2961st Meeting, 101st Session, Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Human Rights Treaty Bodies Date: 18 September 2026 Language: English Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/crc/2961 Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations. --- CRC · Chair [13:55]: Good morning. I declare open the 2961st meeting of the 101st session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. I warmly welcome the delegation of Tajikistan here in Geneva for the review of its combined sixth and seventh periodic reports under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I would like to give the floor to the head of delegation, His Excellency, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Muzaffar Ashurion. Tajikistan · Minister of Justice · Muzaffar Ashurion [14:36]: Madam Chair, esteemed members of the Committee, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of my delegation, the Republic of Tajikistan, I would like to express our deep respect to the UN CRC and warmly welcome all participants at today's session, we see the Convention on the Rights of the Child as one of the key international legal instruments for the protection and promotion of the rights of the child of significant importance and fundamental impact for helping States implement their international obligations, assess progress achieved and objectively identifying remaining challenges and tasks. Our delegation is represented by the Executive apparatus of the President, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Health, Education, Social Protection and Population, Agency for Statistics, and the head of the Permanent Representation of Tajikistan in Geneva. It is well known that children, given their age and particular vulnerability, need special care, protections, and reliable support, protection, above all at the early stages of life. In line with our international obligations, we consistently take practical and systemic measures to implement the recommendations of the UNCRC. On the basis of our national report that Jikizana submitted to the received recommendations which we have carefully reviewed and implemented a plan 2018-2022 for the implementation of these recommendations in line with article 34 of the Constitution the mother and the child are under particular special protection and the care of the state the state cares for orphans also children with disabilities and cares for their upbringing the convention on the rights of the child in line with the constitution of the country is integral to the legal system of the country. Questions for providing protection and care for children is a priority for the national strategy of our country for the period up until 2038. In our country, general coordination of state agencies and ensuring their Coordination at the interregional and interagency level is conducted by the Department for the Rights of the Child of the Executive Office of the President, which implements the functions of the Secretariat of the CRC in coordination with towns and districts. in line with the CRC and the recommendations of various UN agencies are taken into account and implemented into our legislation for practical implementation. In order to implement the recommendations of the CRC, we developed a draft law with amendments to our law on legal assistance and the criminal code, as well as focusing on improvements to ensure free legal aid to victims. Independent and accessible mechanisms for reviewing complaints is vital. In line with the recommendations of the Committee for Rights of the Child in 2022 and 2024, we made changes. And additions to the family code and the laws on individuals and the protections of the child, the goal of which was to shore up guarantees for protection of the rights of the child, protection of the child from violence and taking into account the opinions of children. For example. Under Part 1, Article 57 of the Family Code, agencies who have the authority to take decisions concerning the lives of children must take into account the. Opinion of the child and take decisions on the basis of the best interests of the child. Under Article 13 of the Law on Complaints from Individuals, and legal entities, minors can independently express their opinion, they have the right to refer cases for consideration to ensure their opinions and needs are fully taken into account. This is also the same approach that we have taken with respect to other parts of legislation and recommendations, for example, inappropriate actions by parents or people substituting parents in bringing up children. Abuse of parental rights is a case where children have the right to refer their case, making a complaint to the appropriate agencies. Other state agencies also. As a result of our focusing on the affairs and needs of children in legal cases. And the courts, we have been shoring up legislation for the protection of children from violence. In 2024, we became the 67th country in the world whose legislation bans physical punishment of children. The law on state and insurance pensions and protection of the rights of children includes access to children and pensions for disabilities, including social pensions. In 2025, registry for disabilities contained 172,538 individuals, of which 35,381 were children with disabilities under 18. In March of 2021, the Agency for Social Insurance and Pensions under the government developed an integrated new method for payment of pensions with electronic document processing. We developed a classifier of the types of pensions and for improving the forms of statistical reporting. I'd also like to focus on the system for monitoring data on the status and situation of children, compiling statistical information and taking focused and targeted decisions. Under the recommendations of the CRC, we are constantly improving our national system for collecting, analysing and disseminating data on children. The Statistics Agency has conducted work to improve our statistics forms and expanding disaggregation of data in the areas of education, healthcare, social protections, juvenile justice, crime and other areas which are directly connected with the status and situation of children. An important area of improving statistical reporting for children in vulnerable situations is children with risk of violence and also orphans or children without parental support. In 2012, 2017 and 2023, we conducted medical demographic surveys as a result of which we obtained up-to-date information on child mortality, healthcare, nutrition, and other important areas. In 2023, together with UNICEF, we conducted a diagnostic assessment of the national system of data on children, while in 2024, we conducted an assessment of the system for collecting data on alternative care for children. On the basis of the needs and priorities we identified, in 2025, we drew up a roadmap for improving statistics with a of children in Tajikistan, which takes into account a number of systemic measures for increasing the accessibility, fullness, quality, comparability, and usability of data on children. Of particular importance is the improvement of the statistics on poverty amongst children. With technical support from our partners, we reviewed our national methodology for assessing poverty, and we compiled a methodological foundation for measuring child poverty. This allowed us to make it possible to consider children as an an independent group and take into account their needs while developing state-level strategic documents. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the key areas of state policies is prevention of crimes and violations amongst minors and ensuring effective protection of children who are in conflict with the law. In order to implement the recommendations of the UNCRC and organize prevention of crimes amongst young people within the Interior Affairs Ministry, we've created an agency for preventing such crimes, which implements protections of the legal rights and interests of minors In 2020, we adopted a new law on the system for preventing crimes amongst minors, a national programme for preventing such crimes and misdemeanours amongst the youth of our country for 2020-2024, and a presidential decree in this area was also implemented. In January 2020, we made amendments to article 32 of the law on the detention of persons in custody, with a new text on also possibility of torture and cruel treatment. the presence of no less than three medical workers is required, who are not answering to the local administration, as protections of those who are in custody. We have also made changes for those held in and other such forms of custody. Under a new decree of 26 August 2022, we have new instructions on detaining children and also victims of crimes and violence with a new system, including effective state measures and actions in juvenile justice, including prevention of child crime, protecting children from the risk of violence, and also optimizing the interaction by children and minors with state and non-state structures. We are now focusing on juvenile justice and improving the system for working with justice in a presidential decree was adopted in 29th of July 2017 with a program for reforming the system for justice with respect to children 2017 to 2021. Within the framework of implementing this program, we improved legislation and the practice of justice with respect to children, for minors, their rehabilitation and social reintegration of children, as well as protection of young children. who are in conflict with the law, for implementing the recommendations of the UNCRC and in order to subsequently continue to develop the reforms that we started. In 2023, we adopted a program for reforming the system for justice with respect to children 2023 to 2027 and a plan of actions 2023 to 2025. Within the frameworks of its implementation, we drew together an anthology of legislation on the child in the Supreme Court, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry for Interior Affairs and the Main Agency for Crimes of the Ministry of Justice. We introduced new curricula for the rights of the child and justice with suspected children. For 197 justice and workers in the justice system, we conducted training and opened nine voluntary rooms for questioning children. In order to implement the recommendations of the Committee, in 2021, we made amendments and additions to the Criminal Code. to which minors who are suspected of committing a crime must be immediately questioned no later than 12 hours after their actual detention. The detention of a minor cannot continue for more than 48 hours from the detention. After this period of two days, a minor must be released from custody or other measures of detention must be introduced. Deadlines are introduced for questioning for minors depending on their age, for reducing the level of repeat offenses by minors. On 25th of July 2020, we adopted a program for rehabilitation and social integration of minors, those who have served prison terms also or been released. of fundamental importance for us is a comprehensive legal system and environment which protects the rights of every child, regardless of their life situation. In order to implement the recommendations of the committee in 2018 and in 2020, the law on the protection of the rights of the child saw new amendments and additions, guaranteeing that new rights and support for orphans and children without parental support. This covers also refugees, children who have suffered from natural disasters and man-made disasters, and protection of children from negative impacts of their social environment. In connection with the adoption in 2015 of the law on the rights of the child, we saw a need to define a state-authorized agency for the protection of the rights of the child under the government, and a government decree of 19 August 2016 defined this as the Ministry for Education and Science. In order to implement these authorities, a new governmental decree of 28 December 2019 made changes to the structure of the Ministry, creating a new structural agency, the Agency for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, with a staff of eight. In order to improve the level of responsibility, liability in implementation of recommendations of the CSE. In 2024, we adopted new law on the responsibility for education and training for children, which focus on eradicating children dropping out of school and providing other forms of assistance. The main goal of preventing children from dropping out of school, engaging in engaged, radicalized into extremist activity and so forth. This is a general form of state protection. And on 27th of November 2019, we adopted a program for legal training and support for citizens of the country and for the period 2020-2030 with the creation of a new coordinating council. In 2021, we adopted a program for education in the area of implementing human rights 2022 to 2026 and currently we're planning a new program for education on the rights on human rights 2027 to 2031. We have focused on children and youth as a high priority group taking into account human rights but also covering digital technologies, the environment, climate change and gender equality. In order to implement other recommendations from the CIC, the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child organized 386 interactions with the media between 2018 and 2025 on various child rights issues. We held 1,128 different consultations and 301 monitorings. Between 2018 and 2025, we met with teachers and students in more than 50 schools on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the history of its adoption, and key principles and mechanisms for the protection of children. One of the key areas for improving state policies in this area was the adoption, 28th of May 2026, of a program for the rights of the child, 2026-2030. The key goal of this program is to shore up our national system for protecting children. meeting the best interests of children, creating a safe environment for them, safe education, preventing discrimination, boosting the quality of social services, improving legal and institutional services, as well as conducting new state policies in line with international documents in the