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The Committee has noted the Government’s reply to its earlier comments, as well as observations made by the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK) and the Turkish Confederation of Public Worker Associations, communicated by the Government with its report. It has also noted a communication received in December 2003 from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), which contains observations concerning the application of the Convention by Turkey. It has noted that this communication was sent to the Government in March 2004, for any comments it might wish to make on the matters raised therein. Since no reply has been received from the Government so far, the Committee hopes that the Government’s comments will be supplied with its next report, so as to enable the Committee to examine them at its next session.

Trafficking of women and children for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. In the communication referred to above the ICFTU expressed its concern on trafficking of women and children which occurs in Turkey. The ICFTU alleged that Turkey is both a transit and a destination country for trafficked people; most women and girls whose destination is Turkey come from the Russian Federation, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan; Turkey provides transit mainly for women from Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East and former Yugoslavia to other countries in Europe; most of them saw themselves forced into prostitution and some of them are forced into debt bondage.

Referring to its 2000 general observation concerning trafficking, the Committee asks the Government to respond to the allegations by the ICFTU and to provide, in its next report, information on measures taken or contemplated to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation and to protect the victims of trafficking. 

As regards trafficking of children, the Committee notes that Turkey has ratified the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), and the Government has already provided its first report on the application of that Convention. In so far as Article 3(a) of Convention No. 182 provides that the worst forms of child labour include "all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour", the Committee is of the view that the problem of the trafficking of children for the purpose of exploiting their labour can be examined more specifically under Convention No. 182. The protection of children is enhanced by the fact that Convention No. 182 requires States which ratify it to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee accordingly asks the Government to refer to its comments on the application of Convention No. 182.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government on certain other points.