The purpose of this Law shall be to regulate relations in the field of state youth policy.

The legislation on state youth policy shall consist of this Law and other legislative acts.

If an international treaty of the Republic of Uzbekistan establishes rules other than those provided for by the legislation on state youth policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the rules of the international treaty shall apply.

The following basic concepts are used in this Law:

state youth policy — a system of socio-economic, organizational and legal measures implemented by the state to create conditions for the social formation of youth and the development of their intellectual, creative and other potential;

youth (young citizens) — persons who have reached the age of fourteen and are under the age of thirty;

young family — a family in which both spouses are under the age of thirty, or a family consisting of a single father or a single mother under the age of thirty raising a child (children), including a divorced, widowed man or woman;

young specialist — an employee under the age of thirty who has graduated from a higher or secondary specialized, vocational education institution, has started working in his/her specialty within three years after graduation, and has worked for no more than three years in the specialty indicated in the educational document;

youth entrepreneurship — entrepreneurial activity carried out by young citizens without establishing a legal entity, as well as by legal entities founded by young citizens.

The basic principles of state youth policy shall be:

openness and transparency;

participation of youth in the implementation of state youth policy;

support and encouragement of youth initiatives;

priority of spiritual, moral and cultural values;

non-discrimination against youth.

The main directions of state youth policy shall be:

ensuring the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of youth;

protecting the life and health of youth;

promoting the spiritual, intellectual, physical and moral development of youth;

ensuring open and quality education for youth;

creating conditions for the employment and occupation of youth;

educating youth in the spirit of patriotism, civic consciousness, tolerance, respect for the law, national and universal values, and fostering resilience against harmful influences and trends, as well as instilling firm confidence in life and positive outlooks;

protecting youth from actions undermining moral foundations, and from the ideas of terrorism, religious extremism, separatism, fundamentalism, violence and cruelty;

raising the level of legal awareness and legal culture of youth;

supporting and encouraging gifted and talented youth;

creating conditions for the development of youth entrepreneurship;

promoting a healthy lifestyle among youth, ensuring meaningful organization of their leisure, and developing youth sports on a mass scale;

providing spiritual and material support to young families, implementing a system of comprehensive measures to provide them with decent housing and socio-living conditions;

developing cooperation with international organizations engaged in the implementation of the rights and freedoms of youth.

State youth policy may be implemented through state programs, territorial and other programs.

State programs, territorial and other programs shall be developed and implemented with the aim of socially supporting youth, creating necessary conditions to protect and realize the personal, political, economic, social and cultural rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of young citizens, increasing their role and activity in the life of society, and raising a healthy and well-rounded young generation.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

ensure the implementation of state youth policy;

ensure the development and implementation of state programs in the field of state youth policy;

develop and adopt regulatory legal acts aimed at implementing state youth policy;

within its competence, coordinate the activities of bodies and institutions that implement and participate in the implementation of state youth policy;

organize the consolidation and analysis of the progress of implementation of state youth policy and take measures to further improve it;

ensure cooperation between state bodies and institutions, non-governmental non-profit organizations and other civil society institutions on issues of implementing state youth policy;

carry out international cooperation in the field of state youth policy.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

The Agency for Youth Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the specially authorized state administration body in the field of state youth policy (hereinafter — the specially authorized state body).

The specially authorized state body shall:

develop and implement state programs in the field of state youth policy;

participate in legislative drafting in the field of state youth policy and prepare proposals to improve the relevant regulatory legal acts;

exercise control over compliance with legislation on state youth policy;

implement measures aimed at protecting the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of youth;

participate in the prevention of offenses among youth;

analyze the implementation of state youth policy and develop proposals for its improvement;

implement measures for the legal and social protection of youth and for ensuring their employment;

organize, on a systemic basis, work with youth studying abroad;

submit, to heads of state bodies and organizations, submissions subject to mandatory consideration on eliminating identified violations of legislation on state youth policy and the causes and conditions enabling them;

implement measures to ensure cooperation between state bodies and organizations on issues of implementing state youth policy;

cooperate, in implementing state youth policy, with non-governmental non-profit organizations, citizensʼ self-government bodies and other civil society institutions;

take measures to develop international cooperation in the field of state youth policy.

