All
state bodies, public associations, and officials of the
Republic of Uzbekistan shall allow any citizen access
to documents, resolutions, and other materials, relating
to their rights and interests.
•
Undernourished people (% of total population),
2000/03: 26
•
Population with sustainable access to an improved
water source (%), 2002: 89
Source:
UN Development Program, Human Development Reports
Data
The
Law on the Principles and Guarantees of Freedom of Information
was adopted in December 2002 and went into effect in February
2003. It replaced the 1997 Law on Guarantees and Freedom
of Access to Information. The law sets a general principle
for freedom of information of "openness, publicity,
accessibility and authenticity." It also states that
"Information must be open and public except for confidentiality."
Under
the law, every person has a right to demand information.
The right to information cannot be limited based on sex,
race, ethnic origin, language, religion, ascription, and
personal beliefs as well as personal and social rank. State
bodies are given 30 days to respond to written requests.
Oral requests must be responded to as soon as possible.
However,
the statute sets broad areas where information can be restricted.
Confidential information is defined as that for which disclosure
can cause damage to the rights and legitimate interests
of the individual, community and state. It can also be limited
by law to protect the "fundamental rights and liberties
of individuals, fundamentals of constitutional regime, moral
values of the community," national security, and "the
nation's spiritual, cultural and scientific potential."
Information
relating to rights of citizens, legal status of government
bodies, the environment, emergency situations, or which
is available in libraries, archives and information systems
cannot be made confidential.
Refusals
of information can be appealed to the courts. The requester
can receive compensation if information is unlawfully withheld
or inaccurate information is given.
The
law in practice does not seem to be effective at providing
rights to information, which is not surprising given the
totalitarian methods used by the government to suppress
human rights, especially following the 2005 Andijan massacre.
Human Rights Watch reports that the government refused to
provide any information on the trials of those accused in
Andijan including their names and charges.
The
1993 Law on the Protection of State Secrets sets broad rules
for the classification of information. The Uzbekistan law
adopts categories on state, military and official secrets
but does not distinguish time limits or levels of sensitivity.
Only information which threatens the "personal security"
of individuals cannot be classified. The regulation and
list of information that is classified are themselves classified.
This lack of a published list of state secrets allows officials
to create new categories without limit and is used to threaten
media outlets from publishing without permission of government
officials. Amnesty International reports that information
on the use of the death penalty is considered a state secret
while the International Helsinki Committee reports that
the level of unemployment is also classified. There are
also provisions in the Criminal Code for the unauthorized
release of classified information.
The
UN Human Rights Committee reviewed the law as part of their
analysis of human rights in 2001:
The
Committee is particularly concerned about the definition
of "State secrets and other secrets" as defined
in the Law on the Protection of State Secrets. It observes
that the definition includes issues relating, inter alia,
to science, banking and the commercial sector and is concerned
that these restrictions on the freedom to receive and
impart information are too wide to be consistent with
article 19 of the Covenant.
The
State party should amend the Law on the Protection of
State Secrets to define and considerably reduce the types
of issues that are defined as "State secrets and
other secrets", thereby, bringing this law into compliance
with article 19 of the Covenant.
The
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
issued a declaration in September 2004 calling on Central
Asian countries to amend their state secrets laws to only
apply to "information whose disclosure would significantly
threaten the national security or territorial integrity
of a nation", to publish the associated state secrets
regulations, shorten time durations for classifying information
and limit liability for journalists publishing state secrets
in cases of public interest".
Uzbekistan
is the only country in the region which has not signed the
Aarhus Convention.
[Footnotes
for this section are currently unavailable but will be posted
the week of July 10. All footnotes and references are also
available in the full study, available
here.]
7
FEBRUARY 2003 UZBEKISTAN:
New FOIA Comes Into Force CAFSCEN.org
reports that a new law on freedom of information has
come into effect in Uzbekistan recently. The law "On
Principles and Guarantees of Freedom of Information"
which was accepted by Parliament in December, 2002 has become
operational.
UPDATE
2/10/03 CAFSCEN.org
now reports that the Uzbekistan Government has officially
declared its intentions to "Counteract" any Information
Expansion.
In
the opinion of analysts, this counteraction will only toughen
governmental control of information flows. Already in place
in Uzbekistan is governmental filtration of information
placed on the world wide web. Internet providers are forced
to carry out Internet connections through a unit of the
State Enterprise of Agency of Telecommunication and Post.
Notes
[Footnotes
for this section are currently unavailable but will be posted
the week of July 10. All footnotes and references are also
available in the full study, available
here.]
Political
Rights: 7
Civil Liberties: 6
Status: Not Free
Freedom
House, Countries in Transit 2005
(The ratings are based on a scale of
1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level and
7 the lowest level of democratic development. The
2005 ratings reflect the period January 1 through
December 31, 2004.)
Electoral
Process Rating: 6.75
Civil Society Rating: 6.50
Independent Media Rating: 6.75
Local Governance Rating: 6.25
National Governance Rating: 6.50
Constitutional, Legislative, and Judicial Framework
Rating: 6.25
Corruption Rating: 6.00
Status: Not Free
"The
level of professionalism in print and broadcast
media is extremely low. Suffocated by strict government
control, editors and publishers fail to understand
the concept of serving the public and continue
to direct their attention to the authorities.
Reporting is often one-sided, presenting only
the official viewpoint; the style of writing has
not changed since the Soviet era, with journalists
using dry, formal language and totalitarian clich?s.
Censorship by editors and publishers is stricter
in the capital city than in the regions, but local
journalists lack resources and skills to deliver
objective, accurate, and impartial reporting.
They also experience problems obtaining information
from local government officials. The Law on Freedom
of Information adopted in 2002 is used by journalists
to obtain information from the government; however,
some of its provisions allow for banning information
that is critical of societal values or that advocates
for social change. The law is used mostly to strengthen
Uzbek national consciousness and tradition."
"The
media and civil society groups lack information
about military and security matters and are
unable to provide oversight of the military
and security services. This fact was clearly
demonstrated during the terrorist attacks in
the spring when the delivery of information
to the media was significantly delayed, allowing
for the spread of rumors. The authorities handled
media relations in a better way during the second
wave of attacks in the summer and provided timely
information to the public."
"The
Government tightly controlled information. The
Uzbekistan News Agency cooperated closely with
the presidential staff to prepare and distribute
all officially sanctioned news and information.
The Government's Press and Information Agency
was responsible for observing all media. Most
editors and journalists continued to express concerns
about potential consequences of conducting serious
investigative journalism. On March 27, reporters
and other media employees established a new government-sponsored
association, the Creative Union of Journalists
of Uzbekistan, that observers believed would serve
as another mechanism for the Government to exercise
control over the media. . . .
The
Constitution states that all government agencies
must provide citizens with the opportunity to
examine documents, decisions, and other materials
affecting their freedoms; however, the Government
seldom respected these rights. The public generally
did not have access to Government information,
and information normally considered in the public
domain, such as prosecutions for corruption
or official malfeasance, were seldom reported.
In June, the NGO Article 19 Global Campaign
for Free Expression released an analysis of
the country's secrecy and freedom of information
laws, which concluded that the types of information
that can be considered classified, and thus
protected by the state, were so broad as to
include virtually all information."
1)
Voice and Accountability: -1.75
2) Political Instability and Violence: -1.37
3) Government Effectiveness: -1.04
4) Regulatory Burden: -2.10
5) Rule of Law: -1.30
6) Control of Corruption: -1.21
