Gulnoza Saidazimova of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty about a month ago catalogued the child labor situation in Central Asia. Unfortunately child labor is abused in all most all Central Asian states, but in different ways and to different degrees. Saidazimova first discusses Tajikistan's use of child labor as a ‘lifeline for their families’ who are forced by extreme poverty to take their children out of school and put them to work on the family farm or marketplace. As is common in all CA states, the Tajik government makes pronouncements against the practice, but does nearly nothing to curb its actual use.
On the other side, there is Uzbekistan, where forced child labor is actually state policy, as the children are deemed necessary in the major cotton harvest every September. Human Rights groups have put pressure on Uzbekistan and companies who do retail business with their cotton and have had some success. Major clothing companies such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Gap, and H & M, as well as some textile producers in South Asia have decided to stop buying Uzbek cotton and the Uzbek government has adopted a law on ‘Guarantees of the Rights of the Child’ and ratified the Internatioanl Labor Organization's convention on the worst forms of child labor. But the proof is in the pudding this September. Will anything really change? Will Uzbekistan implement these policies and find alternative ways to complete their harvest in an economically feasible way without children's hands? In Saidazimova's report only the Kyrgyzstan government comes up looking rosy on this issue. As she states, it has been at the ‘forefront’ in the fight against child 'slavery’ and not only cooperates with international organizations but also puts actual funds to stop the practice as well. Is child labor in Central Asia a purely economic issue? Social issue? Cultural issue? Can human rights groups’ political pressure do enough, or are structural economic efforts necessary? Can strong political policies and implementation stop or curtail the practice? Is the use of children in work a part of the culture, and therefore more deeply embedded, in the region?
Sticking with the kids, on July 16 Tashkent held a UNICEF sponsored conference promoting comprehensive prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the region (PMTCT). The conference also focused on pediatric HIV/AIDs care. Tragically, the occurrence of mother-to-child HIV is still a major problem in the region due to poor health structures and nurse/doctor training. Hopefully this conference can make a difference, and at least it is showing an effort to face this unpleasant, but pressing problem by the region's leaders.
On an unrelated note, two men accused of being Uighur separatists committed what the Chinese government has called a 'terrorist’ act when they attacked and killed several border policemen in Kashgar, Xinjiang Province yesterday, just days before the Olympics are set to start.
(Photo Source: Central Asian children pick cotton (Radio Free Europe) and (International Labor Organization (ILO), ILO-IPEC PROACT-CAR project)
