Members of Parliament in Uzbekistan discuss strengthening parliamentary financial oversight of the security sector at OSCE workshop

The role of Parliament in budgetary and financial security-sector oversight in Uzbekistan was discussed in an interactive workshop in Tashkent on 3 June 2021. Twenty members of the Oliy Majlis (parliament) participated in the event, including committee chairpersons and their deputies as well as members and support staff from the Legislative Chamber and the Senate.

At the request by the Parliament of Uzbekistan, the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre organized the event, in a blended format, jointly with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan. This workshop followed up on a first event for newly elected members of Parliament, which took place in October 2020 and was supported by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

“Financial oversight is a key instrument for ensuring that funds allocated to public institutions, including in the security sector, are spent in a transparent, efficient and accountable manner. The passing of the Parliamentary Oversight Act of Uzbekistan from 2016 shows that Uzbekistan is taking decisive steps towards advancing transparency and accountability by means of parliamentary oversight,” said Pierre von Arx, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.

Participants discussed the main principles and actors of financial oversight in the security sector, the role of parliament in different phases of budget cycle, the use of parliamentary powers and tools for financial oversight as well as oversight of security-related procurement. The workshop highlighted not only relevant international standards, but also included a number of interactive exercises and group discussions tailored to the local context.

Dilorom Fayzieva, Chairperson of the Committee on International Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, said, “Budgetary oversight is becoming one of the important components of parliamentary activity in Uzbekistan. Both chambers of the Oliy Majlis pay great attention to deepening co-operation with international organizations that promote inter-parliamentary interactions and the exchange of experiences and good practices with other national parliaments.”

The event was implemented through the OSCE extra-budgetary project “Support, capacity-building and awareness-raising for Security Sector Governance and Reform within the OSCE: Phase II”, supported financially by Austria, Germany, Finland, Norway, Slovakia, and Switzerland.