Anis H. Bajrektarevic is a Professor and a Chairperson for International Law and Global

INTERESTS & INFLUENCES OF MAJOR EXTERNAL ACTORS IN CENTRAL ASIA
56

---

This negatively impacts the exports of the
Uzbek cotton as in 2012, 100 international
clothing manufacturers refused to use Uzbek
cotton. Many equate the forced work as a
human trafficking problem.
Uzbekistan has planned to increase gold pro-
duction output. Uzbekistan is home to Man-
atau, one of the largest gold pit mines in the
world. The slumping Russian markets have also
impacted the Uzbek gold commodities market
in May 2015 and also experiencing the effects
of the drop in the prices of oil and gas. The
slump in the Russian economy could produce
economic conditions for Uzbekistan and the
other Central Asian states by pushing their in-
flation to double digits. The current inflation
rate according to the Government of Uzbek-
istan is 5.5-6.5. The Uzbek national refinancing
rate is nine percent according to a 2015 Uzbek
government figure.
So far Uzbekistan has not managed to convert
from the former Soviet planned economy to a
total free market economy. The country tested
several economic models and structural re-
forms are slowly developed and implemented.
Uzbekistan’s economy started to significantly
grow in 2002. In order for Uzbekistan to main-
tain a steady growth rate, changes need to be
made to the private sector according to a rec-
ommendation made by the International Mon-
etary Fund (IMF) as Uzbekistan’s “fiscal policy
remains prudent, with a balanced budget, and
the banking sector is stable, [well-capitalized]
and highly liquid.”[116] 
SOCIAL AND DEMOgRAPHIC CHALLENgES
According to the Uzbekistan’s law and regula-
tions, all permanent residents of Uzbekistan
have the right of citizenship without ethnic or
religious discrimination and share the same civil
rights. The international organization Freedom
House assessed the Uzbek regime ranked
amongst the eight nations with the worst
human right records for 2005. 
This ranking was mainly due to the Andijan
Massacre, reports of Karimov boiling people
alive, and the arrest and torture of political dis-
sidents and the conditions at Jaslyk prison, and
other documented human rights violations.
Uzbek citizens receive limited information
about news which could pose a threat to the
regime. The Uzbek police and security appara-
tus have the legal right to imprison people
without any cause or without a warrant.
The country suffers from poverty. Statistics from
the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) puts the figure at 16% (75% of those
who are living below the poverty line live in
rural areas) in 2011 and the per capita GDP Per
Capita, PPP (2011) is $3,827.[117] The poverty
rate used to be 28%. The UNDP report identified
that Uzbekistan has made significant progress
in decreasing malnutrition and reducing low-
income rates and the report identified that so-
cial cohesion “has been maintained through
more equitable income distribution, the cre-
ation of employment opportunities with a spe-
cific focus on rural areas, and attention given to
vulnerable populations” and the same applies
to gender equality.”[118]