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Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of all UN Treaty Bodies and their follow-up procedures. This does not include the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which are available here: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/index.asp
Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.
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- UN Human Rights Committee
- UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
- UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- UN Committee against Torture
- UN Committee on Migrant Workers
- UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance
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CCPR/C/TKM/CO/2
Adopted by Commmittee: 23 March 2017
Published: 20 April 2017
Issues Raised:
Forced labour:
The Committee is concerned about the reported widespread use of forced labour of farmers, students, public and private sector workers during the cotton harvest under threat of penalties such as loss of land, expulsion from university, loss of wages or salary cuts, termination of employment and other sanctions (art. 8) (para. 26).
The State party should promptly put an end to forced labour in the cotton sector, inter alia, by fully enforcing the legal framework prohibiting forced labour. It should clearly communicate to public officials and the public at large that the mobilization of persons to pick cotton under coercion or threats is unlawful, prosecute those responsible for such violations, and provide full reparation to victims (para. 27).
(CCPR/C/TKM/CO/1/Add.1)
Last reported:
Concluding Observations issued: 3 December 2012
In Russian (according to Google translate)
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UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
CERD/C/TKM/CO/8-11
Last reported: 25 January 2016
Concluding observations issued: 9 December 2016
Cultural and linguistic rights of ethnic minorities: The Committee expresses concern at reports that education is provided primarily in Turkmen, especially at institutions of higher education, and that student and government employees must wear the Turkmen national dress regardless of their ethnicity. The Committee is also concerned at reports that ethnic minorities face language barriers in obtaining State employment and in communicating with State and public institutions (para 14).
The Committee welcomes the National Action Plan for Human Rights plan to create favourable conditions for children of ethnic minorities to learn their mother tongue, and recommends the State party take the necessary measures to implement this plan, including through the establishment of schools and provision of textbooks in minority languages (para 15).
Situation of non-citizens: The Committee regrets the lack of information on the current situation of non-citizens of the State party, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers and their capacity to access education, health care, employment and registration of child births in the State party. The Committee also notes with concern that no new asylum-seekers have been registered since 2005 in the State party. The Committee is also concerned about discrimination on the basis of nationality of citizens of dual citizenship and Turkmen citizens married to non-citizens, and their difficulties in obtaining entry visas and long-term family visas. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that non-citizens have access to education, housing, health care, employment and birth registration in the territory of Turkmenistan without discrimination (paras 16, 17).
(CERD/C/TKM/CO/6-7)
Last reported: 23 – 24 February 2012
Concluding Observations issued: 9 March 2012
Issues raised:
Education: The Committee is concerned that children belonging to ethnic minorities continue to have limited possibilities to study and receive education in their mother tongue as there is a limited number of schools and textbooks in minority languages. In addition, the Committee is concerned that women and girls from such groups remain in a vulnerable position and face double discrimination as women and as members of minorities in education, health care and employment (arts. 2 and 5).
The Committee urges the State party to take the necessary measures to increase access for children belonging to ethnic and national minorities to instruction in and study of their mother tongue, including through the establishment of schools and provision of textbooks in minority languages. The State party should also take all measures to improve the situation of minority women and girlsby enhancing their access to education, health care and employment. (para 20)
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UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW/C/TKM/CO/3-4)
Last reported: 11 October 2012
Concluding Observations issued: 24 October 2012
Issues raised:
Discrimination: While noting the reassurances of the State party’s delegation, expressed during the dialogue, that there is no legal or administrative provision or State policy in the State party imposing a dress code on women, and that no woman or girl has been expelled from work or educational institution for failure to wear the national dress, shawl or skull-cap takhya, the Committee continues to be seriously concerned about attitudes and policies reinforcing discriminatory traditional norms, harmful practices and patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in all spheres of life. The Committee is further concerned at the State party’s limited efforts to tackle such discriminatory practices. The Committee is concerned that such customs and practices perpetuate discrimination against women and girls and that they are reflected in women’s disadvantaged and unequal status in many areas, including education, public life and decision-making, and in the persistence of violence against women, and that, to date, the State party has not taken sustained measures to modify or eliminate stereotypes and negative traditional values and practices. (para 20)
Violence: The Committee urges the State party to give priority attention to combating violence against women and girls and adopt comprehensive measures to address such violence, in accordance with its general recommendation No.19, including:
(a) Expeditiously adopt a comprehensive law addressing all forms of violence against women, including domestic and sexual violence, and ensuring that women and girls who are victims of violence have access to immediate means of redress and protection and further ensuring that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished; (…)
(c) Raise public awareness, through the media and educational programmes and to provide mandatory training for judges, prosecutors, police officers, health-service providers, journalists and school staff in order to ensure that they are sensitized to all forms of violence against women and girls and can provide adequate gender-sensitive support to victims (…) (para 23)
Sexual exploitation: The Committee calls upon the State party to fully implement article 6 of the Convention and: (…)
(e) To address the root causes of trafficking and prostitution, including poverty, in order to eliminate the vulnerability of girls and women to sexual exploitation and trafficking, and to strive to ensure the recovery and social integration of victims, by providing them with shelters and assistance.
