CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Slavery and practices similar to slavery. 1. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Act on the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons, adopted on 17 April 2008, establishes criminal responsibility for trafficking in persons. The Committee notes that, according to section 3 of the Act, trafficking in persons consists of recruiting, transporting, transferring, concealing or receiving persons for the purpose of exploitation, which includes the exploitation or the prostitution of other persons or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or service, slavery or customs equivalent to slavery. Moreover, the Committee notes that section 135 of the Criminal Code provides that the trafficking of people outside of Uzbekistan for the purpose of engaging them in sexual or any other exploitation is a criminal offence.

Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that section 10 of the Act on Guarantees of the Rights of the Child, which defines children as persons under 18 years of age, provides for the protection of children from all forms of exploitation, including inducement to criminal activity and prostitution. The Committee considers that section 10 of the Act on Guarantees of the Rights of the Child covers the prohibition of procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, but not the use of a child for that end. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that section 135 of the Criminal Code was amended to provide that the use, recruiting, transportation, transfer, concealment or harbouring of persons for the purpose of exploitation is punishable by a custodial sentence. The Committee reminds the Government that Article 3(b) of the Convention calls for the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether section 135 of the Criminal Code prohibits and sanctions the use of a child under 18 years of age for prostitution, i.e. by a client.

2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee notes that, according to section 130 of the Criminal Code, the production for the purposes of demonstration or dissemination, as well as demonstration or dissemination, of pornographic objects among persons under 21 years of age, is prohibited. The Committee observes, however, that there appear to be no provisions prohibiting the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, as required by Article 3(b) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances is prohibited and to provide information on the progress made in this regard in its next report.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee notes that section 127 of the Criminal Code provides that involving a minor in consumption of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances is a criminal offence. Furthermore, the involvement of a minor into such a crime by a person who has previously committed any crime relating to the illegal circulation of drugs or done on the premises of educational institutions or in other places that school children and students use for the purposes of educational, sports or cultural activities, are aggravating circumstances. However, the Committee observes that there appear to be no provisions prohibiting the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs, as required by Article 3(c) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for illicit activities, in particular the production and trafficking of drugs, is prohibited. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard with its next report.

Clause (d) and Article 4, paragraph 1. Hazardous work and determination of the list of types of hazardous work. The Committee notes that section 241 of the Labour Code prohibits the employment of persons under 18 years of age in work in unfavourable conditions, underground work and work which may harm their health, safety or morality. Section 241 also prohibits persons under 18 from lifting and handling weights exceeding the maximum permissible standards. According to the same provision, the list of works which is considered unfavourable and the maximum permissible standards for weights to be lifted by persons under 18 are determined by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (MoLSP) and the Ministry of Health, in consultation with the social partners. In this regard, the Committee takes note of the “List of occupations with unfavourable working conditions in which it is forbidden to employ persons under 18 years of age”, approved by Joint Decree of the MoLSP and the Ministry of Health (No. 1) of Uzbekistan on 30 May 2001. The Committee notes the Government’s information that this list, as well as the “Specific permitted limits on lifting and carrying of loads by persons aged under 18 years”, are revised as necessary (at least every five years), after consultation with the employers and workers concerned. The Government indicates that an interdepartmental working group was set up in 2009 with the participation of the social partners to develop proposals to improve labour legislation and the adoption of additions and amendments to both the list on occupations with unfavourable working conditions and the specific permitted limits on lifting and carrying loads. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in the adoption of the amendments to the “List of occupations with unfavourable working conditions in which it is forbidden to employ persons under 18 years of age” and to the “Specific permitted limits on lifting and carrying of loads by persons aged under 18 years”. It requests the Government to supply a copy of both documents as soon as these amendments have been adopted.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. National Interdepartmental Commission on Trafficking in Persons (NIC on Trafficking in Persons). The Committee notes the Government’s information that the NIC on Trafficking in Persons was established through the adoption of the Act on the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons. According to the Act, the fundamental tasks of the NIC include coordinating activities of state agencies, autonomous civil agencies and non-governmental organizations in the area of preventing trafficking in persons, organizing events directed at increasing the effectiveness of the work in exposing and eliminating the causes and conditions contributing to trafficking in persons, and collecting and analysing information regarding the scope, status and tendencies of trafficking in persons. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the NIC on Trafficking in Persons, in particular with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and the results achieved.

2. Labour inspectorate and occupational safety and health inspectorate. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the state inspectorate and the occupational safety and health inspectorate operate within the system of the MoLSP and are established in each district of the country, exercising state control over violations of the rights of young people at work. The MoLSP also carries out analyses and determines the number of persons aged under 18 years that are employed in the informal sector through quarterly employment surveys, conducted in accordance with Resolution No. 106 of 24 May 2007 of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Committee requests the Government to supply, with its next report, extracts of the inspection reports of the state inspectorate and the occupational safety and health inspectorate specifying the extent and nature of violations detected involving children and young persons engaged in the worst forms of child labour, in particular hazardous work. It also requests the Government to supply copies of the latest quarterly employment surveys conducted by the MoLSP on the employment of children under 18 years in the worst forms of child labour in the informal sector.

