Torture in [Uzbekistan] [other countries]
Human Trafficking in [Uzbekistan] [other countries]
Street Children in [Uzbekistan] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Uzbekistan] [other countries]
 

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

In the early years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/streetchildren/Uzbekistan.htm

Republic of Uzbekistan Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer; it relies heavily on cotton production as the major source of export earnings and has come under increasing international criticism for the use of child labor in its annual cotton harvest.

A sharp increase in the inequality of income distribution has hurt the lower ranks of society since independence. [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009]

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Uzbekistan. 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.

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UNICEF – Uzbekistan

www.unicef.org/infobycountry/uzbekistan.html

[accessed 8 August 2011]

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/uzbekistan.htm

[accessed 16 January 2011]

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - UNICEF reports that approximately 34,500 children are living and working on the streets in Uzbekistan and are vulnerable to hazards associated with such an environment.

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

www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61684.htm

[accessed 16 January 2011]

CHILDREN - The law provides for children's rights and for free compulsory education through secondary school. In practice shortages and budget difficulties meant that many education expenses had to be paid by families. Teachers earned extremely low salaries and routinely demanded regular payments from students and their parents. According to government statistics, 98 percent of children completed secondary school. However, anecdotal evidence indicated that children increasingly dropped out of middle and high schools as economic circumstances continued to deteriorate.

The government subsidized health care, including for children, and boys and girls enjoyed equal access. As with education, low wages for doctors and poor funding of the health sector led to a widespread system of informal payments for services; in some cases this was a barrier to access for the poor. Those without an officially registered address, such as street children and children of migrant workers, did not have access to government health facilities.

Concluding Observations Of The Committee On The Rights Of The Child (CRC)

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 12 October 2001

www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/uzbekistan2001.html

[accessed 9 March 2011]

[63] The Committee notes that the negative effects of the current economic crisis and consequent deterioration in the family environment have resulted in an increasing number of street children in Tashkent and other cities.

Supplementary NGO Report - Executive Summary [DOC]

Supplementary NGO Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, 2001

www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.28/Uzbekistan.doc

[accessed 8 August 2011]

REPORTS OF THE STATE PARTIES ON THE CONVENTION - 3. GENERAL PRINCIPLES - A. NON-DISCRIMINATION - Street children represent one of the categories of children who are more often exposed to discrimination because of the very few opportunities available for their rehabilitation. A street child can be detained and placed in a intermediary reception-distribution center, which is under the management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he or she is held for up to one month before his or her parents are identified. After the identification of parents, the child is simply returned back to the family that he or she ran away from for some certain reasons that are not investigated. The reasons may be related to possible abuse of the child in the family, alcohol or drug addicted parents, etc. When the child is brought back to the family there are virtually no attempts to improve the family environment or try to find some other alternative forms of care to prevent the child from being in the streets again. As a result, some time later the child happens to be in the streets again, being exposed to and sometimes involved in prostitution, drugs, abusive behavior on the part of adults and other children, begging, etc.

Homeless Children Become Focus Of Concern In Uzbekistan [PDF]

Local Government And Public Service Reform Initiative • Open Society Institute, LGI Journal, Fall 2003

lgi.osi.hu/publications/2003/247/fall2003.pdf

[accessed 8 August 2011]

[page 24] FOREIGNERS IN RUSSIA: DEPORTATION, DISCRIMINATION AND MONEY - According to the study, there are several thousand homeless children in Tashkent, and the number is constantly growing as runaways from other parts of Uzbekistan drift to the capital. Child beggars have been a common sight on Tashkent streets for many years, according to Tashkent residents, who say the children are often recruited by drug dealers to act as couriers and perform other services.

The Children - Primary School Years

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF

www.unicef.org/uzbekistan/children_1682.html

[accessed 8 August 2011]

The official number of street children doubled between 2001 and 2004, to reach a total of 5,400 according to the Center of Social-Legal Assistance. Although primary school enrolment is high (at 88% net according to SOWC 2005), attendance is significantly lower (78%, source: SOWC 2005), particularly in rural areas, as a result of rising indirect costs (such as books, meals, clothing and transportation) lower perceived benefits, a decline in school facilities and a need for children to contribute to household income. Children with special needs are particularly affected.

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Torture in [Uzbekistan] [other countries]
Human Trafficking in [Uzbekistan] [other countries]
Street Children in [Uzbekistan] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Uzbekistan] [other countries]