The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, signed a decree that introduces additional measures to fundamentally improve the system for identifying human trafficking victims and supporting their integration into society. This document expands mechanisms for detecting victims, improves the services provided for assistance, and strengthens social protection measures.
According to the new decree, 'Inson' centers, specialized institutions of the National Agency for Social Protection that assist human trafficking victims, as well as non-governmental non-profit organizations, are granted the right to conduct preliminary identification of individuals who may be victims of this trade.
After conducting an initial assessment, an individual may be assigned the status of a suspected human trafficking victim for up to one month. After completing the final identification procedure, an individual officially recognized as a victim may receive this status for up to one year. Territorial commissions for combating human trafficking and promoting decent work are obliged to complete the final identification within 10 days.
Starting September 1, 2026, the National Agency for Social Protection will begin accepting calls from human trafficking victims through the hotline 1146. Specialists will provide consultations on social, psychological, legal, and other issues. Furthermore, hotlines will be established in the diplomatic missions and consular offices of Uzbekistan abroad to receive reports of human trafficking and provide advisory assistance to citizens.
The decree also provides for the creation of migration consultation offices at Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport and Samarkand International Airport using artificial intelligence technologies. The funding for these offices will be provided by the Migration Fund.
The decree defines the procedure for providing social services to victims. Men, foreign citizens, and repatriates returned to Uzbekistan under special programs will be directed to the National Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Human Trafficking. This center will coordinate the activities of specialized regional centers.
Individuals who have been given the status of a suspected victim are entitled to services from specialized centers for up to one month, while those officially recognized as victims may receive services for up to six months. Applications for assistance can be submitted within one month of receiving the status of a suspected victim and within one year of receiving official victim status. Re-enrollment in specialized centers for the same case of preliminary identification is not permitted.
Additionally, the decree provides for reimbursement of travel expenses to and from specialized centers through the 'Sahovat va Kumak' Fund. Compensation will amount to one calculated unit for a trip to the National Rehabilitation Center and half a calculated unit for trips to specialized regional centers.
A new set of measures is being developed in Uzbekistan aimed at developing the social protection system. These proposals concern expanding access to education for children with disabilities, changing the approach to supporting the homeless and victims of human trafficking, and transitioning transport benefits to a digital format.
These initiatives were announced at a meeting attended by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. It was noted that the social assistance system has significantly strengthened over the past years: the number of types of social services has increased from 23 to 140, and the annual coverage has reached 4.6 million cases, with almost half of these cases resolved at the mahalla level.
Special attention is paid to children with special educational needs. Currently, there are over 168 thousand children with disabilities registered in the country, but about 34.6 thousand of them do not participate in the educational process. To eliminate this problem, targeted work with families is planned, where each child's needs will be assessed at an early stage to select optimal learning conditions. A pilot project is scheduled for October 2026 in the Khorezm and Navoi regions.
Starting from the new academic year, individual study plans will be introduced in specialized schools. Assistants and helpers will be provided to visually impaired teachers and primary school students. Private educational institutions that open correctional classes near children's residences can apply for state subsidies, and the most successful projects will be awarded grants annually.
Furthermore, starting in 2027, a voucher system is planned to provide children with necessary assistive technologies, such as Braille displays and text-to-speech devices. Additional conditions will be provided for people with disabilities during exams, including extended time, assistance from assistants, and sign language interpreters.
The reform will also affect people without a permanent place of residence. Existing rehabilitation institutions will be converted into temporary accommodation and social reintegration centers. In these centers, people will receive support in restoring documents, receiving medical treatment, acquiring a new profession, and finding employment. Mechanisms for employment support will also be developed, including providing training vouchers and establishing job quotas.
Regarding victims of human trafficking, it is proposed to start the functioning of a system for assessing their situation through 'Inson' centers in September 2026, after which they will be referred to the relevant services. The network of rehabilitation centers for women and children will be expanded by increasing the number of available places. Concurrently, the introduction of separate criminal liability for child trafficking and restricting the activities of individuals involved in such crimes is being considered.
Another significant change concerns simplifying the process of obtaining discounted travel. Currently, more than 48 thousand people use this benefit, and in the future, the entire system will become fully digital. Paper travel tickets will be abolished, and the right to the benefit will be verified using an ID card or biometric passport. Starting in 2027, purchasing discounted tickets will be possible online through the Baraka mobile application.
The President approved all the proposed measures and instructed a thorough elaboration of their implementation process. Relevant agencies must now prepare all necessary documentation and ensure the gradual introduction of new social support mechanisms across the country. It should be noted that in 2025, 4.9 million applications were submitted to Uzbekistan's social protection system, more than double the figure from the previous year, when applications totaled 1.9 million.
Uzbekistan has begun establishing new international transport and logistics corridors to ensure a stable supply of domestic products to the markets of Kuwait and Syria.
This initiative is being implemented by the Embassy of Uzbekistan, which is testing alternative delivery routes with the aim of increasing export opportunities for local producers.
One of the first results was the shipment of carpets produced by the Samarkand company YEC Gilam to Montreal House Wholesale Co in Kuwait via a new logistics route. According to the Turkish logistics operator Gulf Cargo, this corridor allows cargo to reach Kuwait within 15–20 days.
In parallel, Uzbekistan is studying the possibility of organizing supplies via transit through Iraq. Negotiations have taken place on this issue with representatives of the government and business circles of that country. The Ministry of Transport of Iraq has expressed readiness to conduct practical consultations with interested organizations from both countries.
Work is also continuing on developing the Syrian direction. Following the opening of the Trade House and Distribution Center of Uzbekistan in Aleppo in May of this year, new export contracts were signed. This led to the first shipment of Uzbek vegetable oil, detergents, and household appliances to Syria. Delivery via Turkey takes from 10 to 15 days.
It is expected that the new transport and logistics routes will ensure more stable and competitive supplies of Uzbek products to Middle Eastern markets, supporting the further growth of the country's export potential.