Article 6. Action programmes. 1. National Action Plan to increase the effectiveness of the combating of trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the Government’s information that a National Action Plan (Action Plan) to increase the effectiveness of the combating of trafficking in persons 2008–10, which establishes a National Inter-agency Trafficking Commission, was approved by Presidential Decree concerning “Measures to increase the effectiveness of the combating on trafficking in persons 2008–2010”. The Action Plan includes measures to increase the effectiveness of action against trafficking in persons, providing for surveys, criminal investigations, and specific measures to protect witnesses and victims of trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the Action Plan to increase the effectiveness of the combating of trafficking in persons and on the measures undertaken in the framework of that Action Plan with regard to the elimination of the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age. It also requests the Government to supply a copy of this Action Plan.

2. National Plan of Action (NPA) for the application of ILO Conventions Nos 138 and 182. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, on 12 September 2008, it approved the NPA for the application of ILO Conventions Nos 138 and 182 with a view to coordinate the activities of ministries, departments and local government authorities and to strengthen cooperation with international and voluntary organizations on child labour. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that the NPA was prepared with the agreement of the 20 ministries and departments concerned, including the MoLSP, the Council of the Uzbekistan Trade Union Federation (workers) and the Chamber of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan (employers). The Committee notes that, as indicated by the Government, the NPA is made up of 37 paragraphs, detailing the activities to be implemented with a view to achieving the following objectives:

(a)   improving the legislative and regulatory framework, in particular the enforcement of the prevention of illegal use of child labour;

(b)   monitoring and control of the application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182);

(c)   conducting intensive information and explanatory campaigns on questions of the application of these two Conventions;

(d)   implementing projects of international cooperation aimed at the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the activities undertaken within the framework of the NPA for the application of ILO Conventions Nos 138 and 182 with regard to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, and the results achieved.

3. National Plan of Action on the Well-Being of Children. The Committee notes that, according to the national report submitted in accordance with paragraph 15(a) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1 of 5 September 2008 (A/HRC/WG.6/3/UZB/1, paragraph 50), a National Plan of Action on the Well-Being of Children 2007–11 was adopted and introduced as national policy. This long-term programme includes continuous monitoring and evaluation of the situation of children as regards education, health, recreation, the family, environment, employment, vocational training and protection against the adverse effects of modern life.

Article 7, paragraph 1. Sanctions. The Committee notes that section 135 of the Criminal Code provides that the trafficking of people outside of Uzbekistan for the purpose of engaging them in sexual or any other exploitation is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment from five to ten years. It notes the Government’s information, however, that the Act of 16 September 2008 introduced amendments to section 135 of the Criminal Code concerning the grave offence of trafficking in persons and that, when such acts are committed in relation to persons known to the offender as being under 18 years of age, the sanction is increased. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of the sanction provided for in section 135 of the Criminal Code in practice. It also requests the Government to supply a copy of the Criminal Code as amended by the Act of 16 September 2008.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. 
1. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 24 January 2006 (E/C.12/UZB/CO/1, paragraph 25), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed its concern that trafficking in persons is increasing in the State party and that it has now become both a country of origin and destination, as well as a transit point for trafficking in persons. It notes that, according to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons of the UNODC of 2009, 12 child victims of trafficking were identified by state authorities in Uzbekistan in 2003, 16 in 2004, 38 in 2005 and 17 in 2006. The Committee also notes that, according to the national report submitted in accordance with paragraph 15(a) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1 of 5 September 2008 (A/HRC/WG.6/3/UZB/1, paragraph 28), the Government acknowledged its awareness of how acute the problem of human trafficking is. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Act on the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons provides for the implementation of several measures to prevent trafficking in persons to be carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Security Service and the Ministry of Public Health, including organizing and implementing operational search activities for uncovering crimes; promoting cooperation with international organizations; providing information to the appropriate agencies regarding persons or organized groups that are involved in trafficking; undertaking measures for anticipating, exposing and putting an end to attempts to cross the national frontier by traffickers in persons and victims of trafficking; and providing information on the laws of Uzbekistan regarding the prevention of trafficking in persons to the appropriate agencies of foreign States. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken in the framework of the Act on the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons on preventing the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for economic or sexual exploitation, and the results achieved.

