The key facts

  • The Senate Council resolution was signed on October 15; in 2026 RSF gave Uzbekistan 147th place out of 180 with a 'very serious' rating
  • A working group has been created with participation of the Senate, the Presidential Administration, agencies and NGOs
  • The plan of measures includes an appeal to RSF, anonymous surveys of journalists, a legal advisory service and the idea of a media ombudsman

What the Senate decided

The Senate of the Oliy Majlis has officially set the task of improving Uzbekistan's position in the Press Freedom Index of the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The resolution of the upper chamber's council was signed on October 15. The Chairman of the Senate heads the Republican Council for work with international ratings and indices, which are to be discussed annually in the chamber.

The reason: a fall of 14 positions

The document expresses concern that after rising 36 positions in 2019–2022, the country's rating has fallen by 14 positions since 2024. In 2026, RSF assigned Uzbekistan 147th place among 180 countries, assessing the state of media freedom as 'very serious.' The Senate acknowledges the problems but notes that the fall in the index is a global trend, and asserts that the report 'does not sufficiently take into account' the large-scale reforms of recent years in the sphere of freedom of speech.

Factors the Senate cites from RSF

The resolution lists factors according to RSF data: insufficient development of independent private TV channels with state radio media limited to official information; a high level of state control over the media and close ties of some bloggers with government agencies; insufficient revision of legislative norms restricting journalists; attempts by officials to exert economic pressure on journalists; limited coverage of corruption in official media.

Working group and plan of measures

The resolution created a working group to improve the country's performance in the index — it includes representatives of the Senate, the Presidential Administration, a number of ministries, agencies and non-governmental organizations. The group is to study the index's indicators and data collection methods, identify Uzbekistan's strengths and problem areas for each of them, conduct a comparative analysis of other countries' experience, and prepare proposals on legislation, openness of government agencies, legal protection of journalists and media independence. It is instructed to meet with journalists, bloggers and experts on problems of access to information, interference in work, economic pressure and safety.

Concrete steps of the plan

A plan of measures has been approved covering all indicators of the index — political, economic, legal, socio-cultural and safety. Among the planned items: an appeal to Reporters Without Borders with 'factologically substantiated arguments regarding factual errors' in the 2026 report; inviting international organizations to conferences and their free meetings with independent journalists; inviting foreign media and bloggers to produce materials about the country; increasing the openness of government agencies, including the internal affairs system, with evaluation of managers by KPIs; free coverage of corruption; studying cases of criminal prosecution of journalists and the status of those released; annual anonymous surveys of journalists on self-censorship, pressure and safety; an inventory of norms on media and bloggers for compliance with international standards; a legal advisory service under the Union of Journalists with participation of independent lawyers; elaboration of independent monitoring of freedom of speech, media self-regulation and the institution of a media ombudsman; training regional journalists in investigations, fact-checking and safety.

Those responsible and context

The document recalls that the Agency for Information and Mass Communications under the president, which had been responsible for improving the rating, was liquidated in 2025. The new responsible bodies named are the Inspectorate for Control in the Sphere of Informatization and Telecommunications under the Ministry of Digital Technologies, as well as the Center for Content Preparation for Media and the Center for Mass Communications Issues under the Presidential Administration. The Center for Content Preparation is instructed to regularly prepare analytical materials on reforms for publication in international outlets. The resolution fixes plans, not measures already adopted: deadlines for the implementation of most items are not indicated in the published materials.