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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Tajikistan (RATIFICATION: 1993)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Tajikistan (RATIFICATION: 2020)

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The Committee welcomes the ratification by Tajikistan of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930. Noting that the first report of the Government has not been received, the Committee hopes that the Government will provide detailed information on its application, in accordance with the report form adopted by the Governing Body.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. National Plan for Combating Trafficking in Persons.Implementation and assessment. The Committee notes the adoption of the new National Plan for Combating Trafficking in Persons for 2022–24 by the Government’s Decree No. 55 of 2022. The National Plan provides for various measures to prevent and prosecute trafficking in persons offences, to protect and provide assistance to victims of trafficking, and to strengthen international collaboration. The Committee further notes that the Interdepartmental Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons acts as a national coordinator and monitors the implementation of measures envisaged in the national plans for combatting trafficking in persons (section 16 of the Act on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Providing Assistance to Victims No. 1096 of 2014). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any monitoring and evaluation of the results achieved in the implementation of the National Plan for Combating Trafficking in Persons for 2022–24and the difficulties encountered. It also requests the Government to provide information on activities carried out by the Interdepartmental Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons.

2. Identification and protection of victims. The Government indicates that for the period 2017–22, more than 350 victims of trafficking have been provided with medical, psychological, and legal assistance, food, accommodation, and educational courses. For the period 2019–22, 31 Tajik victims of trafficking were returned from India, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates by the competent state bodies in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration. The Government also indicates the establishment of the Social Service Centre for Victims of Trafficking in Persons in Dushanbe in 2021.

The Committee notes that the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, in her 2022 report, noted the issues of the low rates of identification of victims of trafficking; prosecution of victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation for offences related to prostitution and keeping or organizing brothels; the lack of assistance provided to victims in rural areas and smaller cities; and the need to guarantee effective access to compensation. The Committee further notes that in its 2023 concluding observations, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern about the limited access to assistance and protection for migrant workers who are victims of trafficking or at risk of trafficking (CERD/C/TJK/CO/12-13). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure the identification of victims of trafficking and that victims of trafficking are not prosecuted for the offences which they have been compelled to commit. It further requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that all victims of trafficking in persons are provided with protection and assistance under part 4 of the Act on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Providing Assistance to Victims No. 1096 of 2014. Lastly, it requests the Government to continue to provide data on the number of victims of trafficking who have been identified and the nature of the services provided for their recovery and rehabilitation, including the provision of compensation.

3. Prosecution and application of dissuasive penal sanctions. The Government indicates the establishment in 2017 of the Centre for Combating Trafficking in Persons within the Organized Crime Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Committee notes from the 2022 Government’s report on the application of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that a hotline of the Centre for Combating Trafficking in Persons has been put into operation (CEDAW/C/TJK/7). The Government refers to the trainings carried out for law enforcement officials to strengthen their knowledge and capacities in detecting and investigating trafficking in persons offences. The Government also indicates that, for the period 2019–22, 63 cases were identified under section 130-1 (“Trafficking in persons”) of the Criminal Code.

The Committee further notes that, in her 2022 report, the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons noted that despite significant efforts in the specialization and strengthening of investigative capacity, the number of investigations undertaken is limited, in particular in response to internal trafficking for purposes of sexual and labour exploitation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that all cases of trafficking in persons, for the purpose of both labour and sexual exploitation, are identified and subject to thorough investigations, so as to facilitate the prosecution and imposition of effective and dissuasive penalties on perpetrators. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions as well as the penalties applied under section 130-1 of the Criminal Code.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). Freedom of career military personnel to leave their service. The Committee takes note of the adoption of the Act on Military Duty and Military Service No. 1753 of 2021. Section 54(1) of the Act sets out the list of grounds for dismissal from military service. The dismissal of military service officers is carried out by the Minister of Defense and the heads or other competent official of the state bodies in which military service is performed (section 53(4) of the Act). The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether military officers have the right to leave the service, in times of peace, at their own request before the termination of their contract.

Article 2(2)(c). Work of prisoners for private enterprises. The Government indicates that in 2022, the total number of convicts performing paid work was 2,664. The Government also indicates that 1,773 convicts in settlement colonies (“kolonii-poseleniya”) perform work for private enterprises on the basis of the contract concluded between the settlement colony and the private enterprise. According to the Government, convicts voluntarily agree to perform such work.

The Committee notes that section 107(1) of the Code on the Execution of Criminal Sentences establishes compulsory prison labour which may be used at private enterprises. As regard the compulsory labour performed by convicts in settlement colonies, the Committee notes that the provisions of the labour legislation governing recruitment, transfer and dismissals do not apply to such convicts (section 126(3) of the Code of the Execution of Criminal Sentences).

The Committee recalls that according to Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention, convicted persons should not be hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations. The Committee further recalls that to be compatible with the Convention, convicts’ work for private entities must be performed on a voluntary basis, implying the free and informed consent of the convicts provided in writing (see the Committee’s 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 279). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that convicts give their free, formal, and informed consent before working for the benefit of private enterprises. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide copies of contracts concluded between a private enterprise and a penitentiary institution, particularly asettlement colony (“koloniya-poseleniya”), as well as contracts between convicts and private enterprises.

Article 2(2)(d). Work exacted in cases of emergency. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that no presidential decree introducing the state of emergency was issued by virtue of section 2 of the Constitutional Act on the Legal Regime of a State of Emergency of 1995 during the reporting period.