Hundreds of thousands of children await justice: will the alimony system be reviewed?

In the Senate of Uzbekistan, the pressing issue of child support — the alimony system — has once again emerged on the agenda. On June 26, at the plenary session, existing problems in alimony collection and payment processes and ways to address them were comprehensively discussed. Parliament decided to send an official inquiry to the Cabinet of Ministers.

It was stated that the current alimony amount lags significantly behind real-life needs. According to Article 99 of the Family Code, the alimony amount for each child should be no less than 26.5% of the minimum wage. At present calculations, alimony equals 306,000 soums.

However, given that as of January 1, 2025, the minimum consumer budget is set at 669,000 soums, the current amount does not even reach half of this. This could lead to a shortage of food, clothing, education, and medical services for the child. Orzigul Muydinova, Chair of the Senate Committee on Youth, Women, and Culture, emphasized: “It is time to review the alimony amount taking into account the child’s age and needs.”

Irresponsibility in alimony payments was also discussed. In 2023, 5,697 individuals were held administratively liable for evasion, and in 2024 this grew by 35% to 8,833 individuals. Among these, 1,109 were criminally sentenced.

Notably, collecting alimony from debtors without jobs or official incomes has become more complicated. Currently, enforcing measures and identifying financial sources for such individuals face legal and practical issues.

Senators also referred to international practice. They discussed joining the Hague Convention, which enables alimony collection from those residing abroad. They also focused on expanding funding sources for the “Alimony Payments” fund and ensuring full reimbursement of funds.

In 2024, the fund paid 40.6 billion soums to 1,723 recipients. However, only 2% — 849.2 million soums — was recovered. This calls for reviewing the fund's effectiveness and its mechanisms.

Another serious issue is alimony accrual for minors placed in childcare institutions. By law, alimony should be accumulated in child accounts, but in practice, legal grounds for opening personal accounts are unclear, and payments are made to other accounts. This may cause problems in utilizing the funds later.

Therefore, the Senate members decided to send a request to the Cabinet of Ministers including proposals: to review alimony amounts, align them with the age and needs of the child, develop the alimony payments fund, and enhance electronic monitoring systems.

A serious government and societal approach to this issue will be an important step toward ensuring children’s material support and full development. In the coming days, announcements will be made on measures by the Cabinet of Ministers — we recommend following updates on our website. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!