Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Kyrgyzstan (Ratification: 2004)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 124(1) of the Criminal Code prohibits the trafficking of persons, and section 124(2) specifies that trafficking in persons under 18 is an aggravated offence. However, the Committee noted the Government’s indication to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that the victims of trafficking in Kyrgyzstan include women and children who were exploited in the sex industry in Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates (May 2006, CRC/C/OPSC/KGZ/1, page 10). The Committee further noted that the CRC, in its concluding observations, expressed regret at the lack of statistical data, and the lack of research on the prevalence of national and cross-border trafficking and the sale of children (2 February 2007, CRC/C/OPSC/KGZ/CO/1, paragraph 9).

The Committee notes the information from ILO–IPEC that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is developing a National Action Plan Against Human Trafficking for 2012–15. The Committee also notes the information from the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, of 28 May 2010, that trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation and forced labour continues to be a problem in the country (A/HRC/14/22/Add.2, paragraph 33).

The Committee must once again express its concern at the lack of data on the prevalence of child trafficking in Kyrgyzstan, as well as reports of the prevalence of this phenomenon in the country. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to pursue its efforts to adopt the National Action Plan Against Human Trafficking, and to provide information on the measures taken within this framework to combat the trafficking of persons under the age of 18, once adopted. The Committee also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient data on the sale and trafficking of persons under the age of 18 is made available. In this regard, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied for violations of section 124 of the Criminal Code. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.

Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 157(1) of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for a person to involve a minor in prostitution, while sections 260 and 261 of the Criminal Code make enticement into prostitution an offence. The Committee also noted the Government’s indication that the number of street children and children in risk groups forced into prostitution was rising. Moreover, the Committee noted that the CRC, in its concluding observations, expressed concern that in a number of cases of child prostitution, investigations and prosecutions had not been initiated, and that child victims may be held responsible, tried and placed in detention (CRC/C/OPSC/KGZ/CO/1, paragraphs 17 and 21). The Committee expressed concern that child prostitution continues in part due to the lack of legal oversight, and that children who are the victims of commercial sexual exploitation risk being regarded as criminals.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that prostitution is one of the forms of child labour targeted by the Programme of Action by the Social Partners for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. However, the Committee also notes the information in the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, of 28 May 2010, that adolescent girls in the country are particularly vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation in urban areas, with the majority of the girls involved coming from rural areas (A/HRC/14/22/Add.2, paragraph 35). Noting the absence of information on the application in practice of the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to child prostitution, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide this information, in particular statistics on the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and sanctions applied. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that children who are used, procured or offered for commercial sexual exploitation are treated as victims rather than offenders. Lastly, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether the national legislation contains provisions specifically criminalizing the client who uses children under 18 years of age for the purpose of prostitution.

Clause (d). Hazardous work. Children working in agriculture. The Committee previously noted that section 294 of the Labour Code prohibits the employment of persons under the age of 18 years in work with harmful and dangerous conditions (including in the manufacture of tobacco) and that a detailed list of occupations prohibited for persons under 18 years had been approved. Nonetheless, the Committee noted that the use of hazardous child labour in the agricultural sector was widespread, particularly in tobacco, rice and cotton fields, and that in rural areas, regulations prohibiting children from engaging in such work were not strictly enforced. In this regard, the Committee noted the statement in a 2006 report of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (now the International Trade Union Confederation) entitled “Internationally recognized core labour standards in Kyrgyzstan” that some schools require children to participate in the tobacco harvest, and that the income from this goes directly to the schools, not the children or their families. This report also indicated that, in some cases, classes are cancelled and children are sent to the fields to pick cotton. The Committee further noted the information from ILO–IPEC that many of the children working in tobacco, rice and cotton fields in Osh and Jalalabat regions faced work-related risks including injuries resulting from the use of heavy equipment, lack of clean drinking water in the fields, exposure to toxic pesticides, insects and rodent bites, and hazards related to tobacco production (skin irritation and intoxication).

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that work in the fields is one of the forms of child labour targeted by the Programme of Action by the Social Partners for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that 19.7 per cent of child labourers in the country are engaged in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, the Committee notes the continued implementation of a project aimed at eradicating child labour in the tobacco industry, developed by a non-governmental organization and carried out by trade union workers in the agro-industrial sector. The Government states that the goal of the project is to devise and introduce a mechanism for eliminating child labour in two pilot districts in the southern region of the country. Through the project, 1,123 families were given microcredit in 2011 and 131 mutual assistance groups were set up. The Government states that this project has enabled the removal of 3,142 children in the two districts from work in the tobacco industry. In addition, the Committee notes the information from ILO–IPEC of July 2012 that, through the project entitled “Combating Child Labour in Central Asia – Commitment becomes Action (PROACT CAR Phase III)”, action has been taken to address hazardous child labour in agriculture. For example, through an action programme to support the establishment of a child labour free zone in Chuy region, implemented by the Trade Unions of Education and Science Workers of Kyrgyzstan (TUESWK) during the period June 2011 to August 2012, 140 children (75 boys and 65 girls) were withdrawn from, or prevented from entering, hazardous child labour in agriculture and the urban informal sector. In addition, 15 children (six boys and nine girls) were withdrawn from hazardous child labour in agriculture in the first six months of 2012 through a school-based package of services, including non-formal education, reintegration into formal education, school supplies, monthly food baskets, extra-curricular activities, awareness raising, recreational activities and family counselling. Taking due note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that persons under 18 years of age are protected against hazardous agricultural work, particularly in the cotton, tobacco and rice-growing sectors, and to provide information on the results achieved through the abovementioned initiatives. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective enforcement of regulations prohibiting children’s involvement in hazardous agricultural work, and to provide information on the steps taken in this regard, in its next report.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking in children. The Committee previously noted a disparity between the number of trafficking victims identified and the number of victims receiving assistance, and it requested the Government to strengthen its efforts in this regard.

The Committee notes the information from the International Organization for Migration that it is implementing a project entitled “Combating Trafficking in Persons in Central Asia: Prevention, Protection and Capacity Building” in the country from 2009–12, which includes awareness raising and assistance for victims. The Committee also notes the implementation in Kyrgyzstan of the Joint Programme to Combat Human Trafficking in Central Asia of the ILO, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime under the UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, which includes support for the development of national referral mechanisms established between law enforcement agencies and civil society organizations. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken, including through these projects, to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of child victims of trafficking, and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It also requests the Government to supply information on the results achieved, including the number of victims of trafficking under the age of 18 who have benefited from repatriation and rehabilitative assistance.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.