area of the rights of the child. The state places key importance on the issues of the education of children. We cover all of the issues covered by the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the CRC. Our curricula in schools now include such issues such as the status of a child in the family, education, care, relations with elders, theoretical principles of development, scientific and physical issues, and the protection of health, maintaining health, the essence of child psychology, child psychology methods, musical education, national dances, rhythmic movement, psychological particularities of preschool children, developing a personality, legal issues of the protection of the rights and interests of the child, Currently, we have 4,056 schools in which nearly 2.5 million students study, 1,200,000 of them are girls. The 99.9% of our children are covered by schooling. The number of preschool educations in the country is 831. The number of students in them is 134,263. We are working hard to reform and modernize our education system for children with disabilities. Our legislation includes norms for education for children with special needs, with new rules for their acceptance, funding, medical services also. We are working together with unions also and employers to develop a national program for eradicating the worst forms of child labor in the country. The prosecutors agencies are working to eradicate child labor with outreach at markets in agricultural communities and businesses. Also, the Agency for Labor is also working to establish and protect a minimal age for child labour, with immediate actions to eradicate this crime. We've also adopted the recommendations of the ILO for eradicating the worst forms of child labour. A key guarantee for the full protection and development of children is seeing the child as the foundation of our human capital and sustainable development of our country. In 2017, to implement the SDGs in our country, we adopted a healthcare code with provisions for the protection of children and driving down child morbidity also. The measures that we have listed indicate that we are working consistently on our state policies for the protection of the rights of children. We would like to express our deep gratitude to the committee for the attention that it has focused on our attention. My colleagues will be happy to present more detailed information on all issues of interest to you. We look forward to a constructive dialogue. Thank you. CRC · Chair [35:58]: Thank you very much, Mr. Minister. I give the floor to my colleagues and coordinator, Madame Hinda Yobad, please. CRC · Coordinator · Hinda Ayoub-Endrissi [36:12]: Thank you very much, Chair. Thank you very much to the delegation. I believe everyone can hear me through the interpretation. Thank you very much for all of the information provided, both in the report and the responses from the State Party. The dialogue in the task force is important. My colleague, Mariya Belov, my colleague, Zeynep Barut, Taluz Masar, and Aisha Tulu, Maru Siddiqo. I would like to move straight to the general measures as applied, as well as to civil political rights. At the outset, I would like to congratulate you for the many legislative measures that you have undertaken, the policies you have implemented since the consideration of the last report. I am very happy to see that you have put an end to corporal punishment. You are one of the few countries who have put an end to this. harmful practice for the compilation of the report, has civil society and children been involved? Were they, did they participate in compiling the report? And beyond the information that we have received on legislation, the State Party report in paragraph four and five shares information on the implementation of a group working on the family code, above all, families hosting children, and also working on a new amendment. Has it been implemented? Has the law been adopted? Have reforms affected the question of the age of marriage? in the sense of putting an end to the exceptions which allow children to be married at 17, and if measures have been adopted or envisaged for the implementation of the various laws that were adopted. Then turning to the national strategy for children, you've adopted many different major strategies up to 2030 on education, healthcare, water. So for development, we see excellent strategies. In your report, you underscore in paragraphs 6 and 7 that a national plan of action was approved in 2018-2020, but also in 2018, a group was put in place for a child rights strategy in collaboration with UNICEF and civil society organisations. In August, You adopted a national human rights strategy, which covers the country up until 2030. has the action plan 2018-2022 been evaluated? If it has, what are the main results of that assessment in terms of resolving the challenges? Has the global strategy for the rights of the child been adopted? and what measures have been taken or envisaged from the viewpoint of technical, human, and financial resource difficulties that need to be overcome to implement the strategy. So, even if the justice ministry has spoken to us about coordination, what I would like to understand in the state party and the verbal responses I'm trying to understand, and I am a little bit confused still, there are many different bodies that coexist, the National Commission for the Rights of the Child, the Ministry for Education and Science, the unity created since 2016, and nominated the state body responsible for the protection of child's rights. and local commissions. So who is globally responsible for the implementation of the CRC and its protocols, and how is coordination ensured between the various entities I mentioned? The National Commission for the Rights of the Child and the local commissions, do they have sufficient resources to function? In terms of allocation of resources, Tajikistan places a great part of its budget on social spending, 40 percent almost of its. Budget for social insurance, education and so on, in the State Party's response in paragraph 14. You speak about measures that will be taken to improve the planning system and allocation of budgetary resources. In the subsequent paragraphs, the competent agencies and ministries participate in implementing follow-up and evaluation mechanisms. Can you give us information on the mechanisms of follow-up for the allocated budgets? What is the impact of those mechanisms? What is the approach for allocating and assessing the allocation of budgets? What measures are taken or envisaged to have a budget which is sufficient to improve the lot of children? For data collection, up to 2030, we have a national statistical development strategy. There have been a lot of efforts and a lot of surveys. a mixed module on children, but still there are some difficulties, notably I'd like to focus. On early childhood, collection of data on early childhood, micronutrients for healthcare, the healthcare of adolescents. access to water, sanitation, learning outcomes, child labour, violence. This is where data are still missing. What measures have been taken or