In Dushanbe, on March 7th, a discussion on the draft law "On Social Entrepreneurship" took place with the participation of representatives from state bodies, public, and international organizations.
The official working group, composed of deputies, government representatives, and civil society organizations, was established by the country's parliament resolution on October 2, 2023.
The project was presented by the chairman of the Committee on Law and Order, Defense, and Security of the lower house of the country's parliament, Rustam Shokhmurod.
During the discussions, several key points were highlighted, including issues related to social entrepreneurship of non-profit organizations, obtaining the status of a social entrepreneur or social enterprise, creating a registry, incentives, types of government support, the authorized body, and more.
Rustam Shokhmurod noted that the working group proposes to include civil society organizations as subjects of social entrepreneurship in the draft law.
Firuz Sattorov, the director of the Eurasia Foundation in Tajikistan, emphasized the voluntary nature of the proposed article, stating that NGOs are not compelled to engage in social entrepreneurship.
Various questions were raised, and recommendations were made regarding the legislative regulation of social entrepreneurship during the discussions at the round table.
According to Nargis Zokirova, the director of the Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, the working group spent about five months on the draft law. She highlighted the active involvement of civil society organizations in the process.
The event was organized with the support of the Eurasia Foundation under the "Social Innovations in Central Asia" program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of the project "Development of the Draft Law on Social Entrepreneurship" implemented by the Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law.
The round table also saw the participation of Jamshed Murtazozoda, the chairman of the Commission of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan on Regulatory Control, Ravshan Radjabzoda, the chairman of the Committee of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan on Legislation and Human Rights, and others.