The specially authorized state body may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

The specially authorized state body and its territorial departments shall have the right to send requests to state bodies and organizations demanding the provision of reasoned explanations on the execution of regulatory legal acts and programs on implementing state youth policy and on other important issues within their competence.

Draft regulatory legal acts that directly or indirectly affect the implementation of state youth policy shall be subject to mandatory coordination with the specially authorized state body.

Local public authorities shall:

ensure the implementation of state youth policy in the respective territory;

develop, approve and implement territorial programs in the field of state youth policy;

coordinate the activities of bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy in the respective territory;

ensure the conduct and assessment of monitoring of youth needs to improve the effectiveness of the implementation of state youth policy;

ensure the implementation of employment and job-placement policy for youth, organize monitoring of the labor market and the practice of employing young specialists;

cooperate, in implementing state youth policy, with non-governmental non-profit organizations, citizensʼ self-government bodies and other civil society institutions.

Local public authorities may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

The system of bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy shall include:

bodies of state administration in the sphere of education and educational institutions;

bodies administering the state health-care system and health-care institutions;

bodies for physical culture and sports;

culture bodies;

labor bodies;

prosecution bodies;

internal affairs bodies;

justice bodies;

bodies for defense affairs.

Other bodies and institutions may also participate in the implementation of state youth policy in accordance with the law.

Bodies administering education and educational institutions shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

participate in drafting regulatory legal and other acts aimed at improving the quality of education and training qualified personnel;

together with interested bodies and institutions, analyze the employment of graduates of secondary specialized, vocational and higher education institutions and, based on the results, develop proposals to improve the training of specialists in educational institutions;

take measures to improve the quality of education and upbringing of youth and to introduce modern forms and methods of education into the learning process;

organize sports sections, science and technology circles, creative circles and clubs in educational institutions to ensure meaningful leisure time for youth;

participate in activities aimed at raising the legal awareness and legal culture of youth and at their spiritual and moral education;

provide social-psychological and pedagogical assistance to youth with disabilities;

implement measures for the social rehabilitation and social adaptation of young citizens;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Bodies administering education and educational institutions may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Bodies administering the state health-care system and health-care institutions shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

organize advocacy to disseminate sanitary and hygienic knowledge among youth and to promote a healthy lifestyle;

organize systematic medical examinations among youth;

implement measures for the medical and social rehabilitation of youth with disabilities;

identify young citizens suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse, mental disorders, infectious and other socially dangerous diseases, provide for their registration, examinations, as well as medical-social rehabilitation and social adaptation;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Bodies administering the state health-care system and health-care institutions may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Bodies for physical culture and sports shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

implement measures to develop physical culture and sports among youth, to encourage the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and interest in sports;

organize competitions among youth in folk games and in national and other sports;

participate in developing and strengthening international sports relations among youth and in holding sports competitions;

ensure the participation of gifted and talented youth in events held in the sphere of physical culture and sports at the international and republican levels;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Bodies for physical culture and sports may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Culture bodies shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

conduct advocacy of artistic creativity, folk and amateur creativity among youth;

assist in the development among youth of cinema, theater, music, choreography, fine arts, the circus, folk applied arts and Estrada art, and in raising their ideological-artistic and moral level;

ensure that mass cultural and festive events among youth are filled with ideological content and establish close cooperation with creative unions and other non-governmental non-profit organizations;

participate in the development and strengthening of international cultural relations among youth and in holding conferences and exhibitions;

comprehensively support creative youth and create necessary conditions for them to fully reveal their abilities and talents;

organize creative trips and ensure the participation of gifted and talented youth in reviews, contests, festivals and other events held in the cultural sphere at the international and republican levels;

