A draft presidential decree on additional measures to support volunteer activity initiatives, outlines a comprehensive strategy to allocate funds for the implementation of top volunteer projects each year in Uzbekistan. The proposal posted on regulations.gov.uz highlights the crucial role of volunteers in addressing emergency incidents in recent years and acknowledges their notable contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic and various natural disasters.
Despite these commendable efforts, the draft decree acknowledges existing challenges in the development of volunteering in Uzbekistan:
- Lack of systematic implementation by state bodies and organizations in fulfilling their mission functions through volunteer involvement.
- Absence of methodological manuals to regulate the activities of volunteers in relevant fields.
- Inadequate legislative incentives for volunteer involvement, such as non-taxation of funds provided for volunteer campaigns.
- Limited acknowledgment of volunteer activities by employers during candidate selection for vacant positions.
To address these issues, the draft decree aims to respect the rights and freedoms of volunteers, recognize their work, and provide appropriate encouragement for their activities. Starting January 1, 2025, republican and local executive authorities will allocate extra-budgetary funds to implement the five best volunteering projects in each region, up to 200 times the Basic Hedging Measure (BHM), or up to UZS 68 mn ($5,503) for each project.
To ensure transparency and coordination, information on major volunteer events will be posted annually on the volontyor.uz electronic platform. An electronic registration system for volunteers participating in events will be established through this platform.
The draft also outlines the allocation of UZS 5 bn ($404,639) from the state budget to the volunteer association of Uzbekistan in 2025, facilitated by the Youth Affairs Agency. The republican and local executive authorities will develop procedures for allocating funds to volunteer groups and organizations based on their areas of activity.
The discussion on this draft document is set to continue until February 1.
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