envisaged to improve data collection, to establish an integrated information system? With. Disaggregated data covering all the areas of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and all categories of children. What measures have been taken to improve the coordination of the exchange and the use of data collected by the various different administrations? In the area of independent tracking, yes, Mr. Justice Minister, through the child mediators, we have seen. Changes are part of a general commission, but what are the measures that have been taken to shore up the independence of this INDH for it? To pass to category A under the Paris Principles and to end this status B, which has. Been lingering for many years, to make status A fully compliant with the Paris Principles? What are the? Resources that the child mediator ombudsman has. There's a lot of complaints received, communications, but does it have sufficient resources allowing it to do its work? If you could also give us information on instruction number 72, which provides for confidentiality and rapid processing of complaints. Has it been duly implemented at the level of the mediator? And what is the degree of implementation of the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission, the ministerial? Departments, and for other delegations and departments working with civil society. The report of the State Party reports. The large number of communications from civil society and 14 different groups, the large number of information. Held under the committee, the treaty body working on economic, social. And cultural rights, for example, we have reports of a shrinking or difficulties encountered by. Civil society associations trying to do their work, including their work for the protection and promotion of human rights. Can you give us information on the measures taken to improve the working conditions for the civil society organization associations? In terms of access to justice and effective reparations, what are the measures that have been taken to make effective these laws and what laws have you adopted protecting children, allowing them to refer cases to the justice system without any adult participation, but what has been done to make this effective outreach, awareness raising, ensuring that children are aware of these various different options open to them? And this leads me to another question, because you have made a great deal of effort on the level of. Laws and mechanisms, but. Does the state think of being, of joining the third protocol of the convention, which puts in place a procedure for individual communications? Coming to the end of my questions, I would like to ask about civil and political rights and birth registration. I would like to congratulate Tajikistan on the significant efforts made. Over 95.5% of children are registered, and nearly 91% of children have their birth certificate. There is a reform under way under the Ministry of Justice since 2016. What is the impact on the registration of births, especially for children born to parents who are not themselves registered? In particular, what is the impact on the Mogat community, if that is the correct pronunciation? What are the main difficulties encountered in registering births? What about birth registration for asylum-seeking, refugee or stateless children? Is Tajikistan considering ratifying the conventions against statelessness, with a view to reducing child statelessness? What about implementation of the rights and freedoms of children, such as freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, of thought and of religion, and the right of access to adequate information? I thank you for all your replies. CRC · Chair [47:28]: Thank you, Ms. Ayoub-Endrissi. Zeina Boutaleb-Moussa, please. Eight minutes. CRC · Committee member · Zeina Boutaleb-Moussa [47:41]: Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I echo the thanks to His Excellency the Minister of Justice and the delegation. At the outset, I should say that I have a major difficulty in the realm of the rights of women, justice, immigration. Women are well represented now. I've seen 10 women out of 10 here present. Thank you. Do we have interpretation? I thank the delegation of Tajikistan for the presentation of its report and for the efforts made at the legislative and institutional levels since the last cycle. I should set the outset. That many of my questions will not be about the measures adopted, but rather about their tangible results for children. and that's what interests us as a committee is above all the real results. The State report officially covers the periods 2017 to 22, but a large number of the data end in 2020 or 2021. And moreover, the list of issues adopted by the committee in December 2025 draws attention to a number of topics, new laws, groups of children and essential services, which simply do not appear in the report, either because they are subsequent to it or because they have not been addressed in it. I would be grateful, and the committee would be grateful, to the delegation if, every time it addresses us, it could update the figures that it is presenting. Today we need, above all, more figures in terms of the impact of what has been done. So I would like to start with a number of questions on the general principles of the Convention, the situation of children with disabilities and child health. And that is what I will be speaking of. above all today. So, if I may, I will begin with the general principles, non-discrimination. There are data. Data exists in the report, but the gaps are not measured. We note that the government has invested in improving the collection of disaggregated data, but the report mostly gives absolute figures and it is difficult to deduce the real differences between groups of children. Could you tell us whether you have comparative data to measure differences in access to healthcare, education and social services, for example, between children in urban and rural areas, between girls and boys, between children who are poor and those who are not, between children who have disabilities and those who do not, and between children living with HIV and children who do not live with HIV? The committee notes the adoption in July 2022 of Law No. 1890 on equality and the elimination of all forms of discrimination. That law post-dates your report, however, and we don't have information on it yet. Does this law define? Discrimination in a way that is consistent with article 2 of the Convention, including with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity? Are children aware of the complaint mechanism it establishes? And can you tell us how many complaints have been filed by children so far, and what follow-up has been provided to them? My third question. We've seen that there are children, groups of children, largely absent from the report. You mention in your report the situation of Roma children, but at no point does the report address children from the Luli and Pajmiri minorities, nor the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children. Can you tell us how many children belong to these