10-07-202656
In the irreversible processes of renewal taking place in our country at the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the principles of social justice are emerging as a critical foundation.
Analysing and studying public opinion, identifying the issues that concern citizens, finding solutions to them, and ensuring the satisfaction of our compatriots with their lives — these have become the priorities of today's reforms. The noble initiatives in this area are also receiving high recognition at the international level.
Since 2009, 20 February has been celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice. The primary objective of this day is to draw attention to such global challenges as poverty, unemployment, gender inequality, and social exclusion, and to call for the creation of a fair, equitable, and inclusive environment in society.
Jahongir Isayev, Head of Department at the Sustainable Development Centre, shared the following with a UzA correspondent regarding this date and the priority of social justice principles in our country:
— 20 February — the World Day of Social Justice — is not merely a symbolic date in the life of the international community. It is an important socio-political benchmark that places at the centre of the global development agenda such values as the affirmation of human dignity, the provision of equal opportunities, the establishment of decent work, and the fight against poverty. These ideas are today fully aligned with the priority principles that define the substance and essence of New Uzbekistan's development strategy.
The development experience of the twenty-first century has clearly demonstrated that sustainable development cannot be achieved in a society where social justice is not ensured. However high the indicators of economic growth may be, if their results are not equitably distributed among the strata of the population, social trust within society weakens, inequality deepens, and ultimately an estrangement between the state and the population arises, thereby eroding the foundations of mutual responsibility and trust.
For this reason, social justice has been defined as a central idea within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework, where it is intrinsically linked to the goals of eradicating poverty (SDG 1), promoting decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), and reducing inequality (SDG 10).
The fact that approximately 700 million people worldwide still live in conditions of extreme poverty demonstrates that social justice has become a determining factor for global security and sustainable development. In countries with low levels of formal employment and weak social protection systems, inequality is becoming one of the principal obstacles to economic growth. Consequently, social justice is not merely a direction of social policy but rather a strategic precondition for national development.
Uzbekistan presents itself not merely as a state that supports these global principles, but as a country that is consistently embedding them within its national development model. The ideological foundation of the large-scale reforms being implemented in recent years is the principle of 'The State — for the People.' The concept of affirming human dignity has become the central criterion of state policy and has been established as a priority direction in the processes of governance, economic renewal, social protection, education, and regional development.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's idea that 'the results of reforms must first and foremost be felt in the lives of ordinary people' has defined social justice not as a declaration, but as a concrete political commitment.
The fight against poverty has, for the first time in Uzbekistan, been elevated to the level of a systematic and institutionalised state policy. Most importantly, poverty is no longer perceived as a social condition; rather, its reduction and elimination are regarded as a specific obligation of the state. A fundamentally new model of social support has been formed — through targeted social protection mechanisms, practical instruments such as the 'Iron Notebook,' the 'Women's Notebook,' and the 'Youth Notebook,' vocational training, the stimulation of entrepreneurship, and the engagement of the population in economic activity.
This approach is significant in that it is aimed not at turning citizens into recipients of social benefits, but at ensuring their active participation in economic processes.
The economic foundation of social justice is decent work. As long as a person is unable to secure a stable income through their own labour, it is difficult to speak of equal opportunities in society. For this reason, the employment policy in our country is not limited to job creation alone, but is directed towards the qualitative improvement of labour relations, the reduction of the informal sector, and the strengthening of labour rights protection.
Ensuring the employment of young people and women, preparing them for modern professions, and developing the entrepreneurial environment creates a strong interconnection between economic growth and social stability. These measures serve as an important mechanism linking social justice with economic growth within the framework of SDG 8. President Mirziyoyev's idea, emphasised on multiple occasions — 'The fight against poverty means dignifying the individual through labour' — forms the basis of this direction. Decent work is not only a source of income, but the primary factor ensuring human dignity.
At the same time, social justice also requires proportional development among regions. If sharp disparities persist between central and peripheral regions in the areas of education, healthcare, infrastructure, and economic opportunities, the risk of social fragmentation arises. For this reason, the comprehensive development of rural areas and districts, the improvement of transport and engineering infrastructure, the channelling of investment into regions, and the expansion of equal access to social services have become priority tasks of state policy. This ensures the practical results of reforms aimed at reducing inequality in accordance with SDG 10.
The fact that the principle 'No one should be left behind' is being established as the central criterion in New Uzbekistan's development model is evidence of the consistent movement along the path of building a social state. Social protection, investment in human capital, and the development of quality education and healthcare systems — all of these serve to direct the benefits of economic growth towards human well-being.
The World Day of Social Justice is for Uzbekistan not merely another date in the international calendar, but a meaningful expression of the development path the country has chosen. Combating poverty, ensuring decent work, and reducing inequality have become New Uzbekistan's strategic choices. A state policy grounded in social justice represents the most reliable guarantee of sustainable economic growth, social cohesion, and the affirmation of human dignity.