COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF INITIAL REPORT OF UZBEKISTAN

CRC
28th session
9 October 2001
Afternoon





The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its consideration of an initial report from Uzbekistan on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In a preliminary remark, a Committee Expert noted that Uzbekistan had taken a series of measures to improve the implementation of the provisions of the Convention, including by introducing legislative acts. The country’s social and economic difficulties had limited the full implementation of the provisions of the treaty. However, the Government had continued to implement the treaty with the limited resources made available to it.

The Committee will issue formal, written concluding observations on the report of Uzbekistan towards the end of its three-week session which will conclude on 12 October.

Earlier in the afternoon, in response to a question raised by members of the Committee, the representative of the Uzbek Government said that the Tajiks were approximately 5 per cent of the total population of Uzbekistan and they enjoyed the same rights as the Uzbeks; they encountered no difficulties on grounds of their nationality; teaching in schools was carried out in seven languages, including the Tajik one; and children belonging to a national minority could study in their native language in areas where members of that nationality were concentrated.

The delegate also said that pre-school facilities had decreased in number during the last five years because of the preference of mothers to stay at home and raise their children. She added that maternity leave was granted until a child was three years old. In addition, with the liberalization of pre-school facilities, the private sector establishments were charging higher fees which discouraged mothers from placing their children in kindergartens.


Uzbekistan is among the 191 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obligated to send periodic reports to the Committee on how that country was giving effect to the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 10 October, it will take up the initial report of Cape Verde.


Response of Uzbekistan

Responding to questions raised by Committee Experts in the morning meeting, the representative of the Uzbek Government said that the Tajiks were approximately 5 per cent of the total population of Uzbekistan and they enjoyed the same rights as the Uzbeks. They encountered no difficulties on grounds of their nationality. Teaching in schools was carried out in seven languages, including the Tajik one. Children belonging to a national minority could study in their native language in areas where members of that nationality were concentrated.

With regard to the health policy, the delegate said that the Government had been implementing the recommendations of the World Health Organization and it maintained a health service which was accessible to all. In addition, child-friendly hospitals and clinics were operating to uphold a healthy environment for children. The Government was also endeavouring to create a society where all parents were healthy and were capable of reproducing healthy children.

With the help of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Government had been providing iodinized salt to the population, the delegate said. In addition, a programme of immunization had been carried out during the last decade; polio had been eradicated among other diseases.

Pre-school facilities had decreased in number during the last five years because of the preference of mothers to stay at home and raise their children, the delegate said, adding that maternity leave was granted until a child was three years old. In addition, with the liberalization of pre-school facilities, the private sector establishments were charging higher fees which discouraged mothers from placing their children in kindergartens.

A new vocational system had been created to support young persons who had lower skills and education, the representative said. A number of vocational institutions were opened to involve children who were not able to complete secondary school education because of the introduction of a new educational system. A number of young persons were excluded from the system because of the educational restructure.

Children were not subjected to humiliating behaviour at home or in schools because of their behaviour, the delegate said. Parents and teachers were aware of the rights of children and that they had the obligation not to violate them through acts of violence or corporal punishment. Some non-governmental organizations had been launching awareness-increasing campaigns in favour of the rights of the child.

With regard to freedom and access to information, the delegate said that they were covered under the provision of the freedom of opinion and conscientiousness. In addition, every person had the right to access to information.

Asked about the freedom of religion, the representative said that this freedom was guaranteed by the Constitution and every citizen enjoyed it without any fear. No coercion was allowed to involve anyone into any religion. The Islamic, Orthodox and the Baptist religions were all freely conducting religious ceremonies in the country. Although there were some incidents of religious fanaticism or fundamentalism in some areas, the situation had been settled and normalized.

A question was raised about why the Camelotte Youth Association was dissolved, to which the delegate said that its initial objectives had been changed. The Association became more interested in commercial ventures and profit-making business-like activities; for those reasons, it had been dissolved.

Concerning disabled children, the delegate said that governmental allowances had been provided for disabled children receiving education at home. There were 150,000 disabled children in the country, with some of them attending ordinary schools with other students. As a preventive measures, the Government had set up nine screening centres for pregnant women, where abnormal foetuses could be aborted.

With regard to the Aral environmental disaster, the delegation said that UNICEF in collaboration with the Government was assisting children affected by the drop in the ecological level of the Aral Sea Zone. A project had been carried out aimed at the reduction of the potential influence of the deteriorating environment on the health and well-being of children and women. A centre had been built to improve the health of 5,000 to 6,000 children per annum.

Because of the lack of iron, at least 60 per cent of women of child bearing age had anaemia, the delegate said. For that reason, physiologically and physically underdeveloped children were born to such mothers. The Government had therefore allocated more resources to assist women in their efforts to terminate unwanted pregnancies. In addition, contraceptive methods had been made available to adolescents and women.

In order to reduce the rate of suicide among children, the Government had established a crisis-help hotline for children with difficulties, the delegate said.

The Committee members continued to raise questions within the context of the last cluster of the main subjects of the Convention concerning basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures.

Responding to questions raised by Committee members, the representative of Uzbekistan said that 9.8 per cent of the Gross National Product (GNP) was allocated to education, out of which resources were allocated to activities concerning disabled children.

Criminal responsibility for children was from the age of 14 years, the delegate said. Any minor who committed a crime before the age of 14 years was placed under the surveillance of his parents. Juvenile offenders under 18 years were placed in special institutions where they received rehabilitation training.

Young offenders who were serving prison sentences were not kept together with adult inmates, the delegate said.

There was no decree in which children were made to work in agricultural fields as alluded to by some Experts, the delegate said, adding that schools were not closed to allow children to work in the fields. However, with the distribution of land to private citizens, some children were involved in their parents' agricultural activities during the harvest period.

Each mahallya constructed its own social infrastructure in its own region while the building of big infrastructures was left to the State, the delegation said.

Asked about child prostitution, the delegate said that last year, 4,182 persons of all ages had been registered in connection with acts of prostitution. At least 2,000 of them had contracted venereal diseases.

The delegate said that the Government of Uzbekistan would continue to comply with the provisions of the Convention and would increase its efforts in implementing its provisions. It would also increase its efforts towards the protection and promotion of the rights of Uzbek children.


Preliminary Remark on Report

In a preliminary remark, a Committee Expert said that Uzbekistan had taken a series of measures to improve the implementation of the provisions of the Convention, including by introducing legislative acts. It had also developed training programmes in the areas of health and education. The country had social and economic difficulties which had limited the full implementation of the provisions of the treaty. However, the Government had continued to implement the treaty with the limited resources made available to it.

The Expert said that the Committee would issue its final concluding observations and recommendations which might be a starting point for further measures to be undertaken by the Government. The Committee was hopeful that the children of Uzbekistan would enjoy all their rights through the further measures to be taken by their Government.




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