electricity sparingly amid a record increase in energy consumption in the country.
