According to Nodirbek Rasulov, Doctor of Economic Sciences, the introduction of norms aimed at solving socio-economic problems into the current Constitution, first of all, will ensure the solution of issues related to state support for persons in need of social assistance, with disabilities, and secondly, will create a basis for solving problems related to unemployment, rising incomes of the population and strengthening the legal framework for providing affordable housing to the needy segments of the population.
– The population is mostly interested in the results of the constitutional reform, how it will affect the well-being of people, what social and economic problems of citizens they are aimed at solving, – he says. – Therefore, as an economist, I would like to express my opinion on this issue.
It should be recognized that today in our country one of the most important issues is unemployment, problems associated with the level of poverty and the increase in real incomes of the population. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, as of June 2022, the total number of people in need of work in our country is 1 million 400 thousand people, the unemployment rate among the economically active population is 9.2 percent. This arises various social problems.
If we analyze the essence of the reforms currently being carried out in our country, we will be convinced that their main goal is to realize human interests, which are of the highest value in society.
If we consider the draft Constitutional Law “On introducing amendments and addenda to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan”, submitted for public discussion since June 25 this year, we will see that several articles are expected to be included in the draft aimed at guaranteeing human interests.
In particular, in the introduction and Article 1 of the proposed Constitutional draft, a proposal is made that Uzbekistan is a social state. The introduction of the concept of “social” into the Constitution, firstly, impose on the state the fulfillment of many tasks and duties, and secondly, the reflection of this word in the Basic Law guarantees the solution of many social problems, such as ensuring employment of the population, increasing its real income, social protection of low-income, needy and destitute citizens, ensuring the activeness of women in society, implementing affordable housing policies, solving problems related to unemployment, providing qualified medical care and getting education.
It is proposed to introduce the following provision into Article 14 of the draft: “The state shall function on the principles of social justice and legality in the interests of the well-being of a person and sustainable development of society”. The main idea of this proposal is aimed at implementing the principle “In the name of human dignity”, on its basis, the state assumes responsibility for the social protection of all segments of the population and the creation of equal opportunities for them in society.
The norm, introduced into Article 27 of the draft Constitutional Law, stated as follows: “Everyone shall have the right to the inviolability of his home. Deprivation of housing is not allowed except by a court decision”, will make it possible to eliminate the danger of demolition of housing, which has been worrying the population for many years.
The amendment proposed to article 37 of the draft “… the right to decent work, to favorable working conditions, fair remuneration for work without any discrimination and not below the established minimum wage”, along with ensuring the creation of favorable working conditions at workplaces, regardless of the form of ownership, from a legal point of view, will also secure a decent remuneration for work, that is, receiving a salary not lower than the established minimum wage.
The provision introduced into Article 39, as follows: “The state, by the procedure established by law, shall provide housing for socially vulnerable and low-income citizens in need of better housing conditions”, will serve as the basis for creating a system for providing needy and socially vulnerable citizens with affordable housing in the future.
As is obvious, Article 53 of the draft Constitutional Law submitted for discussion reflects the largest number of economic relations. So, let’s pay attention to some of the norms introduced in this article:
In particular, the introduction of the norm “The state shall create conditions for the balanced development of economic sectors and territories, as well as ensure a fair distribution of economic resources” into Article 53 will create a legal basis for the equal development of all regions and the even distribution of financial resources.
Interviewed by N. Toshpulatova, UzA
