World Bank Document

28. 

Despite this development, citizen engagement in Uzbekistan remains a  challenge. 

There are limited channels for genuine participation, and limited trust on the part of citizens in 

their ability to affect change. Attempts to reform local governance are mostly met with resistance, 

and upward reporting stifles local engagement and voice. Independent groups have great difficulty 

in organizing in Uzbekistan, and the non-governmental sector is itself struggling with 

independence, representativeness, mandate and accountability. Nevertheless, those NGOs focused 

on development have collectively played an important role in exacting responsiveness to the norms 

of rule by law. The challenges include the limited capacity, lack of willingness to fund citizen 

engagement, and only limited operationalization of monitoring or feedback that engages 

beneficiaries in World Bank projects. Opportunities include government commitment to open data 

and e-government, including hotlines in some sectors.