carry out educational activities among youth to further instill the ideas of independence, high spirituality and humanism in national self-awareness and to strengthen immunity against alien ideas of radicalism and extremism;

comprehensively assist creative teams, especially creative youth, in creating works reflecting the brightest pages of our peopleʼs history and present life and the free democratic development of our country;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Culture bodies may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Labor bodies shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

systematically analyze the level of youth employment and participate in ensuring their employment;

organize a system of vocational training and retraining for youth;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Labor bodies may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Prosecution bodies shall:

exercise supervision over the precise and uniform execution of legislation on state youth policy;

participate in legislative drafting in the field of state youth policy;

carry out the prevention of offenses among youth, including identifying and eliminating the causes and conditions enabling the commission of offenses;

participate in activities to raise the legal awareness and legal culture of youth;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Prosecution bodies may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Internal affairs bodies shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

participate in activities to raise the legal awareness and legal culture of youth;

carry out the prevention of offenses among youth, including identifying and eliminating the causes and conditions enabling the commission of offenses;

implement measures for the social rehabilitation and social adaptation of young citizens;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Internal affairs bodies may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Justice bodies shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

participate in legislative drafting in the field of state youth policy;

submit proposals to improve regulatory legal acts in the field of state youth policy;

carry out and coordinate activities aimed at raising the legal awareness and legal culture of youth;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Justice bodies may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Bodies for defense affairs shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

participate in organizing pre-conscription initial training of youth;

participate in events aimed at educating youth in the spirit of spiritual-moral values and military patriotism;

cooperate with other bodies and institutions participating in the implementation of state youth policy.

Bodies for defense affairs may exercise other powers in accordance with the law.

Citizensʼ self-government bodies shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

together with state and economic administration bodies, non-governmental non-profit organizations and other organizations, provide additional material assistance, in the manner prescribed by law, to young citizens from low-income families;

implement measures aimed at protecting the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of youth, increasing their role and activity in the life of society, raising a healthy and well-rounded young generation, and forming a spiritual-moral environment in the family;

cooperate with educational and other institutions on issues of upbringing youth;

assist in ensuring the employment of youth in enterprises, institutions and organizations located in the respective territory;

exercise public control over the execution of legislation in the field of state youth policy and the implementation of state and territorial programs;

cooperate, in implementing state youth policy, with other bodies and institutions, non-governmental non-profit organizations and other civil society institutions.

Citizensʼ self-government bodies may also participate in other activities in accordance with the law.

Non-governmental non-profit organizations shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

participate in forming firm confidence and outlook on life among youth and in educating them in the spirit of respect for the law, national and universal values, and resistance to harmful influences and trends;

organize and conduct activities aimed at raising healthy and well-rounded youth and at increasing their role and activity in the life of society;

assist in creating conditions that ensure social support for youth and the protection and realization of the personal, political, economic, social and cultural rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of young citizens;

assist in early identification and development of the creative talent and abilities of youth in science, sports, art and culture;

exercise public control over the execution of legislation and the implementation of state and territorial programs in the field of state youth policy;

participate in implementing preventive measures to foster a healthy lifestyle among youth, to combat infectious and other socially dangerous diseases, alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse, tobacco addiction and other harmful vices, to organize meaningful leisure for youth, and to develop youth sports on a mass scale;

help increase environmental culture among youth and develop environmental education and upbringing;

in the manner prescribed by law, may engage in training youth;

assist in involving youth in entrepreneurship, in vocational guidance, retraining and advanced training.

Non-governmental non-profit organizations may also participate in other activities in accordance with the law.

The state shall guarantee and ensure the participation of non-governmental non-profit organizations in the implementation of state youth policy.

