Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles
from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Kazakhstan.htm
Kazakhstan is a
source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children from
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan trafficked to Russia and the UAE for
the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor in the
construction and agricultural industries. Women from Kazakhstan are
trafficked to China and Turkey for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation. Kazakhstan is a destination country for a significant number of
Uzbek men, women, and girls trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor, including domestic servitude and forced labor
in the tobacco, cotton, and meat processing industries. Men, women, and
children are trafficked internally for the purposes of forced labor and
forced prostitution. - U.S. State Dept
Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 Check
out a later country report here or a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following links have been culled from
the web to illuminate the situation in Kazakhstan. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of
particular interest to you. Would you
like to write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims International Organization for
Migration ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Kazak Women Sold as
Sex Slaves Gaziza Baituova,
Institute for War & Peace Reporting IWPR correspondent in Taraz - The Women’s Reporting & Dialogue Programme, WPR Issue 2, 17 Nov 05 iwpr.net/report-news/kazak-women-sold-sex-slaves [accessed 16
February 2011] iwpr.net/global-voices/kazak-women-sold-sex-slaves [accessed 7 June
2017] When teenagers Lyuda and Sveta were offered work in Turkey, the promised
salary of 400-450 US dollars per month was beyond their wildest dreams. Little did they know of the horror that
awaited them in Turkey where, like increasing numbers of women from the
southern regions of the country, they were sold as sex slaves. ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices: Kazakhstan U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/kazakhstan/
[accessed 13 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR Migrant workers
were considered most at risk for forced or compulsory labor. In 2019
according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 1.6 million persons were
registered as migrants in the country. The majority of migrant workers came
from Uzbekistan, but there were also lesser numbers from Tajikistan and
Kyrgyzstan. Migrant workers found employment primarily in agriculture and
construction. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT Sporadic instances
of children working below the country’s minimum age of employment were
reported in agriculture, including producing vegetables, weeding, and
collecting worms; in construction; in the markets and streets, including
transporting and selling items; in domestic work; in gas stations, car
washing, and working as bus conductors; or as waiters in restaurants. There
were no reports of child victims of forced labor in the sectors noted above,
nor was there evidence of children being compelled or forced into such work
through slavery, debt bondage, or trafficking for purposes of labor
exploitation In October media
reported cotton harvesters in the country and stated they have a lack of
workers, who are normally supplied by neighboring Uzbekistan. Because of
this, farmers have been reliant on employing children and teenagers to work
in cotton fields. Schoolchildren were spotted in fields in the Maktaaral and Zhetisay
districts of the southern Turkestan region. Local farmers are traditionally
aided by migrant workers from Uzbekistan, but that labor supply was
interrupted by travel restrictions imposed to contain the two countries’
COVID-19 outbreaks. These forms of labor were determined by local legislation
to be potentially hazardous and categorized as the worst forms of child
labor. The majority of such situations occur on family farms or in family
businesses. There were 10
instances of children being used in hazardous activities, including one case
of trafficking in minors for the purpose of sexual exploitation, five cases
of the coercion of minors into prostitution, two cases of the engagement of
minors into pornographic activities, and two cases of violation of labor
legislation related to the engagement of children in works that are not
allowed for children younger than age 18. In the last case, two boys (ages 13
and 15) died of carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping overnight in the
cafe where they worked as waiters. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/kazakhstan/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 30 April
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS ENJOY
EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Migrant workers
from neighboring countries often face poor working conditions and a lack of
effective legal safeguards against exploitation. Both migrants and
Kazakhstani workers from rural areas are vulnerable to trafficking for the
purposes of forced labor and prostitution in large cities. The authorities
reportedly make little effort to assist foreign victims of trafficking. 2017 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor Office of Child
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, US Dept of Labor, 2018 www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ilab/ChildLaborReport_Book.pdf [accessed 18 April
2019] www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2017/ChildLaborReportBook.pdf [accessed 30 April
2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 560] Children in
Kazakhstan engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in cotton
harvesting and commercial sexual exploitation. (1; 2; 3; 4; 5) There is no current
and comprehensive research on child labor in Kazakhstan that can provide
details about the number of children working in different sectors, the nature
of their work, and the hazards involved. EU Presses Russia
on Human Trafficking Vladimir Kovalev, February 23, 2007 – Source: Transitions
Online—Intelligent Eastern Europe [accessed 30 August
2012] Like many
struggling young people in the former Soviet republics, 17-year-old Maryam
dreamed of a better life. She thought she was on her way to one when she
decided to leave her native Kazakhstan to work as a shop assistant in Russia.
