On June 16, the President signed the Additional measures to ensure the openness of state bodies and organizations, as well as the effective implementation of citizen oversight Decree.

The document approved the List of socially significant information to be made public as open data by all state bodies and organizations, including the Accounts Chamber, the Central Bank, courts, prosecutors and companies with state’s stakes.

The Anti-Corruption Agency is entrusted with additional duties in terms of ensuring the transparency of state bodies:

• coordination and constant monitoring in terms of ensuring the openness of the activities of state bodies and organizations, including keeping records of their obligations to post information on the Internet, determined by regulatory legal acts;
• assistance in the development and implementation of measures to establish effective citizen oversight over the activities of state bodies through the media;
• submitting for public discussion through the Mening Fikrim (My Opinion) portal of topical problems related to the openness and transparency of state bodies arising from the appeals of individuals and legal entities;
• development and assistance in the implementation of proposals for continuous improvement and updating of the List of socially significant information to be placed as open data;
• the formation of a culture of openness, transparency and accountability of the state bodies through the media among government officials, as well as the outreach on the importance of ensuring accountability of government bodies and officials before the public.

The Agency was also given the right to submit proposals to the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan and the Cabinet of Ministers on bringing to justice the guilty officials of state bodies who systematically violate the requirements of acts of legislation on openness.

The State Security Service, together with the Ministry of Justice and the Anti-Corruption Agency, were instructed to develop a Protection of State Secrets draft bill within three months, providing, in particular:

• a list of information of limited access, its use, as well as the grounds, terms and procedure for including and excluding such information from the category of such information;
• ban on the qualification as state secrets of information not included in the list of restricted information;
• ban on qualification as state secrets of information, the restriction of which threatens the safety of citizens.

In addition, by April 1, 2022, it is expected to develop a draft Openness of activities of state bodies and organizations bill in a new edition.