Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases Treaty bodies
Default title
24 August 2000
Share
CESCR
23rd session
24 August 2000
Morning
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning completed its examination of the initial report of Kyrgyzstan on how that country was complying with the rights and tenets guaranteed within the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
A Government delegation from Kyrgyzstan touched on several issues, including programmes to support children, the disparity in poverty between the urban and rural regions in the country, and the decline in purchasing power in Kyrgyzstan.
Answering questions posed by Committee experts, the delegation said there were various programmes to support children, but most of them were insufficient. The Government would have liked to do more, but the economic situation did not allow it at the time.
Concerning the poverty gap between the urban and rural areas in Kyrgyzstan, the delegation said one factor was the distance from the capital -- all the economic relations between the residents were with the capital, trade, barter, all sorts of business. There was also the fact that access to communication was easier closer to the capital. There was also a difference in climate and in land conditions, which were not as good far away from the capital. Areas that were remote or that had difficult climatic conditions had different tax rates -- they were significantly lower.
The purchasing power, meanwhile, had declined, the delegates said, because the country was highly dependent on imports, and as they increased in price, the Government, because of the difficult economic conditions, still was not able to hike pension payments or the minimum wage at the same rate as the price increases.
Committee experts also asked questions on subjects such as polygamy; efforts to spur economic growth; the homeless; the relationship between ethnic groups; AIDS and other disease treatment, education, and prevention efforts; government evictions; vocational schools; human rights education; and keeping children in school.
Following the meeting, the Committee went into closed session to discuss the report. The experts will draft their conclusions and recommendations, and release them next week, before the session comes to an end.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will begin its consideration of the third periodic report of Australia.
Discussion
Answering questions from the Committee experts, the delegation said there were various programmes to support children, but most of them were insufficient. The Government would have liked to do more, but the economic situation did not allow it at the time.
The Government did know about cases of polygamy, and it was prosecuting them. There were eight cases of this kind in Kyrgyzstan. There were also cases of trade in women, and criminal proceedings had also been brought in these instances.
This summer, a major summit was held about the basis for economic growth in Kyrgyzstan, and virtually all important players attended and helped draft a matrix to come up with proposals.
The delegation said that in the first half of this year, there were clear improvements in the economy. The debt to the teachers and pensioners was reduced --they were now only one week behind.
Asked about the drop in the purchasing power, the delegation said Kyrgyzstan was highly dependent on imports, and because of the economic situation in the country, it was not able to increase pensions and the minimum wage even as prices increased.
Committee experts asked about the status of vagrants and the homeless, and the delegation said the country did not keep statistics on them. Figures of this kind never used to exist -- everybody had housing. Now it was very difficult to count them all.
A question was asked about why there was a disparity in the level of poverty between urban and rural populations, and between the northern and southern regions. The delegation said one factor was the distance from the capital -- all the economic relations between the residents were with the capital, trade, barter, all sorts of business. There was also the fact that access to communication was easier closer to the capital. There was also a difference in climate and in land conditions, which were not as good far away from the capital. Areas that were remote or that had difficult climatic conditions had different tax conditions -- they were significantly lower -- so there was an effort to balance out the social level.
Concerning the relationship between Uzbek and Kyrgyz ethnic groups in the country, the delegation said the law guaranteed equal rights for all citizens. Local governments carried out programmes to combat poverty as a whole, although it was not specifically targeted to particular ethnic groups.
About initiatives to combat alcoholism, drug addiction, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases and other infectious diseases, the delegation said all were the subject of national preventive efforts. There were special labour colonies for convicts who had tuberculosis, and they were given treatment. There was a national programme to combat AIDS.
Specifically asked about AIDS, the delegation said there were 47 people infected with the disease in the country, and 10 were citizens. There had been one death, and one child contracted the disease at birth. Kazakstan and Uzbekistan had outbreaks, although Tajikistan had did not appear to have a problem, they had no preventive measures. Preventive measures began in Kyrgyzstan in 1989. In 1997, a special Government decree established a national programme to combat AIDS, and this included diagnosis procedures, a monitoring mechanism, and rules for medical and non-medical personnel who worked with AIDS-infected people. At present, all of the tasks called for in the national programme had been implemented.