2. Access to free basic education. The Committee notes that article 41 of the Constitution states that everyone shall have the right to education and that the State shall guarantee free secondary education. It notes that section 23 of the Act on Guarantees of the Rights of the Child provides that the State guarantees the child free of charge compulsory general secondary education as well as secondary special vocational education. The Committee further notes the Government’s information that, in accordance with the Education Act and the Act on the National Programme for the Training of Officials, the education system was reformed, providing for 12 years of free compulsory education for all children in the country.

In this regard, the Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF country profile on education in Uzbekistan (UNICEF country profile), the country has made considerable efforts to improve the quality of education through various measures, such as the elaboration of a National Personnel Training Programme in 1997, the adoption of a National Programme on School Education Development (2004–09) with the main objectives of improving the quality of education, and the adoption of a National Programme on Improving Quality and Efficiency of Education (2008–12). The UNICEF country profile indicates that access to primary and secondary education in Uzbekistan is therefore above average for the subregion and region. In primary school, the net enrolment rate is 97 per cent, while the net attendance rate is 95.8 per cent. The transition rate to secondary school is 100 per cent, indicating that the gap in access between primary and secondary is not significant, and the secondary school net enrolment rate is 93.1 per cent. The UNICEF country profile also indicates that no gender gaps remain in primary school enrolment, with a gender parity level of 1.00, and it is near closed in secondary school, with a parity ration of 0.98. However, the Committee notes the information in the UNICEF country profile that there is a gap in access to primary school for the richest and poorest quintiles of the population, and there is much concern that the gap is growing. With rising unemployment, poverty and informal costs of schooling, it is likely that the poorest segment of the population will be less able to pay for schooling and thus have reduced access to education. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country, in particular by ensuring access to free basic education for the poorest segment of the population, particularly at the primary school level. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Clause (b). Assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. National Rehabilitation Centre to provide assistance and protection for the victims of trafficking in persons (National Rehabilitation Centre). The Committee notes that sections 9 to 13 of the Act on the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons provide for the establishment of specialized institutions to ensure the protection of victims of trafficking and to provide them with assistance. The basic tasks and functions of these specialized institutions are to provide free assistance, protection and security to victims of trafficking, including children, favourable living conditions and personal hygiene, as well as food, medicine and medical appliances, the provision of urgent medical, psychological, social and legal assistance, help in establishing contact with relatives, information on their rights and lawful interests, and provision of assistance with social rehabilitation. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s information that, on 5 November 2008, it adopted a resolution on the “Formation of the National Rehabilitation Centre to provide assistance and protection for the victims of trafficking”. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of child victims of trafficking for sexual or economic exploitation who were rehabilitated and socially integrated through the National Rehabilitation Centre.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Street children. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 2 June 2006 (CRC/C/UZB/CO/2, paragraph 62), the Committee on the Rights of the Child shared the State party’s concern at the increasing number of street children. The Committee on the Rights of the Child also expressed its concern that these children do not have access to health and other services because they live in places where they have no residence registration. Considering that street children are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to ensure that these children are protected from the worst forms of child labour by withdrawing them from these vulnerable situations and rehabilitating them. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. 1. International cooperation. The Committee notes the Government’s information that Uzbekistan has adhered to the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others and to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any steps taken to assist other member States or on assistance received giving effect to the provisions of the Convention through enhanced international cooperation and assistance on the issue of combating the trafficking of children.

2. Poverty reduction. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, in order to comply with paragraph 18 of the NPA for the application of the ILO Conventions Nos 138 and 182, which provides for the implementation of permanent monitoring of the situation of children in “unfavourable families”, the situation of children in poor families is monitored quarterly. The Government indicates that a Plan of Measures was adopted on 21 October 2008 with a view to implement this paragraph which includes the identification and social protection of children in risk groups. In this regard, in 2008, the “Maxalla Fund surveyed over 1 million families in order to identify the poor ones. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the poverty cycle, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in the framework of the Plan of Measures of 21 October 2008 to protect children from poor families from the worst forms of child labour once they have been identified, and on the results achieved.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 24 January 2006 (E/C.12/UZB/CO/1, paragraph 25), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed its concern about the lack of reliable information, including statistics, on the extent of the problem of trafficking in persons in Uzbekistan. The Committee notes that, in the framework of the NPA for the application of ILO Conventions Nos 138 and 182, activities are planned to ensure the collection of data about the number of occupied persons under 18 years of age though regular inspections and to ensure statistical accountability of the State (paragraphs 15 and 16). Finally, the Committee notes the Government’s information that the national statistical report for 2009, which includes statistics concerning workers under the age of 18 years, was approved by Resolution No. 5 of 10 November 2008 of the State Committee for Statistics. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the statistics collected in the national statistical report for 2009 concerning the employment of children under 18 years in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee further requests the Government to provide any other information about the application of the Convention in practice, including statistics on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, in particular child trafficking for labour or sexual exploitation, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex.