Committee on Rights of Child examines report of Tajikistan

The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning concluded its review of the second periodic report of Tajikistan, undertaken over the course of two meetings, on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Rukiya Kurbonova, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, said that State support for the family and children’s issues was recognized by the Government as the highest priority. As one of the key conditions for the development of the child was education, the Tajik State ensured that all conditions were met for covering education for all. There was no repression or corporal punishment in schools, and there had been no schools where violent action or imposed humiliation had been recorded. On health issues, according to official statistics the maternal mortality rate had been cut in half. Moreover, in order to reduce the under-five mortality rate, Tajikistan had introduced new World Health Organisation standards, and Tajikistan had received a certificate for active breastfeeding by the World Health Organization.

The Tajik Government had also taken some decisive steps to improve the conditions of vulnerable categories of children, such as children with disabilities, Ms. Kurbonova said. Budgetary allocations for children had been increased every year. With the support of the European Commission, they had created four day-care centres for children with disabilities She also highlighted the recently created Ombudsman’s Office, which would reinforce human rights in the country, as well as the creation of a special service to deal with crime by minors.

In preliminary concluding remarks, Committee Expert Dainius Puras, who served as Rapporteur for the report of Tajikistan, noted that Tajikistan was facing a heavy transition, but fortunately they had had peace in the country for the past 10 years and had been able to build relations based on trust and partnership between all actors, groups and individuals in the State. That was a major paradigm shift. The Committee would recommend, among others, that Tajikistan substantially strengthen resources and infrastructure for health, education and juvenile healthcare and services; that it work further to combat violence against children; and that it strengthen support for non-governmental organizations working in the area of child protection.

Other Committee Experts also made comments and raised a series of questions, including on national monitoring mechanisms to oversee implementation of the Convention; on the Tajik Commission on the Rights of the Child, which seemed to be too weak to adequately monitor the effectiveness of numerous legislative and other measures involving children; whether there was a mechanism for complaints raised by children or on their behalf; and what measures were being taken to support non-governmental organizations working in the field of children’s rights. Other concerns included budgetary allocations for children and ensuring that they were for children were protected against corruption; the existence of fees for birth registration; the reasons for lowering the age of marriage to 17 years; and further information on what was being done to move Tajikistan away from the old Soviet system of institutionalizing children?

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the second periodic report of Tajikistan towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 29 January 2010.

The delegation of Tajikistan also included the Minister of Justice, Bakhtiyor Khudoyarov, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of the Interior, the Executive Office of the President and the Permanent Mission of Tajikistan to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon it will take up the initial report of Israel under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/ISR/1) in Chamber A, while it will continue its review of the fourth periodic report of Ecuador in Chamber B.

Report of Tajikistan

The second periodic report of Tajikistan (CRC/C/TJK/2) states that, in 2001, in order to implement the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the first national conference on the protection of children’s rights and interests was organized. In September 2001, the Government’s Commission on the Rights of the Child was established. The Commission is a permanent interdepartmental advisory body responsible for coordinating the activities of ministries, State committees, government bodies and local executive bodies, businesses, institutions and organizations in matters relating to the application of Tajikistan’s legislation and the observance of its international obligations under the Convention and other international instruments for the protection of child rights. One of the Commission’s main objectives is to develop a national plan of action for the protection of the rights and interests of the child for the period 2003-2010. The Commission is currently monitoring the implementation of this plan.

The main obstacles to the implementation of the provisions of the Convention are as follows: high levels of poverty; different attitudes to boys and girls; consequences of the civil war; lack of necessary infrastructure; ignorance of the laws and regulations; and inadequately developed juvenile justice and childcare systems. Measures have been taken to overcome these obstacles. The economic situation of the country has stabilized and the poverty level has been reduced (from 83 per cent to 64 per cent). Moreover, the establishment of the Commission and the preparation of a national plan of action were followed by a number of initiatives taken to implement the Convention, namely: a review of the legislation on juvenile justice and of the laws, policies and practices relating to violence against children; pilot de-institutionalization projects; the creation of pilot child rights units at local executive level; and the reform of the detention system for children aged under and over 14.

