2006 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - The Kyrgyz Republic

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

In 1998, approximately 10.2 percent of boys and 8.1 percent of girls ages 7 to 14 were working in The Kyrgyz Republic.²³⁷⁶ Children work selling goods (such as newspapers, cigarettes, candy, alcohol, and gasoline), loading and unloading goods, collecting aluminum and bottles, begging, cleaning and repairing shoes, and washing cars. Some children also work in transportation and construction. The UN estimates that 7,000 children are working in Bishkek.²³⁷⁷ A 2003 UNICEF-supported survey of 207 street and working children in Bishkek found that up to 90 percent of those children did not attend school at all.²³⁷⁸ In southern rural areas, reports indicate that children work in coal mines and in brick making.²³⁷⁹ There were also reports of children mining near uranium waste dumps.²³⁸⁰

Children are allegedly taken out of school to harvest cotton. Children also work on commercial tobacco farms.²³⁸¹ Some schools have reportedly required students to participate in the tobacco harvest in fields located on school grounds. Proceeds from the harvest are collected by the schools and do not go to the children.²³⁸² Children are also found working on family farms and in family enterprises such as selling products at roadside kiosks.²³⁸³ ILO reports indicate that a large number of children from rural areas are sent to urban areas to live with wealthier relatives and to work as domestic servants.²³⁸⁴

Children are vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation in urban areas throughout the country. Children engaged in prostitution are primarily girls between 11 and 16.²³⁸⁵ It has been asserted that at least 20 percent of prostitutes in Bishkek were minors in 2000.²³⁸⁶ The Kyrgyz Republic is considered a country of origin and transit for trafficked children. There are reports of children being trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor.²³⁸⁷ The trafficking of Kyrgyz boys to Russia and Kazakhstan for the purpose of sexual exploitation occurs.²³⁸⁸ The internal trafficking of children for sexual exploitation and labor from rural areas to Bishkek and Osh has been reported.²³⁸⁹

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The law establishes the minimum age for basic employment as 16, except in limited circumstances.²³⁹⁰ Limited light work is permitted at age 14. The maximum work hours for children ages 14 and 15 are 5 per day and for children ages 16 and 17 are 7 per day. The employment of persons under 18 is banned in certain industries including oil and gas, mining and prospecting, food, entertainment, and machine building.²³⁹¹ Children studying in educational establishments are forbidden from participating in agricultural or other work not related to their schooling.²³⁹² The law penalizes parents who restrict their children's access to schooling, but it is not strictly enforced, especially in rural areas.²³⁹³ The penalty for preventing a child from attending school ranges from a public reprimand to 1 year of forced labor.²³⁹⁴

Both the Constitution and the law prohibit forced labor, including by children, under most circumstances.²³⁹⁵ The minimum age for recruitment to active military service is age 18; however, boys age 17 may volunteer for military schools.²³⁹⁶ Prostitution is not illegal, but the operation of brothels, pimping, and recruiting persons into prostitution is punishable by up to 5 years in jail.²³⁹⁷ A lack of legal regulation and oversight makes prostitution an ongoing problem.²³⁹⁸ The law prohibits trafficking in persons and imposes punishments of up to 20 years imprisonment.²³⁹⁹ The law grants immunity from prosecution to victims of trafficking who cooperate with authorities.²⁴⁰⁰

The General Procurator's Office and the State Labor Inspectorate are responsible for enforcing child labor laws, but, since many children work in the informal sector and small and medium-sized business that do not have employment contracts, it is difficult to determine their adherence to the law. The Federation of Trade Unions also has the right to carry out child labor inspections when it receives a complaint.²⁴⁰¹ The Office of the Ombudsman has a special department dealing with the rights of minors. It has the authority to order other agencies to deliver information or conduct investigations.²⁴⁰² The U.S. Department of State reports that child labor laws were not adequately enforced and that the Labor Inspectorate only conducts compliance checks at large industrial sites where child labor is less likely to occur.²⁴⁰³

The Interior Ministry has a special anti-trafficking police unit.²⁴⁰⁴ Prosecution is difficult in trafficking cases due to the reluctance of victims to file charges. Law enforcement is hampered by widespread corruption. Victims reported that local police, immigration officers, and airport security officials often cooperated with highly organized trafficking operations.²⁴⁰⁵ Efforts are being made to eliminate government corruption as it relates to trafficking. In February 2006, fines for government officials that violate visa rules for foreigners were increased.²⁴⁰⁶

Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

In June 2006, the Kyrgyz Government adopted the code "On Children." It includes sections on children's rights, freedoms, and the elimination of the worst forms of child labor.²⁴⁰⁷

With assistance from the IOM, the government now issues new forgery-resistant passports intended to reduce incidents of human trafficking in the Kyrgyz Republic.²⁴⁰⁸ An IOM-sponsored program involves strengthening the capacity of local NGOs to assist and reintegrate victims of trafficking.²⁴⁰⁹ Office space has been provided by local governments for antitrafficking NGOs.²⁴¹⁰ The government has distributed brochures and booklets for migrant workers about the threat of trafficking. Government-run media outlets broadcast programs about trafficking.²⁴¹¹

The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic is participating in a USD 2.5 million USDOL-funded ILO-IPEC sub-regional project that will enhance the capacity of national institutions to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the Kyrgyz Republic and share information and experiences across Central Asia.²⁴¹²

2366 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates, October 7, 2005.

