In August 2026 Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) and Sex Workers’ Advocacy Network (SWAN) made a submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on Uzbekistan.
It is related to the adoption of the List of Issues Prior to Reporting for Uzbekistan’s sixth periodic report, scheduled for the Committee’s 146th session in October–November 2026. Submission focuses primarily on follow-up to previous Human Rights Committee recommendations, while also raising new concerns related to recent drug-policy reforms, the absence of opioid agonist therapy, HIV criminalisation and the situation of sex workers.
Key issues highlighted in the submission include:
- Increasingly punitive drug policy. Legislation adopted in June 2026 substantially increased criminal penalties for drug offences, with sentences reaching 15–20 years even for non-violent offences. Broad definitions may treat sharing or transferring drugs without payment as supply, while thresholds determining the seriousness of offences are insufficiently transparent.
- Administrative detention for drug use and possession. Drug use and possession for personal use can result in up to 15 days of administrative arrest, while very high fines may make detention the practical outcome for people unable to pay. Access to State-funded legal assistance is also restricted.
- Inadequate access to health care for people who use drugs and people living with HIV. Opioid agonist therapy remains completely unavailable in Uzbekistan, including in detention. HIV treatment is formally available in detention, but registration and criminal-liability requirements may discourage people from testing and seeking treatment.
- Torture and insufficient independent detention monitoring. The submission documents continuing allegations of torture and ill-treatment, reprisals and weak accountability. Although the Ombudsperson’s monitoring powers have been strengthened, independent civil society organisations still lack direct access to detention facilities.
- Mandatory HIV testing and HIV criminalisation. Compulsory HIV testing applies to several groups and was expanded in 2025. HIV exposure or transmission can carry five to eight years’ imprisonment, including for exposure without transmission, with no explicit exemption for people with an undetectable viral load.
- Violations affecting LGBTIQ+ people and sex workers. Article 120 criminalising consensual same-sex relations between men remains in force. The submission reports raids, arbitrary detention, forced examinations, extortion and misuse of personal information. Sex workers face administrative penalties and detention, creating barriers to reporting violence, accessing legal remedies and obtaining health services.
- Shrinking space for civil society and expression. New requirements increase reporting and restrictions concerning foreign funding, while Ministry of Justice approval for foreign grants remains. A new criminal prohibition on “propaganda” of potent substances is undefined and contains no explicit exemption for harm reduction, overdose prevention or HIV-prevention information, potentially restricting legitimate public-health and civil society activities.