Mass media shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of state youth policy;

cover activities aimed at implementing state youth policy, including educating a healthy and well-rounded young generation, increasing its role and activity in society, and raising its legal awareness and legal culture;

participate in events aimed at promoting the spiritual, intellectual, physical and moral development of youth;

exercise public control over the execution of legislation and the implementation of state and territorial programs in the field of state youth policy;

cooperate on issues of implementing state youth policy with bodies and institutions that implement and participate in the implementation of state youth policy, as well as with other civil society institutions.

Mass media may also participate in other activities in accordance with the law.

A non-governmental non-profit organization of youth is a self-governing organization established on a voluntary basis by individuals and/or legal entities, which does not set earning income (profit) as the main purpose of its activity and does not distribute income (profit) received among its participants (members), which sets as its goals the realization and protection of the personal, political, economic, social and cultural rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of youth, as well as increasing the social activity of youth.

The state shall provide material and financial support to non-governmental non-profit organizations of youth and, in the manner prescribed by law, grant them the right to use premises of educational institutions, clubs, culture and leisure centers, sports facilities and other facilities.

A non-governmental non-profit organization of youth may own buildings, structures, housing stock, equipment, property, cultural-educational and health-improvement property, funds, securities and other property necessary to materially ensure its activities, as provided in its charter.

A person who has reached the age of fourteen may be a member of a non-governmental non-profit organization of youth. The conditions and procedure for joining and terminating membership, including termination due to age, shall be determined by the charter of the relevant non-governmental non-profit organization.

In accordance with the Constitution and the law of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the rights and freedoms of every young citizen shall be guaranteed.

The rights and freedoms of young citizens may not be restricted, except in cases provided by law.

No direct or indirect restriction of the rights and freedoms of youth shall be allowed on the grounds of sex, race, nationality, language, religion, belief, social origin or social status; any such restriction shall entail liability in accordance with the legislation.

The State shall guarantee respect for human rights and dignity and adherence to the principles of humanism in holding minors in penal institutions and in specialized educational and upbringing institutions.

With due regard to the gravity of the offense committed and to their age, minors shall be held in penal institutions and in specialized educational and upbringing institutions under a differentiated regime in accordance with the legislation.

The following shall be guaranteed for youth in the manner prescribed by law:

free medical care;

free general secondary and secondary specialized education;

free vocational and higher education within the framework of state grants at state educational institutions;

conditions for visiting state sports-health and cultural-educational institutions;

concessional loans for construction, purchase and reconstruction of housing;

concessional loans for study at educational institutions;

provision of housing for orphans and children deprived of parental care;

measures to ensure employment after graduation from a secondary specialized, vocational or higher education institution;

benefits in the field of labor taking into account age-related characteristics, and creation of conditions for combining work with study;

taking into account the needs of youth when designing and constructing social infrastructure facilities;

benefits for the use of public transport.

Assistance in job placement for young citizens who have difficulty finding work and are unable to compete on equal terms in the labor market shall be ensured by creating additional jobs and specialized enterprises, organizing special training programs, as well as by establishing minimum job quotas at enterprises, institutions and organizations for the employment of socially vulnerable youth.

Material assistance may be provided to low-income young families in the manner prescribed by law.

Students and pupils shall not be involved in public works during the educational process, except where such work corresponds to the specialty they have chosen and constitutes a form of educational-production practice, or where pupils and students voluntarily work in their free time. Such work shall be permitted where an employment or civil-law contract exists in accordance with labor or civil legislation.

Other guarantees of social protection of youth may also be provided by law.

For the purpose of creating favorable conditions for young citizens and young families, additional measures of state support for youth may be envisaged through:

development of a system for providing counseling on family-life issues, psychological-pedagogical, legal and other matters;

development of a system of non-governmental non-profit organizations providing social services and social assistance to youth;

development of a system for organizing recreation and health improvement for youth.

Other additional measures of state support for youth may also be envisaged by law.

