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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Kyrgyzstan (RATIFICATION: 1992)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Kyrgyzstan (RATIFICATION: 2020)

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The Committee notes that the first report of the Government on the application of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, has not been received. The Committee requests the Government to provide the first report on the Protocol of 2014 along with its next report on the Convention due in 2025.

The Committee notes the observations of the Kyrgyzstan Federation of Trade Unions (FPK), received on 1 November 2022.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Implementation and assessment of the action plan. The Committee notes the Government’s information on the adoption of the Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons for 2022–25 and its Action Plan by Cabinet of Ministers’ Resolution No. 227 of 2022. The Government also indicates that through Cabinet of Ministers’ Decree No. 252 of 2021, the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Migration has been designated as the State executive body responsible for the development and implementation of the national policy in the field of trafficking in persons. Coordination councils have also been established in the regions to serve as an effective mechanism for interdepartmental cooperation between State bodies and civil society to combat trafficking in persons at the local level. The Committee notes that both the Government and the FPK recognize that despite these measures Kyrgyzstan remains a country of origin and transit for trafficking in persons for the purposes of sexual and labour exploitation and, to a lesser extent, a country of destination.

The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, through the effective implementation of the Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons for 2022–25 and its Action Plan. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, as well as on the results of any monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Programme and its Action Plan, and the action taken as a follow-up.

2. Identification and protection of victims. The Committee notes the Government’s indication concerning the lack of effective measures to ensure early identification of victims of trafficking, including among vulnerable groups of women. The Committee also observes that the Programme for 2022–25 aims at developing the professional capacity of relevant bodies to identify victims of trafficking and ensuring effective collaboration of departmental agencies in the identification and referral of victims of trafficking (section 6 of the Programme). Section 4 of the Action Plan for 2022–25 contains various measures to improve protection and social assistance services provided to victims of trafficking, including the establishment of a shelter.

The Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts with regard to the identification of victims of trafficking for purposes of both sexual and labour exploitation, and to ensure that appropriate protection and assistance is provided to such victims. It further requests the Government to provide information on the number of victims who have been identified and on the nature of the assistance and protection granted. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the information provided to victims relating to safe migration and fair recruitment.

3. Law enforcement. The Committee notes that according to the Government and the FPK, effective measures are needed to address the lack of effectiveness of prosecutions and the root causes of corruption among law enforcement bodies with a view to combating trafficking in persons. The Committee further observes that the Government’s report does not provide information on investigations, prosecutions or convictions handed down for cases of trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all cases of trafficking in persons are adequately identified and subject to thorough investigations, so as to facilitate the prosecution and imposition of effective and dissuasive penalties on perpetrators, including complicit officials. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this regard, as well as on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and specific penalties applied under section 166 of the Criminal Code of 2021, which criminalizes trafficking in persons.

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