TURKMENISTAN: UNICEF OFFICIALS HAVE NO PROOF OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000066 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL/ILCSR FOR MITTELHAUSER, G/TIP FOR STEVE STEINVER DOL/ILAB FOR RACHEL RIGBY E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2019 TAGS: EIND ELAB ETRD PHUM SOCI KTIP TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: UNICEF OFFICIALS HAVE NO PROOF OF CHILD LABOR DURING COTTON HARVEST REF: STATE 1730 Classified By: Charge Richard Miles, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On January 14, poloff met with local UNICEF officials to discuss UNICEF's findings on the issue of child labor in Turkmenistan. Prior to 2005, child labor in the cotton harvest was a widespread practice in Turkmenistan, but a 2005 presidential decree banning the practice and subsequent measures had curbed it. The Turkmenistan Government is reluctant to release even positive statistics about social indicators for legal and internal bureaucratic reasons. An unreleased UNICEF study completed in 2007 indicated a very low overall level of child labor. While UNICEF officials could not confirm that no child labor took place during the cotton harvest, the results of their survey, supplemented by reasons for a drastic improvement in the situation since 2005, not the least of which is a commercial motivation, suggest that the government policy to ban child labor in the cotton harvest has been implemented. END SUMMARY. COTTON HARVEST BY CHILDREN NOT CONFIRMED ¶2. (C) On January 14, poloff met with acting UNICEF Country Representative, Abdul Alim, and Education Officer, Jepbar Bashimov, to discuss UNICEF's findings on the issue of child labor in Turkmenistan. Alim said that prior to 2005 child labor in the cotton harvest was a problem in Turkmenistan, but that a 2005 presidential decree banning the practice had curbed the problem to a large extent and that it was not practiced widely. One reason for the decline was the purchase of cotton combines that have mechanized the harvest. Alim noted that an advantage of a highly controlled state such as Turkmenistan was that a law in the form of a presidential decree was likely to be enforced. He also said that school attendance rates are very high and are monitored by the state. Given Turkmenistan's relatively small population, Alim thought it would be easy for the government to know what was happening if pupils did not attend school. In 2007, the Prosecutor General's office and teachers were appointed to monitor compliance. Finally, while extreme poverty is a reason for child labor in other countries, in Turkmenistan most families are cushioned from extreme poverty by the high level of state-provided subsidies. If a family picked cotton after school hours, children could accompany their parents and their work would not be considered a violation of the law. UNRELEASED STUDY INDICATES MINIMAL CHILD LABOR ¶3. (C) Bashimov described a UNICEF study carried out in 2007 that addressed child labor as one of its elements. It involved a survey of over 3,000 households throughout Turkmenistan. The results of the study have not been validated by the Turkmen government, so UNICEF has not been able to release the results publicly. Alim commented that the government has both legal and bureaucratic restrictions on releasing statistics, which has been frustrating in cases where the figures are positive news. The study in question was funded by the retailer Ikea in connection with its possible sourcing of goods produced in Turkmenistan. The study did not specifically address the cotton harvest labor. Partial results of the study (please protect -- not for public release) indicated no reports of child labor among children under the age of 12 years, a level of three-tenths of one percent among children between 12-15 years, and four-tenths of one percent among 16 year olds. Alim said he could not vouch for these figures because the government hadn't released them. He also mentioned that even if instances of child labor had been underreported by the survey participants, he still believed the overall figure would ASHGABAT 00000066 002 OF 002 still be very low. RELEASE OF STATISTICS A PRIORITY FOR UN ¶4. (C) Alim said encouraging the Turkmen government to release data is UNICEF's main push. He mentioned a positive UNICEF finding, that 87 percent of the population used iodized salt, that could not be released because it contradicted a 99 percent figure mentioned by the President. He thought releasing data could help promote the government's agenda to attract business and investment, and that the child labor study results would not be viewed as negative. TURKMENISTAN CARES ABOUT THE UN ¶5. (C) The government wants the UN in Turkmenistan for international credibility said Alim. And while the views of the UN are listened to by the government, Alim pointed out that government officials still balance UN views against local interests. Because the government relies on gas export revenues, it is not concerned about sanctions and reacts indifferently to overt pressure. Alim suggested that UN negotiations are the best way to influence Turkmen officials and that the U.S. Mission at the UN should engage with their Turkmen counterparts as a way to engage about issues of concern to the United States. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: In a country where the government sources report that child labor has been eliminated and official statistics are unavailable, the assessment of organizations such as UNICEF can provide the most reliable insight into conditions on the ground. While UNICEF officials could not confirm that no child labor took place during the cotton harvest, the results of their survey, supplemented by reasons for a drastic improvement in the situation since 2005, not the least of which is a commericial motivation, suggest that the government policy to ban child labor in the cotton harvest has been implemented. END COMMENT. MILES