2367 U.S. Department of State, "Kyrgyz Republic," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2006, Washington, DC, 2007, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78821.htm. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention, CRC/C/104/Add.4, April 5 2004, para. 70. See also U.S. Embassy – Bishkek, reporting, December 18, 2006.

2368 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 5.

2369 Ibid.

2370 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Gross and Net Enrolment Ratios, Primary, Total, accessed December 20, 2006.

2371 Ibid.

2372 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

2373 ILO, List of Ratifications of International Labor Conventions, February 5, 2007; available from http://webfusion.ilo.org/public/db/standards/normes/appl/appl-byConvYear.cfm?hdroff=1&Lang=EN&conv=C138.

2374 ILO, List of Ratifications of International Labor Conventions, Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999, February 5, 2007; available from http://webfusion.ilo.org/public/db/standards/normes/appl/appl-byConvYear.cfm?hdroff=1&Lang=EN&conv=C182.

2375 ILO-IPEC, IPEC Action Against Child Labour: Highlights 2006, Geneva, October 2006; available from http://www.ilo.org/iloroot/docstore/ipec/prod/eng/20061019_Implementationreport_eng_Web.pdf.

2376 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

2377 UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Kyrgyzstan: Child Labour Remains Rife, June 26, 2006 [cited October 22, 2006]; available from http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54174&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN.

2378 UNICEF's Executive Board, Draft Country Programme Document: Kyrgyzstan, E/ICEF/2004/P/L.14, United National Economic and Social Council, April 1, 2004, 3.

2379 ILO-IPEC and SIAR, Child Labour in Kyrgyzstan: An initial study, summary report, Bishkek, 2001, 14. See also U.S. Department of State, "Kyrgyz Republic," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2004, Washington, DC, 2005, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41690.htm. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, NGO Commentaries to the Initial Report of the Kyrgyz Republic on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 26; available from http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.24/kyrgystanNGOreport.doc.

2380 UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Kyrgyzstan: Child Labour Remains Rife.

2381 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 6d.

2382 Ibid. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, NGO Commentaries, 27.

2383 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 6d.

2384 Youth Human Rights Group, Alternative NGO Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Relation to the Examination of the Second Periodic Report by the Kyrgyz Republic on the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, April 2004, 27; available from http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.37/kyrgyzstan_ngo_report.pdf. See also ILO-IPEC and SIAR, Child Labor in Kyrgyzstan, 15-17.

2385 Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), Lost Children of Central Asia, January 19, 2004.

2386 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, NGO Commentaries, 27.

2387 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 5. See also Youth Human Rights Group, Alternative NGO Report, 16.

2388 U.S. Department of State, "Kyrgyz Republic (Tier 2)," in Trafficking in Persons Report – 2006, Washington, DC, June 5, 2006; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006/.

2389 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 6d.

2390 Ibid. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties: Kyrgyzstan, para. 70.

2391 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 6d.

2392 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties: Kyrgyzstan, para. 340.

2393 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 5.

2394 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties: Kyrgyzstan, para. 67.

2395 Government of Kyrgyzstan, Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, (February 17, 1996), Article 28. See also U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 6c.

2396 Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, "Kyrgyzstan," in Child Soldiers Global Report – 2004; available from http://www.child-soldiers.org/.

2397 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 5. See also ECPAT International CSEC Database, Kyrgyz Republic, accessed July 5, 2006; available from http://www.ecpat.net.

2398 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 5.

2399 Ibid.

2400 U.S. Department of State, "Trafficking in Persons Report – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic."

2401 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 6d.

2402 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Summary Record of the 987th Meeting: Kyrgyzstan, September 29, 2004, paras. 38 and 47; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/Documentsfrset?OpenFrameSet.

2403 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic," Section 6d.

2404 Ibid., Section 5.

2405 Ibid. See also U.S. Embassy – Bishkek, Email Communication to USDOL official, July 24, 2007.

2406 U.S. Department of State, "Trafficking in Persons Report – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic."

2407 ILO-IPEC, CAR Capacity Building Project: Regional Program on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, technical progress report, Geneva, August 31, 2006, 3.

2408 UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "Kyrgyzstan: New Passport to Help Reduce Human Trafficking," August 4, 2004; available from http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42509&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZST AN.

2409 IOM, Development of NGOs Capacity to Provide Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in the Kyrgyz Republic (NCPA), [online] [cited June 15, 2005].

2410 U.S. Department of State, "Trafficking in Persons Report – 2006: Kyrgyz Republic."

2411 Ibid.

2412 ILO-IPEC, CAR Capacity Building Project: Regional Program on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, project document, RER/04/P54/USA, Geneva, September 2004.