For people travelling to a neighbouring country for work, a pressing question is often where to turn for help if they face legal problems or struggle to access essential services. For families in border villages, the concern may be a reliable water supply. For someone without identity documents, it may be the ability to exercise their rights. Non-governmental, non-profit organisations (NGOs) work directly with people facing these difficulties. By joining forces, they can help more people find practical solutions.
Central Asian countries share a history, close economic ties and challenges that cross national borders. Labour migration, water resources and access to services all call for cooperation between neighbours. Governments have an important role to play, but so do civil society organisations that understand local needs and help people deal with everyday problems.
A partnership between two NGOs in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan offers a practical example. From September 2023 to February 2024, Korgan-M in Shymkent and Sogdiana in Uchkuduk, in Uzbekistan’s Navoi region, provided information and advice to migrant workers and their families. A report published by The BEARR Trust on 31 July 2024 describes the resources they developed: video guides in Uzbek and Russian for people going to work in Kazakhstan, a handbook in three languages explaining migrant workers’ rights and responsibilities, and a map of primary healthcare facilities in Shymkent and Saryagash district. People could access these resources through QR codes shared in border areas and by partner organisations in Uzbekistan.
More than 1,500 people received the materials, while around 30 NGO representatives from both countries took part in a training workshop. These numbers show how many people the project reached. To understand what it achieved, however, we need to ask what happened next. Did the advice help someone get medical care or resolve a legal problem? Did anyone encounter difficulties because the information was inaccurate or out of date? The value of the project depends on how useful the information proved in practice.
NGOs can guide people through official procedures, help them prepare documents and direct them to the right public agency. They cannot issue passports or make court decisions: those powers remain with the state. What they can do is make the process easier to navigate. When organisations on both sides of a border maintain reliable contact, they can refer people to one another in a more organised and consistent way.
Water is another area where cooperation matters. In the Fergana Valley, farming, household incomes and local stability all depend on water supplies. Giving residents a say in how water is managed can also build trust within communities. An EU-supported project run by Saferworld offers a useful example. Its partners included the Demilgelüü Ishker Ayaldar foundation in Kyrgyzstan and the Centre for Progressive Reforms in Uzbekistan.
In materials published in July 2026, Saferworld describes how it helped local NGOs consult residents, prepare work plans and budgets, and carry out community projects with small grants. This kind of support allows NGOs and residents to identify the most urgent water supply problems and propose solutions. Local discussions help establish which repairs should come first and who will benefit. This gives communities a role in planning work that affects their daily lives.
Repairs alone do not guarantee a lasting improvement. Before work begins, those involved need to agree on who will use the water, whether it will reach farmland further downstream, and who will pay for cleaning and maintenance. Women, young people and low-income families need to be heard alongside more active participants. NGOs can bring these groups into the discussion and help residents check that commitments are being kept.
Legal support can have an equally direct effect on people’s lives. On 10 January 2025, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, published the story of Samir, a resident of Kyrgyzstan. No record of his birth could be found in official archives or databases, making it difficult for him to obtain identity documents. The Adilet Legal Clinic helped him secure a court ruling confirming the fact of his birth. He was then able to obtain a new birth certificate and a Kyrgyz passport, giving him greater access to formal employment, education and healthcare.
Samir received help within Kyrgyzstan, so his case should not be described as the result of a cross-border project. It does, however, show why legal professionals in neighbouring countries can benefit from sharing experience. In 2016, Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders helped establish a regional network on statelessness, which affects people whom no country recognises as its citizens. According to the network’s own information, it connects NGOs, academic institutions and organisations providing information across five Central Asian countries. Members work to raise awareness of legal rights, provide training and share practical knowledge. Lessons from one country can inform work in another, but any solution must comply with local law.
Work on migration, water and legal assistance also supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Better water use contributes to SDG 6, while protecting migrant workers’ rights and improving working conditions supports SDG 8. Helping people obtain identity documents and legal assistance advances SDG 16. Partnerships between NGOs in different countries put SDG 17 into practice. The clearest evidence of progress towards these goals is a measurable improvement in people’s lives.
Keeping joint projects running over time can be difficult. Legal procedures differ between countries, information becomes outdated, and organisations may lack experienced staff or reliable funding. An advice service may close when its grant ends. A repaired canal may deteriorate if no one takes responsibility for maintaining it. To avoid losing early gains, partners need to agree from the outset who will do what, how information will be kept current, where funding will come from and how results will be assessed.
One option for Uzbekistan would be to test a joint advice service for migrant workers with NGOs in Kazakhstan. The Uzbek partner would answer questions and provide guidance before people leave. The Kazakh partner would regularly check information on local requirements and the agencies people need to contact. Lawyers or the appropriate public authorities would handle more complex cases. With each person’s consent, the service would follow up to see whether the advice had helped. Protecting personal information would be essential.
Another priority would be to give communities a stronger voice in joint water supply projects. Local NGOs, water users and the agencies responsible would discuss plans openly and monitor progress together. Success would be measured by improvements in water supply, the number of people served and how well facilities are maintained, as well as by the length of infrastructure repaired. A third step would be to arrange regular exchanges between lawyers, allowing them to discuss cases, compare approaches and keep each other informed about changes in laws on statelessness and identity documents.
Uzbekistan already has funding mechanisms that could support such proposals. Paragraph 7 of Presidential Decree No. UP-124, dated 26 August 2024, allows civil society organisations to propose projects addressing pressing social problems to the relevant government body. They can request support through the state social contracting system, under which public bodies commission projects to meet social needs. If a proposal receives a positive assessment, funding may be considered under the decree’s rules. The responsibilities of any foreign partner, including how its costs would be covered, would need to be agreed separately in line with the applicable laws.
Regional NGO cooperation should ultimately be judged by what changes for people. A migrant understands their rights and gets the help they need. A person without documents can establish their legal status. A repaired water facility continues to serve a community for years. These are the results that give cooperation its value. Central Asia’s shared future takes shape through practical improvements like these, sustained over time.
Alisher Azizov,
Chief Specialist, Center for Sustainable Development (NGO)