Presentation of Report

RUKIYA KURBONOVA, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, expressed her gratitude for the Committee’s ongoing support to improve the rights of children in her country. Tajikistan was consistently pursuing a policy of cooperation with the United Nations. Tajikistan, when it had become an independent State, had followed the model of a social state. This was shown by the fact that state support for the family and children’s issues were recognized by the Government as the highest priority. The Government had also increased the political obligations it had for itself, in carrying out social reform, in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals.

However, a lot remained to be done, said Ms. Kurbonova, especially with regard to access to quality health and education. The implementation of those goals had been entrusted to several ministries through several new laws and decrees the country had adopted in recent years.

One of the key conditions for the development of the child was education, noted Ms. Kurbonova. The Tajik State ensured that all conditions were met for covering education for all. Concerning ethnic groups and the national educational programmes, schools had been built in the most remote parts of the country and also for the tiniest ethnic groups of the country. Education was provided in the ethnic mother tongue. She also noted that most teachers in general education schools were women.

On legal education, Ms. Kurbonova said that there were courses in State Law and International Law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to their Constitution, Tajikistan was a democratic and secular State. There was no repression or corporal punishment in schools. Teachers using such practices were brought before justice. There were no schools where violent action or imposed humiliation had been recorded.

The President of the Republic had recently met with representatives of the education field and there had been an agreement to develop a new law on the responsibility of parents for their children’s education, Ms. Kurbonova added.

On health issues, Ms. Kurbonova said each person had the right to be provided with health care. Right now, there was a decrease in maternal and childbirth mortality, thanks to the development of primary medical care. According to official statistics, maternal mortality had been cut by half.

In order to reduce under-five mortality rates, Tajikistan had introduced new World Health Organization standards. Ms. Kurbonova also noted that Tajikistan had received a certificate for active breastfeeding from the World Health Organization.

In 2002, Tajikistan was certified as a country free of polio. Tajikistan had also joined the fight against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, said Ms. Kurbonova, and a national coordination committee to fight AIDS had been formed.

The Government had also taken some decisive steps to improve the conditions of vulnerable categories of children, such as children with disabilities. Budgetary allocations for children had been increased every year. With the support of the European Commission, they had also created four day care centres for children with disabilities, Ms. Kurbonova said.

Independent Tajikistan followed a peaceful policy and the path of democracy, in full line of the provisions of international instruments. As such, they had recently created an Ombudsman’s Office to reinforce human rights in their country, Ms. Kurbonova noted. They had also been working on the anti-social behaviour of some children and had created a special service to deal with crime by minors.

The implementation of the international objectives, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, were being carried out in a step-by-step manner and in a comprehensive way, said Ms. Kurbonova. Tajikistan was ready to continue its dialogue with international partners, especially the United Nations, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to strengthen peace and democracy. The future belonged to their children; this was why upholding their rights was a priority.

Questions by Experts

DAINIUS PURAS, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Tajikistan, said that the discussion between the Committee and Tajikistan should mainly serve to help the State party improve its own performance in managing complicated problems and in progressively implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. He also noted the spirit of self-critical analysis of the report, which indicated that there was an emerging capacity to recognize and reflect on problems in Tajikistan.

Also encouraging was the clear identification and prioritization of the obstacles and challenges, including high levels of poverty, said Mr. Puras. The biggest challenge was in the level of implementation, monitoring and coordination of numerous activities and programmes. On its way to building a new system, based on child rights and participatory involvement of citizens, Tajikistan had achieved some progress, but the challenges, obstacles and threats for progressive and sustainable development were still huge. The way to success was through concerted efforts of the Government and civil society.

Mr. Puras further noted that Tajikistan was facing a difficult situation of transformation. The former system of the Soviet period had collapsed for numerous reasons, while the new system was not yet established. Hence, there were many visible gaps in provision of services to protect and promote the rights of children. Moreover, limited resources were too often used for feeding mostly ineffective services, such as large residential institutions for children.

Mr. Puras wondered who monitored the implementation of the Convention in Tajikistan and how it was done. The Commission on the Rights of the Child seemed to be too weak and lacking minimal capacity to properly monitor the effectiveness of the numerous legislative and other measures. Which bodies were responsible for monitoring at the local level? Was there a working mechanism for complaints raised by children or on their behalf?

