Uzbekistan is set to amend the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations Law (1998). Uzbek Ministry of Justice has prepared amendments to the law which are now being discussed by foreign experts, Sodiq Safoev, First Deputy Chairman of Uzbek Senate, said at the conference entitled “Religious Tolerance: The Experience of Uzbekistan and the USA” in Tashkent on Monday.
US delegation led by the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom Sam Brownback was also present in the conference.
“Earlier we spoke about the agreements reached during the state visit of the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the United States. Now, Uzbekistan is undertaking reforms, in particular in the sphere of religious freedom. Uzbek Ministry of Justice has prepared amendments to the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations Law. And now we would welcome American experts’ input to improve the law,” Safoev said.
The Religious Freedom Law was adopted in 1991, based on the same-titled Soviet law of 1990. In 1998), the law was overhauled.
