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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Tajikistan (RATIFICATION: 2005)

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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clauses (a) and (d). Compulsory labour and hazardous work in agricultural activities. The Committee notes with regret the absence of specific information in the Government’s report with respect to the Committee’s previous comments on the need to ensure the prohibition of compulsory labour and hazardous work for children under the age of 18 in the cotton harvest. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation of national legislation prohibiting compulsory labour and hazardous work for children below the age of 18 years in the cotton harvest. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide information on any monitoring of child labour during the cotton harvest, as well as information on the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed in this regard.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (e). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and special situation of girls. Access to free basic education. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that measures have been taken to facilitate children’s access to compulsory quality education to prevent the involvement of children in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee takes note of the National Strategy for Education Development for the period up to 2030 (Strategy) adopted by the Government’s Decree No. 526 of 2020. The Committee observes that the Strategy aims to extend the coverage of compulsory quality education and to reduce school drop-out rates. According to section 93 of the Strategy, although the number of children enrolled in compulsory education is relatively high, there are cases of dropouts with significant gender disparities. In the 2019–20 school year, 47 per cent of girls were enrolled in primary education (grades 1–4) and 51 per cent in lower secondary education (grades 5–9).

The Committee notes that, in its 2022 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed concern about the high dropout rate in secondary education, particularly among girls and children in rural areas (E/C.12/TJK/CO/4, para. 54). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to improve the functioning of the educational system and to facilitate access to free basic education, particularly of girls. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect, including on the implementation of the National Strategy for Education Development for the period up to 2030, and the results achieved.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.