CRC/C/TKM/CO/2-4
Adopted by the Committee: 30 January 2015
Published by the Committee: 4 February 2015
Issues raised:
Discrimination:
The Committee remains concerned at: the discriminatory practices towards children belonging to national minorities, particularly the Kazakhs and the Uzbeks, who have very limited opportunities to have access to langua ge classes in their mother-tongue; girls continuing to be discriminated against, due to cultural biases, patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes, as was already noticed by CEDAW (CEDAW/C/TKM/CO/3-4, paras. 20-21), in spite of gender discrimination being forbidden in law; and the State party’s limited efforts to tackle the discrimination of girls and to modify or eliminate stereotypes and negative traditional values and practices (para.18).
Suicide:
While taking note that the rates of suicides among adolescents have decreased, the Committee remains concerned at the persistence of this phenomenon in the State party(para.22).
Nationality:
The Committee is concerned that certain gaps still remain that may lead to statelessness of children born in the State party (para.24).
Violence:
The Committee echoes the concerns of the Committee against Torture and the Human Rights Committee about the use of torture and ill-treatment for purposes of punishment or extraction of confessions, and that children might be among those affected. Moreover, the Committee is concerned at the absence of independent mechanisms to monitor places of detention and to allow children to complain in cases of abuse by law enforcement officers (para.30).
Harmful practices:
The Committee is concerned that the concept of corporal punishment is not fully understood and that corporal punishment as a form of disciplining children is still practised in the home setting (para.34).
Children deprived of family environment:
The Committee is nevertheless deeply concerned that it is possible for parents to temporarily place their children in State institutions. The Committee is further concerned at the lack of State support to parents experiencing difficulties in the upbringing of their children which increases institutionalization of children (para.36).
Adoption:
The Committee reiterates its concern at the lack of a centralized system for registration of adoption, absence of disaggregated data on adopted children, and lack of a system of consultations provided to adoptive parents. The Committee is further concerned that there are children in State institutions with limited opportunities for adoption or placement in alternative care, particularly due to disability (para.38).
Children with disabilities:
The Committee is concerned at: the lack of information with regard to the community-based rehabilitation programmes and home-base care for children with disabilities; that children with disabilities reaching the age of 16 years old are treated as adults for the purpose of disability allowances or other forms of support; and that professionals such as psychologists and social workers are not adequately trained to support the needs of children with disabilities (para.42).
Health:
The Committee is concerned at reports on the insufficient number of family doctors, nurses and midwifes, in particular in rural areas, the lack of medicines and the acute need to improve knowledge and skills of medical personnel (para.44).
The Committee is nevertheless concerned about reports that physicians might be reluctant to diagnose the disease. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of support groups or community-based rehabilitation programmes, in particular in the rural areas near the border with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan where the rate of AIDS transmission from drug-addicted parents to their children is reportedly high (para.46).
Climate change:
The Committee remains concerned at the damaging effects of the Aral Sea crisis on children living in nearby areas and the reports of high infant and maternal mortality rates as well as high rates of deaths due to cancer, which are attributed to the environmental pollution, in particular in Dashoguz region (para.50).
Standard of living:
The Committee remains concerned that access to potable water and adequate sanitary conditions is still a serious problem, in particular in rural areas (para.52).
Education:
The Committee remains concerned at reports of the persistence of this practice in rural areas, which conflicts with children’s education. The Committee is also concerned at: the lack of disaggregated data to permit in-depth analysis to measure the progress in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention concerning education; the insufficient opportunities for children belonging to national minorities, in particular Kazakh and Uzbek, to study their languages; and the continued practice of mass mobilization of school children and students for various festive events, such as events to welcome the president on his trips and time-consuming rehearsals for that purpose (para.54).
Juvenile justice:
The Committee remains concerned that the current reform has a limited scope and does not include all the elements of juvenile justice and, in particular, provisions for diversion mechanisms and efficient alternatives to the formal justice system.