There were also courses offered in schools about drug abuse, the delegation said. Medical inspections were undertaken for all those involved in schools. Injections were given, there was constant monitoring of students. There were also programmes related to sexual and reproductive health.
Committee experts asked if Government evictions had taken place. The delegation said during the Government reform process, there were dormitories that belonged to firms. The firms then became privatized, and the people living in the buildings did not own the buildings in which they lived. There were cases of eviction, but then the courts began to rule on the side of people living in the apartments, but they would have to pay an amount annually to purchase them.
Asked about the reform of the vocational training system, the delegation said new types of schools had been able to overcome the rather limited teaching curricula, especially with respect to technical schools. Technical schools were able to resolve a number of educational tasks by ensuring those students were able to achieve a number of high-level qualifications. The number of high school students in the Republic was always increasing, and the possibility of attending these schools was increasing all the time.
The delegation said regardless of where people lived, primary education was mandatory, even in the areas where there was a high level of poverty.
About human rights education, the delegation said that in all levels of higher education, there were courses on human rights and respect for human rights.
Concerning the importance of keeping children in school, the delegation said Kyrgyzstan was located in the centre of Central Asia, and there were very few resources, so the country's greatest resource and hope for the future was to educate its children. Money from the budget every year went for school repairs and school improvements. Many other sources helped finance the schools and other basic necessities for the children. During the Government reform process, children did leave schools to get low-paying jobs, but these were not the youngest students, maybe they were 15 or 16 years old. At the beginning, parents did not want children to leave school, but that trend changed when children began to earn more than their parents doing things like cleaning cars and weeding gardens. The Government tried to fight the trend by preventing unlicensed street work of this kind. It was hoped that as the economic conditions improved, this trend would level off. The future of Kyrgyzstan developed solely on the development of human resources.
* *** *
23rd session
24 August 2000
Morning
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning completed its examination of the initial report of Kyrgyzstan on how that country was complying with the rights and tenets guaranteed within the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
A Government delegation from Kyrgyzstan touched on several issues, including programmes to support children, the disparity in poverty between the urban and rural regions in the country, and the decline in purchasing power in Kyrgyzstan.
Answering questions posed by Committee experts, the delegation said there were various programmes to support children, but most of them were insufficient. The Government would have liked to do more, but the economic situation did not allow it at the time.
Concerning the poverty gap between the urban and rural areas in Kyrgyzstan, the delegation said one factor was the distance from the capital -- all the economic relations between the residents were with the capital, trade, barter, all sorts of business. There was also the fact that access to communication was easier closer to the capital. There was also a difference in climate and in land conditions, which were not as good far away from the capital. Areas that were remote or that had difficult climatic conditions had different tax rates -- they were significantly lower.
The purchasing power, meanwhile, had declined, the delegates said, because the country was highly dependent on imports, and as they increased in price, the Government, because of the difficult economic conditions, still was not able to hike pension payments or the minimum wage at the same rate as the price increases.
Committee experts also asked questions on subjects such as polygamy; efforts to spur economic growth; the homeless; the relationship between ethnic groups; AIDS and other disease treatment, education, and prevention efforts; government evictions; vocational schools; human rights education; and keeping children in school.
Following the meeting, the Committee went into closed session to discuss the report. The experts will draft their conclusions and recommendations, and release them next week, before the session comes to an end.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will begin its consideration of the third periodic report of Australia.
Discussion
Answering questions from the Committee experts, the delegation said there were various programmes to support children, but most of them were insufficient. The Government would have liked to do more, but the economic situation did not allow it at the time.
The Government did know about cases of polygamy, and it was prosecuting them. There were eight cases of this kind in Kyrgyzstan. There were also cases of trade in women, and criminal proceedings had also been brought in these instances.