Further, what measures were being taken by the Government to support non-governmental organizations working in the field of children’s rights? Did non-governmental organizations have the possibility of lobbying for increasing the budget for crucially important sectors? Was there any public debate on budget priorities, Mr. Puras asked?

Other Experts then raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other things, the resources allocated to children’s affairs. What percentage of the gross domestic product was truly invested in education and health? The figures appeared to be very low, said one Expert. What was being done to increase the percentages of those allocations? Also how were these allocations being protected from corruption?

Another Expert wondered what was being done to change the mindset of people with regard to children and the way people and authorities related to the rights of children. In what way was the media involved in that effort?

Other questions asked by Experts touched upon birth registration; violence against children; and early marriage practices. One Expert noted that parents had to pay fees to register their newborns, while the State’s budget accounted for the cost of running the registration system. Were there any plans to make registration free?

Had the State party conducted any study on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment, in the family and in institutions, asked an Expert. What measures were being undertaken to change the attitudes of parents and families?

Concerning the National Action Plan for children, the Committee had not been provided with appropriate information, such as the evaluation and monitoring process of the plan, said one Expert. Also, what would come next? Did the State party plan for a follow-up programme?

Other experts wondered whether Tajikistan planned to accede to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Could DNA tests be used to determine paternity? On the age of marriage, which was lowered to 17, had there been any debate in the country after the fact that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had criticized this move? Were there any plans to raise the age back to 18?

Response by the Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, the delegation said that, with regard to the Tajik Commission on the Rights of the Child, over the past years it had gone through a process of reform. Previously, there had been one commission on the issue of minors and one on the rights of the child. As there was often an overlap between the two, it was decided to create a single body for the two issues. The new Commission on the Rights of the Child had been created in 2008.

The mandate of the Commission was spelled out in a Governmental decree, the delegation said. Its role was to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Convention of the Rights of the Child. It also participated in the preparation of legislation linked to the rights of the child, and dealt with various issues, such as orphans and street children. Two non-governmental organizations were part of the Tajik Commission on the Rights of the Child,

There were also plans to create a new State department on children’s rights, which would carry out the implementation of the provisions of the Convention, indicated the delegation.

On education, the delegation said that compulsory education was provided for by the State free of charge. Professional education was also free of charge. Indeed, 2010 had been named the “year of education and technical knowledge” in Tajikistan.

Turning to the issue of funding for the education, health and social systems, the delegation reported that 55 per cent of the budgetary revenues were being allocated to those three sectors, with 4.5 per cent of the GDP allocated to education and 2.2 per cent of the GDP to health. Every year the Government had been increasing the funding for the education system, and between 2000 and 2009 the education budget had increased by 40 times.

There were about a hundred private schools in the country, but more than 90 per cent of the schools in the country were providing free-of-charge education, the delegation added.

Concerning health issues, the delegation said that there was currently a reform of the health system under way. They were trying to have a better distribution of their finances. The budget allocated to the health sector had increased over the last year despite the financial crisis.

With regard to maternal and child mortality, that was one of their priority issues Tajikistan faced, the delegation said. In 2003, newborn mortality stood at 47 per 1,000 live births, which had decreased to 16 per 1,000 by 2008. A United Nations Children's Fund survey had some different figures, with 8.6 per 1,000 live births in 2005 and 4.6 per 1,000 live births in 2008. The State’s efforts in this context were part of the Millennium Development Goals.

High mortality rates were due to the fact that after the collapse of the Soviet system, the medical infrastructure and equipment had been outdated and there had also been a major shortage of health providers, as well as an insufficient level of knowledge about hygiene among the general population. However, over the past five years, they had registered a decrease in child and newborn mortality, the delegation said, thanks to various reforms and awareness-raising campaigns.

Regarding the fight against corruption and protection of the resources in the State’s budget, the delegation said that there was a body tasked with monitoring the State budget allocations. An agency to combat corruption had also been set up.

On the legal status of the Convention in Tajikistan, the delegation said that international legal instruments recognized by Tajikistan came second after the State’s Constitution but had supremacy over national legal instruments.

The Parliament had adopted a new Code of Criminal Procedure, which was aligned with other international legal instruments of human rights, but also with the norms contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, said the delegation.