State support for gifted and talented youth shall be carried out through:

establishing awards and scholarships and providing educational grants in the manner prescribed by law;

assisting in organizing creative studios and schools in the fields of science, culture and art;

organizing the activities of sports sections, science and technology circles and creative circles at general secondary, secondary specialized, vocational and higher education institutions;

organizing and holding, for the purpose of identifying and encouraging gifted and talented youth, contests, Olympiads, exhibitions, festivals, reviews, concerts, symposia, readings, conferences and seminars;

international exchange of experience on youth matters;

ensuring, on a competitive basis, participation of gifted and talented youth in programs of study, retraining and internships at educational and research institutions, including abroad;

creating conditions for young specialists and scientists to conduct research and cultural-educational work, assisting in the implementation of young scientistsʼ developments into practice, and preserving and developing the personnel potential of youth;

developing networks of sports-education institutions and clubs, supporting gifted and talented young athletes, and holding sports competitions among youth;

encouraging, in the manner prescribed by law, individuals and legal entities that support gifted and talented youth.

Other measures of state support for gifted and talented youth may also be envisaged by law.

The State shall support the economic independence of youth.

State support for youth entrepreneurship shall be carried out through:

assisting, by state bodies, in organizing youth entrepreneurship;

providing concessional loans for the purpose of involving youth in entrepreneurial activity;

training youth in the fundamentals of entrepreneurial activity and developing, on a contractual basis, cooperation between educational institutions and employers;

developing and implementing programs to support youth entrepreneurship.

For the purpose of supporting youth entrepreneurship, appropriate benefits and preferences shall be established by the State in accordance with the law.

To ensure the social protection of youth and young families, a youth social service shall operate in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The areas of activity of the youth social service shall include:

providing psychological-pedagogical and legal assistance and counseling to young citizens;

providing social assistance to young citizens with disabilities;

providing social assistance to young families;

assisting in the realization of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of youth in educational and labor collectives;

assisting young specialists in adapting to new workplaces, in retraining and advanced training, as well as, in the manner prescribed by law, in providing them with housing;

providing social assistance in specialized educational and upbringing institutions for minors;

socially adapting young citizens returning from places of deprivation of liberty and from specialized educational and upbringing institutions;

assisting in the development of youth entrepreneurship;

conducting legal advocacy and informing youth about opportunities in employment, education and vocational training, meaningful leisure, tourism and sports;

organizing meaningful leisure activities for youth at their place of residence.

The youth social service may also carry out its activities in other areas in accordance with the law.

Financial support of state youth policy shall be carried out, in the manner prescribed by law, at the expense of the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan, funds of sponsors and other funds.

Disputes in the field of state youth policy shall be settled in the manner prescribed by law.

Persons guilty of violating the legislation on state youth policy shall be liable in the manner prescribed by law.

The following shall be recognized as having lost their force:

1. The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 429-XII of November 20, 1991 “On the Fundamentals of State Youth Policy in the Republic of Uzbekistan” (Bulletin of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 1992, No. 2, Article 80);

2. Resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 430-XII of November 20, 1991 “On the procedure for putting into effect the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Fundamentals of State Youth Policy in the Republic of Uzbekistan”” (Bulletin of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 1992, No. 2, Article 81);

3. Subparagraph 3 of Section I of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 621-I of May 1, 1998 “On introducing amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan” (Bulletin of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 1998, No. 5-6, Article 102);

4. Section III of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 621-II of April 30, 2004 “On introducing amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan” (Bulletin of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2004, No. 5, Article 90);

5. Subparagraph 8 of Section I of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 714-II of December 3, 2004 “On introducing amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan and recognizing certain legislative acts as having lost their force” (Bulletin of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2005, No. 1, Article 18);

6. Article 3 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. LRU-197 of December 31, 2008 “On introducing amendments and additions to certain laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with the improvement of tax legislation” (Bulletin of the Chambers of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2008, No. 12, Article 640).

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

bring its decisions into conformity with this Law;

ensure that state administration bodies review and annul their regulatory legal acts that contradict this Law.

This Law shall enter into force on the date of its official publication.