This summer, a major summit was held about the basis for economic growth in Kyrgyzstan, and virtually all important players attended and helped draft a matrix to come up with proposals.
The delegation said that in the first half of this year, there were clear improvements in the economy. The debt to the teachers and pensioners was reduced --they were now only one week behind.
Asked about the drop in the purchasing power, the delegation said Kyrgyzstan was highly dependent on imports, and because of the economic situation in the country, it was not able to increase pensions and the minimum wage even as prices increased.
Committee experts asked about the status of vagrants and the homeless, and the delegation said the country did not keep statistics on them. Figures of this kind never used to exist -- everybody had housing. Now it was very difficult to count them all.
A question was asked about why there was a disparity in the level of poverty between urban and rural populations, and between the northern and southern regions. The delegation said one factor was the distance from the capital -- all the economic relations between the residents were with the capital, trade, barter, all sorts of business. There was also the fact that access to communication was easier closer to the capital. There was also a difference in climate and in land conditions, which were not as good far away from the capital. Areas that were remote or that had difficult climatic conditions had different tax conditions -- they were significantly lower -- so there was an effort to balance out the social level.
Concerning the relationship between Uzbek and Kyrgyz ethnic groups in the country, the delegation said the law guaranteed equal rights for all citizens. Local governments carried out programmes to combat poverty as a whole, although it was not specifically targeted to particular ethnic groups.
About initiatives to combat alcoholism, drug addiction, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases and other infectious diseases, the delegation said all were the subject of national preventive efforts. There were special labour colonies for convicts who had tuberculosis, and they were given treatment. There was a national programme to combat AIDS.
Specifically asked about AIDS, the delegation said there were 47 people infected with the disease in the country, and 10 were citizens. There had been one death, and one child contracted the disease at birth. Kazakstan and Uzbekistan had outbreaks, although Tajikistan had did not appear to have a problem, they had no preventive measures. Preventive measures began in Kyrgyzstan in 1989. In 1997, a special Government decree established a national programme to combat AIDS, and this included diagnosis procedures, a monitoring mechanism, and rules for medical and non-medical personnel who worked with AIDS-infected people. At present, all of the tasks called for in the national programme had been implemented.
There were also courses offered in schools about drug abuse, the delegation said. Medical inspections were undertaken for all those involved in schools. Injections were given, there was constant monitoring of students. There were also programmes related to sexual and reproductive health.
Committee experts asked if Government evictions had taken place. The delegation said during the Government reform process, there were dormitories that belonged to firms. The firms then became privatized, and the people living in the buildings did not own the buildings in which they lived. There were cases of eviction, but then the courts began to rule on the side of people living in the apartments, but they would have to pay an amount annually to purchase them.
Asked about the reform of the vocational training system, the delegation said new types of schools had been able to overcome the rather limited teaching curricula, especially with respect to technical schools. Technical schools were able to resolve a number of educational tasks by ensuring those students were able to achieve a number of high-level qualifications. The number of high school students in the Republic was always increasing, and the possibility of attending these schools was increasing all the time.
The delegation said regardless of where people lived, primary education was mandatory, even in the areas where there was a high level of poverty.
About human rights education, the delegation said that in all levels of higher education, there were courses on human rights and respect for human rights.
Concerning the importance of keeping children in school, the delegation said Kyrgyzstan was located in the centre of Central Asia, and there were very few resources, so the country's greatest resource and hope for the future was to educate its children. Money from the budget every year went for school repairs and school improvements. Many other sources helped finance the schools and other basic necessities for the children. During the Government reform process, children did leave schools to get low-paying jobs, but these were not the youngest students, maybe they were 15 or 16 years old. At the beginning, parents did not want children to leave school, but that trend changed when children began to earn more than their parents doing things like cleaning cars and weeding gardens. The Government tried to fight the trend by preventing unlicensed street work of this kind. It was hoped that as the economic conditions improved, this trend would level off. The future of Kyrgyzstan developed solely on the development of human resources.
* *** *