Maryam said she was
lured into the trap by a man named Dastan, who paid her parents $300, gave
her a false passport, and accompanied her to Samara, a central Russian city
with a population of 1.3 million people. Her story is among those included in
a report by the Geneva-based International Labor Organization (ILO) on human
trafficking, released at the end of 2005. Atyrau authorities plan
to prevent human trafficking Andrey Sokolov, Kazinform National
Information Agency, July 14, 2006 www.kazinform.kz/eng/article/2143365 [accessed 16
February 2011] Presentation of
plan of measures on struggle and prevention of crimes connected with human
trafficking for 2006-2008 took place in the Atyrau
oblast (a region of Kazakhstan).Local authorities plan to hold actions with
the help of mass media in order to raise public awareness, arrange seminars
and so on. They also intend to strengthen control over illegal migration of
foreign citizens to the region, check activity of employment agencies and
organizations rendering services to the population on preparation of
documents of Kazakhstan’s citizens leaving abroad. Kazakhstan Ups
Efforts To Combat Human Trafficking Hellenic Resources
Institute HR-Net, January 14, 2005 www.hri.org/news/balkans/rferl/2005/05-01-14.rferl.html#20 [accessed 16
February 2011] 12 criminal cases
were opened under the Criminal Code's "human trafficking" statute
in 2004, twice as many as in 2003, and five channels for trafficking Kazakh
citizens abroad for sexual and other exploitation were identified and blocked
in 2004. Forced Labour In The Russian Federation Today: Irregular
Migration And Trafficking In Human Beings [PDF] Elena Tyuryukanova, International Labour
Office, ILO, Geneva, September 2005 ISBN 92-2-117840-4
(print), ISBN 92-2-117841-2 (web pdf) www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081997.pdf [accessed 16
February 2011] [page 107] APPENDIX I
- INTERVIEWS WITH VICTIMS OF
FORCED LABOUR [page 108] CASE 2 - A
16-year old girl from Kazakhstan was sold by her parents. Her documents were
forged and she was subsequently a victim of fraud, physical and sexual
coercion, physical restraint and threats. The interview took place in Omsk. There were six children in our family. I am
the second. There [in Kazakhstan] people live in poverty, lacking electricity
and water. Sometimes we didn’t even have bread at home. My mother made ends
meet by occasional earnings, and my father spent everything on drink. I was
thinking about how to get out of this situation, to help my brothers and
sisters and do something for myself. And I met a man by chance. He proposed
that I could earn money at market. He came to my parents - I am underage -
and proposed that I work at a market in Smara. He
paid money to my parents so that they would let me go to Samara. [page 110] CASE 3 -
An 18-year old woman from Kazakhstan was trafficked to Russia where
she was subject to physical and sexual violence, coercion to perform sexual
services, physical restraint and threats. The interview took place in
Omsk. I lived in Kazakhstan in a big
family of 12 children. We lived in poverty. We were even happy to drink water
with bread. My mother worked at a grocery and earned little. My father drank
all the time, and beat my younger sisters and brothers. My youngest brother,
who is eight, collected bottles for money. It was a horrifying situation. Kazakhstan Plans
Tougher Punishment for Human Trafficking News Bulletin of the
Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada, Vol. 1, No. 31,
July 7, 2004 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 7
September 2011] [3rd article] KAZAKHSTAN PLANS TOUGHER PUNISHMENT FOR
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- One of the problems authorities face is the natural desire of victims to
stay anonymous. This is where the recently created “crisis centers” come in
to play. People come with their problems these centers more often then they do to law enforcement agencies. The cooperation
between the police and the crisis centers is crucial in thwarting modern-day
slavery, officials said. Corruption is
Limiting Kazakhstan’s Efforts Against Human Trafficking Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL, June 02, 2004 www.stopvaw.org/2Jun200416 [accessed 11 July
2013] Michael Chance, the
head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kazakhstan, told
Radio Free Europe that corrupt officials are limiting the effectiveness of
Kazakhstan’s efforts to combat human trafficking. According to official figures, 110 cases
against people alleged to be involved in trafficking were initiated in the
first three months of 2004, only eight cases were opened in all of 2003. The
IOM official said, however, that few traffickers have been punished because
those involved in the trade have enough money to bribe investigators. Voice of Democracy Kazakhstan 21st
Century Foundation, Washington, D.C., Aug. 14, 2003 iicas.org/libr_en/vd/libr_14_08_03_kp_0.htm [Last access date
unavailable] NOW SHOW YOU MEAN IT - In the face of
criticism from a number of international human rights groups, President Nazarbayev has signed legislation tightening prohibitions
on trafficking in human beings, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. Government
officials say the problem has become acute, with Kazakh citizens falling into
the hands of traffickers when they abroad in search of work, and the country
itself has been a transit route for trafficked persons. After drugs and
weapons, human trafficking is the third most profitable crime in Kazakhstan,
according to Khabar.Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan Attacks
Human Trafficking Elina Karakulova, Kazakhstan Daily Digest, 31 July 2003, Web. 9
Sept. 2009 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 7
September 2011] Dospolov said that the
State Department assertion was based partly on the fact that no sentences
were handed down in 2002 for crimes related to human trafficking, but he argued
that such crimes can be difficult to investigate because the victims are sent
abroad. U.S. Lauds
Kazakhstan for Actions Against Human Trafficking News Bulletin of the
Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada, Vol. 3, No. 11,
Sept 10, 2003 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 7