Education: The Committee welcomes the State party’s Education Act adopted in August 2009 which guarantees and protects citizens’ constitutional right to education and the increase of salaries in the education sector and of student grants by 40%. The Committee also welcomes the 10 year education introduced in 2007-2008.
(…) The Committee is, however, concerned at the lack of data on enrolment of boys and girls in pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary levels, as well as on the dropout rates and its causes. The Committee is also concerned that despite the slight increase of enrolment of girls in non-traditional areas (24.4% of girls in the Oil and Gas Institute, 23.6% in the Institute of Energy Studies, 41.6% in the Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the traditional views of both students and teachers orient female students into areas of study perceived as appropriate to their social roles and participation in public life. (para 30)
The Committee urges the State party to enhance its compliance with article 10 of the Convention and to raise awareness of the importance of education as a human right and as the basis for the empowerment of women. To this end, it urges the State party:
(a) Take immediate steps to implement measures to ensure equal access for girls and women to all levels of education and retention of girls in school, including through temporary special measures in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25;
(b) To address barriers to the education of women and girls, such as negative cultural attitudes and excessive domestic duties, to take steps to reduce and prevent dropouts among girls and to strengthen the implementation of re-entry policies enabling girls who drop out to return to school;
(c) To implement measures to eliminate traditional stereotypes and structural barriers that might deter girls from enrolling in science subjects at the secondary and tertiary levels; and
(d) To step up efforts to provide girls with career counselling that orients them to non-traditional career paths, in particular in technical-vocational areas. (para 31)
Health:
The Committee urges the State party: (…)
(b) To widely promote education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, targeting adolescent girls and boys and paying special attention to early pregnancy and control of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. (para35)
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UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
CRPD/C/TKM/CO/1
Last reported: 1 and 2 April 2015
Concluding observations issued: 14 April 2015
Issues raised:
Women with disabilities (art.6): The Committee is concerned that women and girls with disabilities experience multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination, which affect their rights to education, health and employment and the right to be protected from violence. It is also concerned at the lack of specific information on the impact of the measures taken by the State party to involve women and girls with disabilities in development programmes and ensure their rights under the Convention. (para 11)
The Committee recommends that the State party design and implement effective programmes, as part of the Women’s Equality Act, including affirmative-action measures, to promote the rights of women and girls with disabilities and eliminate discrimination against them in all aspects of life, and ensure that their views are duly considered in development programmes. (para 12)
Children with disabilities (art.7): The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on the concrete achievements of the programmes on early childhood development and early identification of developmental delays. It is also concerned that children with disabilities reaching the age of 16 are considered as adults for the purpose of disability benefits, in accordance with the concern expressed by the Committee (see CRC/C/TKM/CO/2-4, para.42). It is further concerned about the lack of information on measures and support for starting independent life available to girls and boys with disabilities reaching adulthood. (para 13)
The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Evaluate the results achieved so far through the implementation of the programmes on early childhood development and strengthen those programmes and allocate adequate resources accordingly; (b) Take measures to ensure that children continue receiving disability benefits up to the age of 18, in accordance with the recommendation made, by the Committee (see CRC/C/TKM/CO/2-4, para.43); (c) Provide adequate support for adolescents with disabilities to help them start an independent life when they reach adulthood. (para 14)
Liberty and security of the person (art.14): The Committee is concerned that no data is available on persons with disabilities who are involuntary placed in psychiatric facilities. It is also concerned at reports that orders for such placements are generally based on the alleged “dangerousness” of the person with disabilities, the definition of which is partly based on the concept of insanity. (para 25)
The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Repeal the laws that allow for the deprivation of liberty on the basis of disability and potential “dangerousness”, with a view to prohibiting disability-based forced detention of children and adults with disabilities; (b) Ensure that the general safeguards and guarantees established for all persons accused of a crime in the criminal justice system, including the presumption of innocence, the right to defence and to a fair trial and reasonable accommodation in prisons, are provided for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others. (para 26)