The delegation also said that in 2000 an amendment had been made to the Tajik Family Code, in order to take into account children’s views, as outlined in the Convention.

On the age of marriage, the delegation said that there was no discrepancy in marriage ages between boys and girls; it was of 17 for both. The legislators had also given the right to the Courts to allow for marriages at 16 years of age, but there had been only a few isolated cases of that. There had been a proposal to increase the age of marriage to 18, and that new piece of legislation was now being discussed by the Government.

The definition of the child in Tajik legislation was any person below the age of 18. However, a married person under 18 was considered an adult, but not by the Criminal Code, the delegation noted.

With respect to fees for birth certificates, the former fee had been $3, but had been decreased to $0.55. The delegation believed they could achieve free-of-charge birth registration before the presentation of their next report before the Committee.

Further Questions by Experts

During the second round of questions, the Rapporteur asked what measures were being taken by Tajikistan to address sexual abuse and exploitation of children. He also asked what measures were being implemented to promote the right of disabled children to education, and wondered if disabled children in institutions received education or only formal care? How much had Tajikistan achieved in moving away from the old Soviet system of institutionalizing children?

Other Experts also asked further questions on topics including, among others, the support given by the State to families in difficulty; what alternatives existed for such families other than having their children institutionalized; what measures were taken to keep children of parents who had migrated out of state institutions; and whether there had been any progresses in drafting a new Children’s Code?

An Expert noted that so far there were not any specialized children’s sections of ordinary courts or Children’s Courts in the country. Could the delegation elaborate on efforts to create such courts? Also on juvenile justice, an Expert wondered how children under 14 who had committed crimes, but who were not criminally responsible under Tajik law, were treated? Concerning the possibility of imposing legal punishments that forced children to work, how did that accord with the International Labour Organization’s position on child labour?

On the effect of the civil war on children, what measures had been put in place, as of 1997, to demilitarize children’s lives and to help them recover from the stress that had been caused by the conflict, an Expert asked.

Noting that adolescent health was among the priorities of the National Plan of Action, An Expert asked how the various strategies and plans for adolescent health were being implemented. The Committee had received information on girls below 18 that were being married, even into polygamous situations, for financial or religious reasons. While the Criminal Code of Tajikistan prohibited and punished that practice, what measures were being undertaken to prevent them from occurring?

Another Expert noted that the State party was still working under a medical model with regard to disabilities, not according to a social model. Epilepsy was also listed as a mental disorder in the State party’s report; could the delegation develop why it was so and how children with epilepsy were being treated in institutions?

Further, an Expert noted that the report stated that the Suvorov Military Academy, which accepted students from the age of 15, “mainly provided a military and patriotic education consisting of courses in physical education, social sciences and military theory”. That was clearly in contradiction with the provisions of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, to which Tajikistan was now a party. Could the delegation elaborate on that issue?

Response by the Delegation

Responding to those and other questions, the delegation said that, in 2005, for improving social protection of families and children, the President of Tajikistan had launched a long-term strategy in this area, up to 2015. As part of a transition to a market economy, one of the objectives had been to ensure targeted social support that would cover vulnerable groups of the population.

On children in institutional care, the delegation reported that, according to data from the UNICEF Office in Tajikistan, some 9,600 children were living in State boarding schools, separate from their families. The ministries responsible for these schools were the ministries of health, social protection, interior and justice. Among those 9,600 children, 22 per cent were children with psychological disorders and 14 per cent were children with other disabilities, including health problems, such as children born with cardiac defects.

On the current obstacles preventing the placement of children in foster families, the delegation said that the State would have to analyse in depth their family legislation.

Regarding children’s health and breastfeeding, the delegations said that it was the State’s goal to reduce hypertrophy among children by 2015. More than half, 54 per cent, of children were getting breastfeeding immediately after birth. In order to improve the situation, a law on breastfeeding had been adopted in 2006.

As part of the State’s recent health reforms, a coordination council had been set up, which included representatives from the Ministry of Health, but also local committees and organizations, such as women‘s affairs organizations and religious institutions, to work on raising the awareness of the population and ensure that people came to seek medical consultations. Part of the reforms had also seen the creation of local community councils that could provide support to medical workers in case of emergency.