groups, what discrimination they face in access to healthcare, education and social services, and what targeted measures are being taken to address this. Now, coming to birth registration, which has been mentioned already, but I have some questions on that. There's a decline that we would need to have explained and groups of risk that need to be identified. The report indicates in 2020, 73.76% of births were registered within three months of birth, compared to only 67.72% in 2021, and that over 53,000 children were registered after their first birthday that year. The committee would like to know whether this decline particularly affects certain groups, For example, children born in rural areas, children of parents without identity documents, Luli children, children born out of wedlock, or children born as a result of unassisted childbirth, and what targeted measures are being taken for these children in particular. Then, to come back briefly to statelessness, because that was part of what I needed to cover, and it's a ratification that's still pending. Your report indicated in 2022 that Tajikistan's accession to the conventions of 1954 and 1961 on statelessness was under consideration. Four years on, what is the status of this reflection? Is Tajikistan planning to ratify these instruments? And how many stateless children are currently registered in the country? We need tangible data, please, and restrictions that do not appear anywhere in the State report. The committee would like to draw the delegation's attention to three issues that do not appear in the state party's report in particular. Because they are subsequent to the report. Restrictions on the parents' choice of children's names, the prohibition on the wearing of so-called non-traditional clothing, and the Education Responsibility Act 2024, which prohibits unlawful education, including religious education. Could you explain how these measures are compatible with the rights of the child to identity, freedom of religion and freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution? Thank you. If I need to stop, Chair, you will tell me, but otherwise, best interests of the child, that will be my last point. CRC · Chair [55:44]: Please. Yeah, please. CRC · Committee member · Zeina Boutaleb-Moussa [55:48]: Thank you, Madam Chair. CRC · Chair [55:50]: Continue, you can finish, but very briefly, please. CRC · Committee member · Zeina Boutaleb-Moussa [55:56]: So, best interests of the child. We've noted that the inter-ministerial working group concluded that the legal framework on the best interests of the child does not need to be changed. All right, but a legal framework that is deemed satisfactory does not tell us how the best interests of the child are actually assessed on a case-by-case basis. So it's difficult. What concrete procedures now ensure that an individualized assessment is genuinely carried out before any decision is made on placement, family separation, or on the care or education of a child? And do you have data on the number of decisions that have been actually the subject of such an assessment? And the right to be heard. Beyond training, what is the real place for the child's voice? Training is a good thing, but what's the real place for the child's voice in terms of results and data? We welcome the trainings organised between 2018 and 2020 on respect for the child's opinion, but the committee would like to know what the situation is in practice, not just in judicial, administrative and school proceedings, but also, as requested in the list of issues, within the family itself. What mechanisms exist? to ensure that the child's opinion is heard and taken into account in decisions that affect the child at home? And do you have data on the number of children actually heard between 2018 and 2022? And I think I should stop here. And with that, I thank you. CRC · Chair [57:49]: Thank you. Now I'd like to give the floor to Madame Aicha Tassidi Kou, please, 12 minutes. CRC · Committee member · Aicha Tassidi Kou [58:01]: Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to welcome the delegation. My questions are on violence against children and the family environment and institutional framework. In 2024, the 2013 law on the prevention of inter-family violence was modified, and a national prevention programme against domestic violence was adopted. Despite the amendments, the legislation only provides for administrative sanctions on domestic violence. The care for child victims and witnesses remains insufficient. and there are discriminatory social norms that still allow violence. How does Tajikistan guarantee that child victims of domestic violence benefit from immediate protection, effective access to justice, and that the perpetrators are genuinely prosecuted and punished? How does the State Party plan to combat social norms and educational practices that normalise violence against children and prevent violence in the home, promoting positive parenting? What measures are taken to establish or strengthen detection mechanisms, warning mechanisms and mechanisms for care of children who are victims of violence? How many refuges and specialized structures are available for child victims and witnesses of domestic violence? And how does the State Party plan to guarantee their accessibility to children in all regions? On corporal punishment, we note. A major legal development in 2024, when Tajikistan prohibited corporal punishment in all contexts. This reform is a major step forward. Unfortunately, its application in practice remains to be ensured. What tangible measures has the Government taken to make this reform operational, and what mechanisms make it possible to monitor its implementation? Sexual violence. Despite the legal frameworks by Tajikistan to prevent violence against children and support child victims, certain legislative provisions do not provide enough protection to children from sexual exploitation, abuse and violence. We have, for example, articles 138 and 139 of the Criminal Code, which do not take into account psychological violence or manipulation in the case of sexual violence. The breadth of sexual violence against children in Tajikistan is not known, as the cases are hidden by children themselves. Where they have suffered such abuse. Others have been reduced to silence by parents or other family members because of fear of societal judgment. What measures are being taken to encourage complaints by children of sexual violence? How does the State plan to establish a special procedure in law to address sexual crimes against children? Guaranteeing that investigations and judicial procedures, whether it is sexual violence against children, are conducted by specially trained investigators and judges. Furthermore, Tajik law does not recognize rape unless it is against a woman, and so sexual abuse of a boy, even whether a threat of violence or actual violence, are not considered to be rape. What measures are taken to ensure that the legislation qualifies as rape any forced sexual act, including against a boy? How to ensure measures of protection and support for child victims of