KAZAKHSTAN: UPDATE OF INFORMATION ON THE WORST FORMS OF

UNCLAS ASTANA 003256

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN - O'MARA; DOL/ILAB - T. McCARTER; DRL/IL - T.
DANG.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: UPDATE OF INFORMATION ON THE WORST FORMS OF
CHILD LABOR

REF: (A) STATE 158223 (B) 06 ASTANA 891 (C) 05 ALMATY 3112

(D) 04 ALMATY 3206


1. Summary: In accordance with reftel A, this telegram provides
updated information on Kazakhstan's compliance with international
norms on the prevention of the worst forms of child labor. The
cable updates reftels B, C, and D. This information is provided to
assist in the determination of Kazakhstan's continued eligibility
for benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
Post concludes that the GOK is meeting its obligations under the
relevant ILO Conventions to prevent and punish illegal child labor
practices. There is currently no justification for altering
Kazakhstan's eligibility for the GSP on the basis of child labor
issues. End summary.


2. Kazakhstan, with a booming economy and a strong government, does
not have an acute problem with the worst forms of child labor. To
the extent child labor in Kazakhstan exists, it is largely a
function of migration from much poorer, neighboring Central Asian
countries. The bulk of child labor in Kazakhstan can be found in
the country's South, where Uzbek migrants work on cotton fields and
Kyrgyz migrants work on tobacco fields. Due, in part, to the lack
of transparency inherent in cross-border migration, no formal
statistical survey of child labor in Kazakhstan is known to have
been done.


3. Children are generally not found in Kazakhstan doing the
country's traditional hazardous jobs: heavy manufacturing,
construction, and mining. Farming, the occupation drawing the bulk
of child workers in the country, is not officially designated as
hazardous.


4. Kazakhstan ratified International Labor Organization (ILO)
Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor
in 2003. In 2005 the Government began, in collaboration with the
ILO, a three-year program on elimination of the worst forms of child
labor. The program aims to raise awareness of the child labor
problem. One of its priorities is to study the commercial sexual
exploitation of children, trafficking of minors, and the development
of the methods of rehabilitation of minors engaged in prostitution.


5. The ILO sees two countervailing forces acting in Kazakhstan: on
one hand, rising incidence of child labor, and on the other, the
government's increasing recognition - and the institutionalization -
of its approach to the problem. Kazakhstan's labor code has a
specific section on child labor. The authorities have a wide range
of legislative tools at their disposal to effect criminal and
administrative prosecution for child enslavement, abuse or coercion.
The Ministry of the Interior works to identify at-risk children
(such as runaways, abused children, and children involved in gangs)
and, in some cases, places them in temporary detention and
rehabilitation centers. These centers, which provide classes and
counseling, can serve as a stepping stone to a return home
(including, in case of migrant children, to the country of origin)
or to a transfer to an orphanage.


6. In Kazakhstan's southern regions, the Ministry of Education works
together with the Interior Ministry and the local authorities to
seek out school dropouts in markets, private farms, and other
places. Schools closely monitor attendance and contact students
absent for extended periods of time. Local authorities do make
schooling available to migrant children.


7. Comment: Post is satisfied that the Government of Kazakhstan
takes the issue of child labor seriously. While Kazakhstan is
facing some challenges in this respect due to a growing challenge of
illegal migrants, the government is making credible efforts to deal
with the child labor problem. Post recommends against any change in
Kazakhstan's GSP eligibility on the basis of child labor issues.
End comment.

MILAS