Researchers from Uzbekistan's General Prosecutor's Office, leading academic institutions, and civil society organizations convened at Lund University to present their research on anti-corruption measures and migration governance under the MOCCA (Multilevel Orders of Corruption in Central Asia) and the MARS (Non-Western Migration Regimes in a Global Perspective) research projects, funded through the European Commission’s HORIZON-MSCA-SE program. The seminar, hosted by the Sociology of Law Department, brought together scholars and practitioners to address critical governance challenges facing Central Asia and the broader international community. Representatives from the management of Fergana State Technical University — Rector Uktam Salomov and Head of the International Projects and Investment Department, Ravshanbek Abdurahimov also participated in the seminar. For reference, as of November 10, 2025, Fergana State Technical University is one of the partner institutions within the MOCCA project.
Associate Professor Rustamjon Urinboyev, Principal Investigator of both the MOCCA and MARS projects, opened the seminar by emphasizing the strategic importance of EU-Central Asian research collaboration in fostering institutional reform and regional stability. Dr Urinboyev highlighted how research-informed policy development remains underdeveloped within Central Asia, where governance decisions frequently reflect pragmatic responses to immediate crises rather than systematic analysis of comparative institutional solutions. “The MOCCA and MARS projects directly address this structural vulnerability,” he explained, “by generating evidence-based policy recommendations grounded in rigorous empirical investigation.”
The event assembled leading researchers examining corruption prevention in strategic sectors and the multifaceted implications of labor migration across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia. Eight research presentations highlighted both region-specific vulnerabilities and innovative solutions grounded in comparative legal analysis and empirical investigation.
Corruption Prevention Takes Center Stage
Rustamjon Rakhimov from Uzbekistan's General Prosecutor's Office presented comparative research on anti-corruption measures in the energy sector. His analysis examined legislative frameworks across Sweden, France, Germany, and Italy, jurisdictions representing the highest standards in anti-corruption governance. The research identified critical components of effective international frameworks, including provisions for anonymous reporting mechanisms, independent oversight bodies, and robust liability provisions. A comprehensive policy recommendation emerged from this comparative doctrinal analysis, proposing reforms to strengthen Uzbekistan's energy sector against corruption while adopting proven international practices. Rakhimov emphasized that effective anti-corruption efforts constitute a strategic foundation for national and global energy security, positioning integrity and transparency as prerequisites for resilient and predictable energy systems.
Samandar Sulaymanov from Tashkent State University of Economics introduced a novel analytical approach to corruption measurement through the Neutrosophic Evidence Risk Index (NERI). This multilevel framework quantifies corruption evidence at micro, meso, and macro levels across Central Asian states, incorporating measures of truth, indeterminacy, and falsity to capture ambiguity and conflicting signals better than traditional indices. Sulaymanov's research, drawing on a comprehensive synthetic dataset covering 2020–2025, demonstrated that digitalization dramatically reduces corruption—particularly through e-services adoption, which decreased bribery solicitation rates from 19.8% to 1.9%. The framework identifies which sectors and uncertainty hotspots require targeted policy interventions, offering policymakers a more sophisticated foundation for adaptive governance models.
Dostonboy Erkinov, also from the General Prosecutor's Office, focused on corruption within the banking sector, addressing one of the most financially vulnerable spheres to illicit practices. Erkinov's research identified seven distinct corruption pathways affecting credit activities: fraud in retail lending, overdue loan collection schemes, collateral falsification, cash desk embezzlement, personal data theft, gift-based inducement, and corruption during internal control audits. Drawing on comparative analysis of international best practices from France, the United Kingdom, and the HSBC Group, Erkinov advocated for comprehensive preventive frameworks combining enhanced transparency, ethical institutional culture, robust internal and external control systems, accessible whistleblowing mechanisms, and systematic digitalization of credit processes.
Migration: Demographic Pressures and Legal Responses
Shakhlo Khamraeva, from the General Prosecutor's Office, examined international legal frameworks protecting migrant children's right to education. Drawing on global statistics demonstrating that 35.5 million of the world's 280.6 million international migrants are children, Khamraeva emphasized education as simultaneously a fundamental human right, a catalyst for social integration, and a mechanism preventing child exploitation. Her analysis identified essential dimensions of accessible education: availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability, grounded in international instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Khamraeva's research addresses significant implementation gaps regarding educational organization capacity, questioning minimum standards for infrastructure per capita and highlighting challenges in serving migrant populations across language, cultural, and legal status barriers.
Shukhrat Mamatkulov from Tashkent State University of Economics situated youth migration within Uzbekistan's broader development strategy. His research examined educational and employment opportunities for young Uzbeks within the "New Uzbekistan" framework, analyzing how expanded international university partnerships and competitive scholarship programs facilitate dual-track education and skills development. Mamatkulov's work demonstrates how structured international educational mobility, combined with domestic economic opportunities, enables youth to acquire international experience while retaining employment and educational prospects within Uzbekistan's expanding knowledge economy.
Farkhod Akhmedov, from the General Prosecutor's Office, analyzed criminal liability frameworks governing illegal migration. His comparative legal analysis identified a critical policy gap: criminalization of irregular migration disproportionately affects Uzbek citizens deported from foreign countries, creating legal vulnerabilities that contradict international norms. Akhmedov advocated for legislative decriminalization aligned with international best practices, removing penalties that undermine migrants' legal security while maintaining border management integrity.
Farrukh Kushaev, also from the General Prosecutor's Office, presented socio-legal analysis of legal labor migration's preventive effects on organized crime. His research examines how regulated migration frameworks reduce criminal vulnerability for migrants while strengthening social cohesion within receiving communities.
Research Context and Impact
The presentations reflected research conducted under two major European Union-funded initiatives: the MOCCA, and the MARS projects led by Lund University's Sociology of Law Department. These initiatives represent collaborative efforts between Swedish academic institutions and leading Uzbek research organizations.
Throughout the seminar, constructive feedback was provided to researchers to enhance the quality and policy relevance of their work. Dr. Rustamjon Urinboyev, Principal Investigator of the MOCCA and MARS projects, and Rector Uktam Salomov of Fergana State Technical University engaged with presenters to refine research methodologies, strengthen comparative frameworks, and ensure practical applicability of findings for institutional reform within Central Asian governance contexts.
The seminar underscored emerging scholarly consensus that effective governance in Central Asia requires integrated approaches addressing corruption and migration simultaneously. Regional stability depends upon strengthening institutional integrity while establishing migration frameworks that protect vulnerable populations from exploitation and legal precarity.
The MOCCA and MARS seminar demonstrated the value of sustained international academic collaboration in generating evidence-based policy solutions for governance challenges transcending national boundaries. Findings from these research initiatives are expected to inform legislative reforms across Central Asian states while contributing to international discourse on comparative anti-corruption governance and migration law.