violence, including sexual violence, with a focus on psychosocial support. On prostitution of children and child *********** Article 241 of the Criminal Code renders an offence the production or transfer. Of pornographic content or articles depicting children beyond the borders of Tajikistan for distribution, public showing, or publicity. The scope of this article does not cover behaviors such as offering or providing acquiring or possessing pornographic material and production of material on sexual abuse of children is not is only criminalized if it is for distribution, public diffusion or publicity. only transboundary transfer is criminalised, not transmission or transfer in general, which leads to a legal gap in protection of children against use in *********** for private purposes. How does the State Party plan to guarantee that the legislation covers all production, possession, access and transmission of material covering sexual abuse of children, including when the acts are not for commercial? Purposes. Harmful practices In Tajikistan, the number of child marriages is the highest in Central Asia. 14.3% of girls are married, divorced, or live in an informal union. The Family. Code of Tajikistan has a provision that exceptionally permits marriage at age 17 and still provides for reducing the minimum age by a year at most for the two sexes in exceptional circumstances, which are not defined. The number of exceptional authorizations. For a child marriage was approximately 2,500 in 2018 and 4,000 in 2022, not counting unregistered religious marriages. A study showed that in 91 per cent of cases, the authorisation for 17-year-old girls was granted. because the family was in financial difficulties, without any consideration of the best interests of the child. Many girls are married off because of the lack of training and professional skills. What measures is the Government going to take to end child marriage without exception? What measures are being taken to ensure economic empowerment and training of vulnerable girls who are out of school and are vulnerable to child marriage. Family environment and protection. In 2023, there were over 60 alternative institutions, mostly under the Education Ministry, which held almost 6,500 children. What are the norms and standards covering those alternative institutions? Certain children are placed in institutions not because they have a need for residential protection, but because the family is poor and cannot access the necessary. Services to care for the child. What measures is the State party taking to guarantee that poverty or. Difficulties are not in themselves a reason for a child to be placed outside the family. What social protection measures are being taken to provide comprehensive support, including social benefits and professional support, to families whose children are at risk of institutional placement? Is there a system for analysing and assessing the situation of children proposed for institutional placement in order to avoid unnecessary separation from their families? What guarantees can the State Party provide so that all institutional placements are a last resort, temporary and based on the genuine best interests of the child? Is there a follow-up? And monitoring mechanism for these institutions to prevent and detect violence, abuse and neglect within child care institutions? The placement mechanism for foster families is provided for under the legislation. Why is it not fully operational yet? When does the State party plan to adopt the necessary measures to effectively implement formal professional foster family arrangements and deinstitutionalise child care progressively. I thank you, chair. CRC · Chair [1:08:27]: Thank you very much also for keeping the time. Now, we have finished the first round of questions and we will have a 15 minutes break now. The room number 10, close to this room, is at your disposal. You can prepare the answers. And after you will come back, we will continue with your answers. After that, we will have the follow-up questions at 12:15. 30, I will open the floor for our colleagues for the second round of questions. And then we will have the break for lunch. Thank you very much, and see you soon. So welcome back to delegation. Hope you prepared yourself for answers. Without further due, I'll give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Minister, head of delegation, please. Tajikistan · Minister of Justice · Muzaffar Ashurion [1:30:52]: Thank you. Members of the committee, thank you for your questions. We would like to give answers in order to the questions as asked. So there was a question that was asked about whether in the legislation there are exceptions for marriages with girls under 18, that is, over 17. And it was a voice that in 2018, there are around 2,000 such marriages currently. This process is rapidly falling off. We're seeing a fast reduction. Only on the decision of a court can such marriages take place, and in exceptional cases. What are they? Well, when a child does not have the conditions to live independently, orphans, for example, where their economic situation means that they cannot earn enough for their survival, then the Court takes a decision on the basis of the de facto circumstances in order to ensure general improvement of the life conditions of the girl. but I would repeat that this trend is rapidly falling off. As regards the registration of NGOs, they are registered in the Justice Ministry under the documents submitted. There are no restrictions for such submissions. For registration of NGOs, a charter, a programme need to be submitted, and a list of documents which is stipulated in the law. Moving on to the rights of the child and the right of any child to choose to study in a religious institution. So we have state institutions for religious education, and here children can freely decide to study there, and all the conditions are created for that. We stopped illegal religious education, because this is not permissible from the viewpoint of our legislation, where there are restrictions, because illegal, unauthorised education in the homes of the child has a negative impact on the psychology of the children, and it shows that the teachers themselves do not often have sufficient religious training themselves. They organise these illegitimate, informal systems for religious education for children in the home. As regards the right of the child to have their opinion heard, in my report I noted that amendments and additions have been made to the legislation for cases where a child is to have the right to express their opinion. There are no legal restrictions or limitations to the appropriate bodies hearing and considering the opinion expressed by a child. As regards sexual violence, under the Criminal Code, Article 46 and another article was listed, there is liability for sexual contact for children who are minors. This is rape. This is regardless of whether there is consent. For such cases where the minor does or does not give consent, it's considered to be a rape under the law. There's another one article, 139, under Article 139 of the Criminal