Uzbekistan: Poverty, Inequality and Violence: Report to the European Parliament
The situation in Uzbekistan merited special attention because the clear warnings that the rise in poverty and inequality could lead to violence went unheeded, with the results we know today. Since 1991, Uzbekistan has embarked on the difficult transition away from a totalitarian system and a centralized economy, with little success. The evaluation describes a situation of increasing poverty and inequality (as compared to the Soviet era) that, combined with a blocked political system, offers little hope for change. This has caused growing social tension to which the government has responded with increasingly repressive measures that have pushed some people to violence.
The causal connection between government policies that fail to provide protection for economic and social rights and increasing violence was identified with clarity in a 2003 United Nations Development Group report [1] :
- “The wealthier sectors of the population appear to have benefited disproportionately from the economic growth while other parts, notably the more vulnerable, have not benefited from growth and are burdened with most of the hardships resulting from the transition.”
- “The national authorities, international development practitioners and the economists have so far paid little attention to the social implications of the transition and have instead prioritized economic and institutional development, thus exacerbating existing political, institutional, and economic problems.”
- “…When social disparities become more pronounced, opportunities potentially exist for extremist groups to capitalize on the perception of growing inequality, as resentment about perceived social injustice blinds some to the shortcomings of alternatives. For example, Namangan province is often cited for its high number of sympathizers for radical Islamic movements, but support in this region may be rather the result of disappointment over socio-economic disenfranchisement than true passion for radical Islam.”
- “Sympathy for militants seems to be linked to the lack of possibilities to express discontent within the current institutional framework.”
The first Uzbekistan case study deals with the situation of Uzbek workers forced by poverty to migrate to Tashkent (the capital). They are consequently subjected to exploitation and violence because, having no resident permit, they are considered as illegal residents in the city. The second deals with the economic and social causes of domestic violence. Both studies clearly confirm the relationship between violence and violations of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights.
[1] United Nations Development Group (UNDG), "Common Country Assessment Uzbekistan 2003", http://www.undg.org/documents/5479-Uzbekistan_CCA.pdf, p. 19, pp. 43-45.