Kyrgyzstan

The situation of internally migrated children in Kyrgyzstan is not good. Many do not have access to adequate housing or health care. Also of concern are the many children who work instead of going to school and many unwanted pregnancies among minors.

The Committee is concerned about the large numbers of unwanted pregnancies among adolescent girls owing to low awareness of contraception options among adolescents and a lack of access to contraceptives. The Committee is also concerned that schools do not provide classes on sexual and reproductive health.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents and ensure that age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum and targeted at adolescent girls and boys, with special attention given to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. It also recommends that the State party provide adolescents with confidential services and easy access to contraceptives.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all the necessary measures to develop a policy on deinstitutionalization and prevent excessive institutionalization of children with disabilities by providing all the necessary support to families with children with disabilities and ensure sufficient alternative family and community-based care options for children with disabilities deprived of family environment. It also recommends to raise the awareness of the public, in particular children, about the rights of children with disabilities and take measures for their successful integration into society as well as to ensure that social benefits for families with children with disabilities are sufficient to cover the basic needs of such children. Kyrgyzstan should also provide inclusive education for children with disabilities by training teachers, providing schools with necessary equipment and raising the awareness of school personnel, children and the public in general of the rights of children with disabilities. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure prompt and effective investigation into cases of deaths of children with disabilities in care institutions and establish an independent monitoring of care institutions, in particular of the health-care services provided to children in such institutions.

The Committee is concerned that no programmes cover children above the age of 14 years. The Committee is also concerned about the increasing number of deaths of children in the first 24 hours of admission to hospital as a result of curable diseases, such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, and the high number of children who suffer from malnutrition.
The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to ensure that all children up to the age of 18 years are covered under the State party’s programmes for children and have access to health-care services free of charge. It recommends that the State party take measures to prevent deaths of children as a result of preventable and curable diseases, by educating parents and providing easy access to early medical intervention. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party take measures to ensure that no child in the country is undernourished and that all children have access to adequate and sufficient nutritious food.

The Committee is concerned about the large number of children, mostly without a birth certificate, working in hazardous conditions 7 days a week, 10 hours a day. It is particularly concerned that working children, especially those living in care institutions, are often subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
The Committee urges the State party to remove from its legislation the requirement of 10 days’ notification prior to the visit of labour inspectors and to organize regular unannounced inspection of private and State employment sites and ensure that any person who may be below the age of 18 years is not subjected to hazardous working conditions. The Committee urges the State party to ensure regular visits and monitoring of care institutions to detect signs of forced labour and/or physical, emotional and sexual abuse and bring those responsible to justice.
Further, the Committee recommends that the State party establish a system of juvenile courts with specialized staff and with a restorative justice approach, avoid unlawful detention of children and ensure that legal safeguards are implemented for the detained children. Kyrgyzstan should also ensure independent court review of decisions on placements in the adaptation and rehabilitation centre for juveniles and Belovodsky Special Boarding School. Additionally, the Committee recommends to provide children placed in those institutions with freedom of movement, including the freedom to leave and return at their will, ensure that under no circumstances are children detained together with adults as well as make sure that detention of children is used as a last resort and allow regular visits from the families of children in detention.

The Committee is extremely concerned about widespread torture and ill-treatment of children by the representatives of law enforcement in detention facilities and closed institutions, including solitary confinement being imposed on them for up to seven days. In particular, the Committee is concerned about the case of Nookat in 2008, where families, including children, were subjected to torture for their alleged membership in the Hizbut Tahrir religious group. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of complaint mechanisms and effective investigations into cases of torture and ill-treatment of children in detention facilities and closed institutions and during the investigation process.

The Committee is concerned about reports that children born to parents who do not possess valid identity documents, in particular Lyuli mothers or mothers without a residence permit, are denied birth registration. The Committee is also concerned by reports of excessive bureaucratic and illegal demands made in the process of restoring birth certificates.
The Committee urges the State party to ensure that all children born in its territory are registered and provided with standard birth certificates immediately without any undue barriers, irrespective of the availability of their parents’ identity documents or residence permits. The Committee also recommends that the State party simplify the procedure for birth registration and ensure that no illegal demands are made in the process of restoring birth certificates.