Code, we prosecute sexual relations with boys, and that is specifically for boys, establishing them as the victims. Another article can also be used where there is sexual relations with minors. Article 146 stipulates as perversely legal activity, sexual relations with minors. If the victim is 14 or over, the legislation has more serious repercussions for the perpetrators. As regards legal responses in 2022 and 2023 under these articles, 138, 139, There is criminal liability for sexual relations with minors. The interagency group developed a new text for the law for new legal mechanisms for preventing sexual relations with children. The relevant agencies are considering what measures can be implemented to resolve this issue, and this could include chemical castration following repeat offences. Criminal investigation also for sexual relations with minors. In questioning minors, there are new provisions also. A re-education professional is involved, whether as questioning of minors, including witnesses, and there is the right to involve relatives of the victim. There is mandatory review behind closed doors for such cases concerning sexual relations with minors. Issues of registration of births. There is a question here about the birth of. Children and their registration as a civil act. We have a law on state registration of civil acts. Under the law, it is established that documents are issued confirming the identity of the parents, one or two of them, with the appropriate document. In the absence of such documents establishing the identity of the parents or the applicant, a written notification is used from the custody agency providing care for the child. That is the basis for the issuance of a birth certificate. In the absence of these documents, the state registration is conducted on the basis of the Birth Act. In order to boost the level of awareness amongst the population on procedures for state registration of birth in rural and remote areas, the Ministry organizes outreach with a travelling civil acts registration service that visits villages for the registration of births. The population in remote areas is then given information about registration of civil acts, and the possibility of conducting such services is extended in 2025. This travelling civil acts registration service conducted almost 1,500 different registrations of civil acts, of which 882 concerned children. In order to ensure that birth certificates can be issued for all children in the country, measures. Have been taken to. Boost the accuracy of state registrations and issuance of documents in line with a government decree in February 2025 on the services for paid civil acts registration services. The state registration of birth is now conducted free. the blank forms for submission for issuance of birth certificate and also issued free. This boosts access for issuing birth certificates for all children regardless of the poverty level of their parents or other representatives. I should communicate to the distinguished members of the committee that we have integrated already an electronic registration system, e-registration of civil acts on birth and other civil acts also, which makes it possible to reduce the number of people who do not have birth certificates and other such documents. We widely use mass media for the purposes of outreach on this, and we are working hard to drive down the number of unregistered births and absence of other civil act certificates for citizens. There was also a question about the choice of the name of a child. So there's a law on state registration of civil acts. And we introduced amendments and additions under which the government confirms the list, and this concerns only Tajiks. That is, if the parents of the child are Tajik, the government has approved a list of names for boys and girls, two separate lists. Why was this done? Well, in order to prevent names that do not correspond with our culture. For example, "kamen" meaning stone, "zhelezo" iron, these existed in language, but for the children's future, to avoid such cases and to ensure that the names correspond with our traditions and culture. That's why we have this list. As regards minorities, minorities have the right to, if they live in Tajikistan, if they live close to Tajik communities, if one or both parents are not Tajiks, they have the right to choose either a Tajik name or a minority, that is a Russian, Uzbek, or other name, if they wish, then they're free. Furthermore, there are names which are not on the list, and the parents wish to give that name. and the legislation provides that we have a terminological committee, and that committee meets. It collects such proposals, proposals for new given names, and those names are in some cases added to the list and can be given to a child on decision of the committee. Distinguished members, I would like now to give the floor to other members of the delegation who will answer other questions. Thank you. Tajikistan [1:46:06]: Distinguished Chair and members, there was a question on the independence of the Ombudsman. Now, to strengthen the institutional independence and capacities of the ombudsman. In 2016, we adopted the post of deputy ombudsman and ombudsman for children to ensure that, within the system, there are additional posts. They are appointed by competition. The financing was therefore increased. From 230,000 som in 2016 to 580,000 in 2025. And from 2026, September, it's going to be 418,000 som. So overall, the financing has increased two and a half times. Under the law on the ombudsman. That official is independent and is not accountable to the state apparatus and to officials, and has immunity. The ombudsman annually. Provides a report on activity and reports on children's freedoms to the parliament, the president, the judiciary, and the prosecutor. From 2018 to 2025, there were 302 monitoring events, and over 1,000 communications were received. As well as hundreds of press releases on strengthening the capacities to protect children's rights and interagency coordination. I should emphasize that to do that. And to strengthen the state bodies and institutions as well as improve interagency interaction over the reporting period, We took a number of steps, and the legislation on responsibility for child rearing and the relevant government decree, as well as the strengthening of the state commission, all of these took place. Overall, coordination of activities among state bodies is dealt with by the committee to protect the rights of the child, under the presidency. Locally, the issues are dealt with by the local committees on children's rights. There are 68 of those, and they co-ordinate with the governmental committee. And they seek to protect all rights of the child and ensure coordination with relevant bodies. We've also strengthened the information mechanisms on children requiring particular care. In February, we adopted a provision on a state database for children with disabilities orphans and children who are deprived of parental care. There is a single database that makes it possible to ensure more. Effectively that information is exchanged