Uzbekistan has approved a procedure for providing social services to victims of human trafficking under the Cabinet of Ministers' Oct. 6 resolution.

Victims can seek help at Insоn social service centers, specialized institutions, from a mahalla social worker, or through the National Social Protection Agency's hotline, 1146. Applications are accepted within one month of being recognized as a presumed victim, or within one year of official recognition.

Victims will receive emergency medical, psychological and legal assistance, help replacing lost documents, and support with residence permits and citizenship procedures. They are also eligible for vocational training, job placement through employment support departments, and free accommodation in specialized institutions for up to six months, including meals and hygiene supplies. Each victim will have an individual rehabilitation program prepared by a team of a social worker, a lawyer and a psychologist.

The Interior Ministry has been instructed to ensure continuous escort of victims to specialized institutions. Minor children, one legal representative of a minor victim and one caregiver for a victim with a Group I disability may stay with them.

After discharge, which may follow completion of the rehabilitation program, a victim's written request or a court-ordered prison sentence, Insон centers will monitor the person at home for six months. Data will be recorded in the "Unified National Social Protection" system.

The Republican Rehabilitation Center under the National Social Protection Agency has a staffing ceiling of 11 full-time positions. The agency, with the Ministry of Digital Technologies and the Interior Ministry, has until Nov. 1 to upgrade and integrate the information system.

Since Sept. 1, victim status has been granted for a maximum of one year under a new support system.