On the question of funding and increased allocations, the delegation said that the Government was currently carrying out a reform on the way it funded primary healthcare services. The new system would allow for allocation on the basis of the number of people living in each area. Further, the population itself also contributed to payments, which led to an increase to the package provided to the population. The money saved out of this restructuring of the system would be used to reinforce the funding of primary medical assistance.

The level of information on AIDS and safe sex contraception among young adolescents had significantly improved, thanks to several programmes, the delegation noted. The school curricula devoted 72 hours to reproductive health issues. There was also a National Centre to fight HIV/AIDS funded by the Global Fund in Tajikistan.

Turning to education, the delegation said that the State had been carrying out reforms at all school levels, with the aim of modernizing the whole system; bringing the system up to the level of international standards; ensuring that teachers and educators had the relevant skills; and also ensuring that those students who received diploma could find jobs, and not solely in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan had joined the Bologna process and they were issuing new types of manuals, in line with international standards. Budgetary allocations for education had increased over the past years. The Government was currently working on a new draft law on education, and in 2009 a new law on higher and postgraduate education had been adopted.

With regard to child labour, according to the Tajik law, it was prohibited to use children for work, including agricultural work. Persons under 15 could not be hired for work. The law had also special provisions for the employment of people under the age of 18, the delegation said.

On refugee children from Afghanistan living in Tajikistan, the delegation said that according to the law on education, all those children had the right to study in Tajik schools. In Dushanbe, they had also created a special school for Afghan children, where these could study in their own language.

Regarding teachers’ salaries, they were indeed quite low, the delegation acknowledged, but they had been increased over the past years and an additional increase was planned for 2010. In 2005, schools throughout the country lacked some 7,000 teachers. As of 2009, they only lacked 25 teachers. While around 5,000 teachers graduated every year, the problem had been a problem of organization and of low wages and the social protection schemes offered to teachers. That situation had changed thanks to improvements in the funding for education.

Concerning the Suvorov Military Academy, the delegation indicated that it was a civilian school, with a civilian school curricula; it followed the national curriculum, issued by the Ministry of Education. In addition to the civilian curricula, they took up subjects relating to military matters. The Suvorov Academy prepared military specialists in a spirit of patriotism and the love of one’s homeland, but it was not a militarized institution.

Concerning trafficking in children, the delegation said that Tajikistan had acceded to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and had adopted a variety of normative acts in that area.

On the age of criminal liability, according to the Criminal Code of Tajikistan, a person bore criminal responsibility for their acts as of 16 years of age. For crimes committed by a person under the age of 16, they were covered by special preventative programmes. For very serious crimes, children between 14 and 16 years old could be taken to Court. Interrogation of minors could not last longer than two hours without breaks and could not exceed a certain maximum of hours. Furthermore, judges, jurists, policemen, military officials, psychologists and prosecutors had received training in international norms and standards when dealing with children in conflict of the law, the delegation added.

The Ministry of Justice in 2007 had appealed to UNICEF to get funds to renovate the minors holding wing in the Dushanbe detention centre. There were several holding centres for minors in the country, where specially trained members of the police were working to conduct social work. There was no single detention facility for minors solely. Minors were imprisoned in the normal prisons, but in sections separated from adults. Setting up Juvenile Courts would require a Constitutional reform, sad the delegation.

On unregistered marriages and polygamy, the delegation agreed that the situation on the ground did not always reflect what the law allowed for. They would have to step-up their work in legal awareness-raising among men and women.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

DAINIUS PURAS, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Tajikistan, in some preliminary concluding observations, said that they had had a fruitful and constructive dialogue with the State Party. Tajikistan was facing a heavy transition, but was fortunate in that they had had peace in the country for the last 10 years and had built relations based on trust and partnership between all actors, groups and individuals in the State. That was a major paradigm shift; it still required monitoring and time.

The Committee would recommend, among others, that Tajikistan substantially strengthen resources and infrastructure for health, education and juvenile healthcare and services on both the community and family level; that it work further to combat violence against children; and that it strengthen support for non-governmental organizations working in the area of child protection, Mr. Puras concluded.

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