Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2023, publiée 112ème session CIT (2024)

Convention (n° 182) sur les pires formes de travail des enfants, 1999 - Kazakhstan (Ratification: 2003)

Previous comments: Observation and direct request.

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union of Workers in the Fuel and Energy Complex, received on 31 August 2022.

Article 3(a) of the Convention. Trafficking of children. The Committee observes the Government’s indication, in its report, that Kazakhstan remains a source, transit, and destination country for victims of trafficking in persons, including children. The Committee also observes that the Plan of Action to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Persons Offences for 2021-2023 provides for activities to prevent, detect, and suppress offences related to trafficking of children. The Committee further observes from the Government’s report that the maximum term of imprisonment for trafficking of children was increased from seven to nine years by the Act No. 292-V of 27 December 2019 amending section 135 of the Criminal Code. The Government indicates that in 2021, there were 10 cases of investigations under section 135 of the Criminal Code resulting in the conviction of 21 persons, out of which 15 persons were sanctioned to imprisonment. The Government also refers to the elaboration of a draft Act on combating trafficking in persons. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that all cases of child trafficking are subject to thorough investigations with a view to ensuring that perpetrators are prosecuted, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any developments made in respect of the elaboration and adoption of an Act on combating trafficking in persons and indicate its provisions as regards child trafficking. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of section 135 of the Criminal Code in practice, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and penal sanctions applied.

Article 3(c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee notes that the Trade Union of Workers in the Fuel and Energy Complex, in its observations, refers to cases of the recruitment of children as distributors of drugs and a lack of information concerning the measures taken by the Government to prevent and suppress such practices. The Committee further notes that according to section 132 of the Criminal Code, the involvement of a child in the commission of a criminal offence is punishable with imprisonment of three to six years. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure the elimination of practices of the use, procuring or offering of a young person under 18 years of age for the production and trafficking of drugs, in accordance with Article 3(c) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of section 132 of the Criminal Code in practice as regards the offences related to the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and penal sanctions applied.

Article 3(d) and application of the Convention in practice. Hazardous work on tobacco and cotton plantations. The Committee observes that the Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour for 2020-2022 and the Plan of Action to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Persons Offences for 2021-2023 provide for activities to prevent child labour, including in cotton fields, tobacco plantations, construction and other sectors. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that measures have been taken to eradicate child labour in the tobacco and cotton industries.

The Committee further notes that the Trade Union of Workers in the Fuel and Energy Complex refers to the findings of a sociological survey undertaken in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan, according to which 34 per cent of respondents aged of 12 years and above were engaged in the agricultural and construction sectors, including working excessive working hours. The Committee also notes that in its 2019 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concern that, despite the efforts made by Kazakhstan, child labour by migrant and Kazakh children persists, including in tobacco, cotton and agriculture farms (E/C.12/KAZ/CO/2, para. 38). The Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect children from hazardous work in agriculture, particularly in cotton and tobacco plantations, and provide information on the number of inspections carried out in these sectors. It further requests the Government to provide information on the results of these inspections, including the number of violations detected and penalties applied.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee observes from the Government’s indication that children of foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing in Kazakhstan have equal rights to education as citizens of Kazakhstan (section 8(2) of the Act on Education of 2007). The Government also indicates that the local authorities ensure school placement of migrant children. According to the Government, in the 2020–21 education year, 20,367 migrant children studied at schools in Kazakhstan.

The Committee notes that in its 2019 concluding observations, the CESCR expressed concern, while recognizing the efforts made by Kazakhstan, that there are large regional disparities in access to and the quality of education and many children of unregistered migrants do not have access to education or schoolbooks (E/C.12/KAZ/CO/2, paras 48(a)(e) and 49(a)). The Committee further observes from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics that the total number of out-of-school children of primary and lower secondary school age increased from 17,080 in 2019 to 145,271 in 2020. Recalling that access to free basic education is key in preventing the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all children have access to free basic education, including migrant children. It also requests the Government to provide statistical information on school enrolment, completion and dropout rates at the primary and lower secondary levels. To the extent possible, this information should be disaggregated by age, gender and national extraction.

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