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Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)

87. Articles 29 and 4345 of the Constitution establish and guarantee the right to freedom of thought, word and belief. The Education Act of the Republic of Uzbekistan reaffirms the humanistic nature of education, accords priority to the free development of the individual, outlaws the imposition in education of any ideological beliefs and thereby ensures the free development of children and the free expression of their views.

88. The right to free expression by children of their views is upheld in judicial practice. Thus, the new Criminal Code makes provision for the participation in the questioning of young offenders of a teacher or a psychologist (art. 554). The Family Code prescribes that due account shall be taken of the child’s personal opinion in considering issues related to the determination of paternity, changes of first name or surname and adoption matters. In taking its decision, the court is obliged to take due account of the opinion of the child.
89 The State accords particular attention to the need to guarantee that children enjoy genuine freedom of conscience. Most legal rules in this area are governed by the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations Act. Article 7 of the Act stipulates that the educational system in the Republic of Uzbekistan shall be kept separate from religion. Religious subjects may not be included in educational syllabuses. The right to secular education is guaranteed for citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan without regard to their attitude to religion. The new version of the Act (of 1 May 1998) strictly prohibits any attempt forcibly to impose religious views on children.
90. Citizens are admitted to institutions of higher and secondary religious education after completion of their obligatory general secondary education in compliance with the Education Act of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Persons teaching religious subjects in religious educational establishments must have a religious education and must obtain permission of the appropriate central administrative authority for the exercise of their teaching activities. The teaching of religious dogma on a private basis is prohibited.
91. The remaining problems in this area are attributable to the lack of a system for the provision of information and the raising of awareness, which would familiarize both the children themselves and teachers and psychologists with the rights of children to the free expression of their views.

Civil rights and freedoms: Name and nationality (art. 7)

92. Citizenship issues are governed by provisions in the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan (chap. VI), and the Citizenship Act of 2 July 1992 (arts. 1316, 2228). Under the Act (art. 1), citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan determines the permanent, political and legal relationship between the individual and the State, as expressed in their mutual rights and duties. No restrictions are placed on rights on the basis of the grounds on which they were obtained, or on the basis of origin, social and property status, racial and national affiliation, sex, education, attitude to religion, political and other convictions, and form and nature of employment.

93 The following are deemed to be citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan: first, persons who, at the time of the entry into force of the Citizenship Act (1992), were permanently resident in the Republic of Uzbekistan; second, persons working on State business outside the Republic of Uzbekistan who are citizens of no other State; and, third, those who have acquired citizenship in accordance with the Act.
94. The right of children to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and the right to know and be cared for by their parents, referred to in article 7 of the Convention, is governed in national legislation by articles 76 and 77 of the Family Code and articles 19 and 1171 of the Civil Code, which also makes reference to the right to a surname and patronymic and to the possibility, in cases prescribed by law, of the use of pseudonym.
95. Article 20 of the Civil Code establishes the procedure for the protection of a person’s name. Article 21 establishes that the place of residence of minors below the age of 14 or who have been placed in care shall be deemed to be the place of residence of their lawful representatives, whether parents, guardians or adoptive parents.

Preservation of identity and protection of privacy (arts. 8 and 16)

96. Chapters V, VII and IX of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan protect privacy and guarantee the preservation of identity.

97. The life, health, rights and freedoms of children are placed under the protection of the law. In the first section of its specific provisions, the Criminal Code establishes criminal liability for crimes against the individual. Encroachments on the life and health of minors are deemed to be aggravating circumstances.
98. Particular prominence is given in the Criminal Code to the rule of law protecting children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 128 covers sexual relations with persons under 16, article 129 sexual abuse of persons under the age of 16, article 131 the keeping of establishments of illrepute and procurement involving minors and article. 135, paragraph (c) the recruitment of minors for the purposes of sexual or other exploitation). Article 130 of the Criminal Code provides criminal liability for the preparation or dissemination of pornographic materials to persons under the age of 21.
99. The mahallya cooperates closely with local internal affairs bodies, procurators’ offices and justice departments in combating the spread of drug addiction and alcoholism among children and various joint measures are being conducted for that purpose. Where young people are found to be behaving in an antisocial manner, their parents and teachers are summoned to a meeting of the mahallya to discuss how to correct their behaviour.
100. Persons found to have had sexual contact with minors are subject to criminal penalties.