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse (art.16): The Committee is concerned by the insufficient measures to prevent violence against person with disabilities in all settings, and to protect the victims, in particular women and children with disabilities. (para 29)
The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Ensure the availability and accessibility of effective independent monitoring and complaint mechanisms in order to support the authorities to investigate and prosecute all cases of violence against persons with disabilities, in particular women and children; (b) Collect disaggregated data on cases of violence against persons with disabilities, in particular in institutions; (c) Provide accessible shelters, hotlines and information for victims of violence and abuse, and training for law enforcement officers and the judiciary. (para 30)
Education (art.24): The Committee is concerned about the lack of specific data, indicators and binding targets to monitor the transition to an inclusive education system. It is especially concerned about the placement of children with disabilities in special boarding and other specialized schools. It is also concerned about insufficient safeguards for parents with children with disabilities regarding the decisions of medical and educational assessment commissions on children’s placement in regular schools, as well as about the imposition of vocational training on some students with disabilities after completion of their basic education. (para 39)
The Committee recommends that the process of inclusive education of students with disabilities be not dependent solely and exclusively on the decision of a commission for medical and educational assessment, but also on providing pupils with disabilities with accessible conditions in schools and ensuring that they are free to decide on the vocational training they wish to receive. The Committee recommends the State party to publish relevant, periodic, detailed and disaggregated data, including by academic year, on achievements relating to inclusive quality education with special regard to the use of sign language, Braille and other forms of accessible formats of augmentative and alternative communication. The State party should also ensure that inclusive education is an integral part of core teacher training in universities. (para 40)
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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(E/C.12/TKM/CO/1)
Last reported: 18 – 21 November 2011
Concluding Observations issued: 13 December 2011
Issues raised:
Children with disabilities: The Committee is concerned that the provision of social assistance and welfare benefits for persons with disabilities is inadequate. The Committee is also concerned at the absence of adequate data with regard to children and adults with disabilities.
The Committee recommends that the State party enhance the provision of social assistance and of welfare benefits to persons with disabilities and in this regard refers the State party to its general comment No. 5 (1994) on persons with disabilities. The Committee also recommends that the State party collect disaggregated data on the enjoyment, by children and adults with disabilities, of the rights set out in the Covenant, that the State party use such data to develop laws, programmes and policies to promote equal opportunities for children and adults with disabilities, and that the State party include such information in its next periodic report. (para 15)
Child marriage: The Committee is concerned that child marriages still occur in the State party despite the existence of legislation against them.
The Committee also calls upon the State party to take all necessary measures in order to prevent child marriages from occurring. (para 19)
Health: The Committee is concerned about the inaccuracy of data relating to the prevalence HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted infections. In particular, the Committee is concerned about the existence of a State controlled quota system, for instance with regard to reporting on maternal and infant mortality rates, and of pressure exercised on health workers to meet such quotas.
(…) the Committee requests the State party to intensify its efforts with a view to further reducing its maternal, child and infant mortality rates, including through educational programmes on sexual and reproductive health and by focusing on prevention and treatment. (…) (para 23)
Education: The Committee is concerned that, in spite of specific legislative provisions in this regard, the possibilities for ethnic minorities, notably Kazakh, Uzbek, Armenian and Russian, to study in their mother tongue are limited. The Committee is also concerned that a number of Turkmen students enrolled in universities abroad have been prevented from leaving the country to pursue their studies.
The Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary action to facilitate access to Kazakh, Uzbek, Armenian and Russian language classes and schools for children of ethnic minorities. The Committee also recommends that the State party take all appropriate measures to ensure that Turkmen students enrolled at universities abroad are allowed to leave the country and pursue their studies. (para 26)
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CAT/C/TKM/CO/2
Last reported: 6 October 2015
Concluding observations issued: 1-2 December 2016
No mention of children's rights
CAT/C/TKM/CO/1
Last reported: 17 – 18 May 2011
Concluding Observations issued: 15 June 2011
No mention of children’s rights
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UN Committee on Migrant Workers
Not yet signed or ratified.
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UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance
Not yet signed or ratified.