September 2011] The White House has
notified the U.S. Congress that Kazakhstan made "significant steps to
fight trafficking in persons" and given recognition to Astana for its efforts in this area. In a September 10 statement from the White
House press secretary, Kazakhstan was said to "deserve recognition for
their quick action to address problems noted in the Department of State's
June 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report." US Human
Trafficking Report Faults Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan EurasiaNet.org,
August 20, 2003 www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav082103.shtml [accessed 16
February 2011] enews.fergananews.com/article.php?id=192 [accessed 4 February
2018] Kazakhstan received
a Tier 3 designation largely because of authorities’ diminished response to
the human trafficking issue over the past year. Though Kazakh law forbids
"illicit migration" and officials investigated several reports of
trafficking, no cases have yet gone to court. However the reported noted that
the government "presented to Parliament long-awaited draft
anti-trafficking legislation, which passed the lower house of Parliament on
May 15." Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 6 June 2003 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/kazakhstan2003.html [accessed 16 February
2011] [45] The Committee
notes the existence of the National Board on Adoption and of regulations for
organizations involved in domestic and inter-country adoption. However, taking into account the very large
number of abandoned children, the Committee is concerned at the lack of a
comprehensive policy regarding domestic and inter-country adoption, including
effective monitoring and follow-up of adoptions. [72] The Committee
is concerned at: (a) The growing
involvement of children in the sex industry and the apparent indifference of
society towards the issue of child prostitution, including reports of parents
themselves reportedly forcing their children to earn money through
prostitution; (b)
The lack of specialized centres to accommodate and
provide qualified services, including psychotherapeutic and rehabilitation
and reintegration programmes, for child victims of
sexual violence. The Protection
Project - Kazakhstan The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS),
The Johns Hopkins University www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/kazakhstan.doc [accessed 2009] www.protectionproject.org/country-reports/ [accessed 22
February 2016] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING
- Anywhere
from 1,000 to 5,000 victims are trafficked annually from Kazakhstan. Estimates by local nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) in Kazakhstan are even more striking. One NGO has
estimated that 70,000 women have been trafficked out of the country in the 10
years since its independence; this number includes only those women who
managed to return home—the number of those who are still enslaved or who died
in the hands of traffickers is unknown. This estimate amounts to roughly 1
percent of the total female population in Kazakhstan. Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/kazakhstan [accessed 16
February 2011] ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61656.htm [accessed 9 February
2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Traffickers targeted young women in their teens and 20s for sexual
exploitation. According to NGOs, most women were recruited with promises of
good jobs or marriage abroad. Travel, employment, and marriage agencies often
recruited victims through advertisements promising lucrative jobs abroad.
Offers to participate in international beauty contests also were used.
Previously trafficked women reportedly recruited new victims personally. Many
trafficking victims appeared to be aware or at least to suspect that they
were going to work as prostitutes, but did not expect to work in slave‑like
conditions. Most trafficked persons traveled to their destinations on forged
passports obtained abroad, most often from Russia or the Kyrgyz Republic. Adolescents raised in orphanages, regardless of gender, and residents
of rural and economically disadvantaged areas were particularly vulnerable to
being trafficked. The country's relative prosperity otherwise served as a
factor against citizens being trafficked through seeking employment abroad.
During the year an orphanage director in the southern part of the country was
caught attempting to traffic teenage girls to the UAE. The highly publicized
case remained ongoing at year's end. Men and women were
trafficked to the country for labor exploitation; some evidence also
suggested children were trafficked from Uzbekistan for agriculture and
domestic labor. Officials often did not discriminate between illegal labor
migrants and victims of trafficking. There were credible reports of organized
criminal trafficking rings bringing construction laborers to Astana.
Employers and trafficking accomplices usually held trafficked workers'
passports during their stay in the country. Victims reported traffickers used
debt bondage, violence, or threats of violence to compel them to work. The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2005 www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/kazakhstan.htm [accessed 16
February 2011] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Reports also indicate a rise in the number of
children engaged in commercial sexual exploitation, pornography and drug trafficking
in urban areas. Children working as domestic servants are often
invisible and, for this reason, also vulnerable to exploitation. Kazakhstan is a source, transit, and
destination country for trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Girls in their teens are one of the primary targets for trafficking from
Kazakhstan to other countries. Internal trafficking from rural to urban
areas also occurs. fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and
educational use. PLEASE RESPECT
COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES. Cite
this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day
Slavery - Kazakhstan", http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Kazakhstan.htm,
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