in a timely fashion and that decisions are taken for the benefit of those children. An adaptation of the information system is under way. in 2026. For the first time since independence, we developed a programme to protect children's rights to 2030. Overall, the measures seek to strengthen the capacities of the child protection system and improve effectiveness in activities by the Child Protection Committee and further develop inter-agency exchange of information and coordination on the practical and legislative duplication of functions of the Child Rights Committee and the childcare authorities, I can say the following. The committee and the adoption and fostering bodies do not duplicate their activities in legislative or practical terms. The legislation clearly delimits the responsibilities of each, based on the relevant activities to protect children's rights. Work is still under way to improve the legislative base. Under the programme to protect children's rights to 2030, we are developing a law on fostering. Under that law, there will be further improvement of the legal aspects of that system, including further delimitation of the mandates of the relevant bodies that are responsible for the rights of children. Those measures seek to improve the legislation, Chair [1:52:15]: if the speakers could please not speak behind the microphone and ensure that the mandate of the relevant bodies is adhered to. Tajikistan [1:52:25]: As regards the activities of the ombudsmen and ensuring that they are in line with the Paris principles. On this subject, there is a national plan of action within the national strategy to protect human rights to 2038 and the recommendations received under the UPR and the interagency working group is continuing to address this. We hope that the measures taken will make it possible for the Ombudsman's office to. Improve its status to A grade. On consideration of the adhesion to the statelessness conventions, we can inform you that this issue is before the interagency working group as part of the national human rights strategy to 2038. And the government is committed to reducing statelessness within our country and is improving the legislation to that end, as well as streamlining internal procedures and bringing them into line with international standards. In particular, there is a focus on the global plan of action to reduce statelessness as part of a consistent implementation of our obligations. In 2019, we adopted an amnesty law up to 2022. And under that law, approximately 1,500 people were legalized. They regularized their status and received residence permits. including 487 foreign citizens and hundreds of stateless persons. They were all absolved of any criminal charges for illegal stay, and the census of 2025. Contains questions on reduction of statelessness. This made it possible significantly to reduce hidden statelessness and extend legal guarantees to a new population group. including people who had not previously been included in the coverage of the census. This made it possible for us to continue to reduce and prevent statelessness. On joining the Optional Protocol to the Convention on Communications, to the other CPID. We have an initial plan of action to prepare and ratify this. It provides for steps to be taken and this has made it possible to create the relevant legislative, institutional and socio-economic frameworks for us to join that convention. Currently. We have a draft law on ratification before the government. On ratification of the optional. Protocol to the CRC on the communications procedure, this is currently being studied by the ministries and agencies. On the justice system and children, We can inform you that Tajikistan is adopting measures to improve procedural guarantees, broaden alternative punishments and improve the skills of specialists. The constitution provides particular care for children by the state. In the Criminal Code and the Criminal Proceedings Code, we have particular provisions. On proceedings regarding minors, including the participation of psychologists in hearings involving children and a reduction in questioning time. Speaker 18 [1:57:22]: The interpreters regret that full interpretation cannot be provided because of the speed. Tajikistan [1:57:31]: In consideration of cases, living conditions are taken into account, as well as health and any special circumstances. The legislation provides that educational and rehabilitation measures shall be provided and reintegration measures under the relevant article of the criminal code. A minor who is a first offender for a relevant, a minor offense may be resolved, absolved of criminal responsibility and subject to educational measures. I should emphasise that, in December 2025, the Supreme Court adopted a decision on the particular application of the legislation to crimes by minors and alternative measures that are applicable to minors. and that provides for consistent application of the legislation. The reform in the justice system for children from 2023 to 2028 is improving the legislation and legal practice. It broadens the application of alternative measures and involves specialists in the process in 2026. 116 judges and many others from the judicial system were trained. There is a new criminal code being developed, which seeks further to improve the provisions on the humanization of punishment for minors and the broadening of alternative measures. Tajikistan is continuing to improve the judicial system for children, with a particular focus on the best interests of the child. procedural guarantees, specialized procedures and professional training of specialists. On the procedure for placing children deprived of parental care in foster families. We are consistently working to improve the mechanisms for family care of children who are deprived of parental care, on the basis of providing the best interests of the child and the right to family life. Under the child protection programme 2020-30, we are further improving the legislative basis for fostering including development and adoption. Of a law on foster care and relevant changes and amendments to the family codes to provide legal coverage and practical arrangements for foster families, with development of the relevant legislative and procedural mechanisms. Thus, these measures will make it possible to establish a legal basis for full functioning of a foster care system. And further develop family-based forms of care for children deprived of parental care. On access by children to legal assistance. In Tajikistan, measures are being taken to ensure that. Children who have suffered violence may be provided with all of the relevant forms of care, rehabilitation, and protection. And from 2018, under the Ministry of Health, we've had a Republican Center for Social Services to Victims of Trafficking and Victims of Domestic Violence. and 30 centres. This provides comprehensive assistance under a single window system, including medical and other forms of care, and also temporary lodging, meals and other services. Tajikistan therefore has interagency mechanisms to provide child victims of violence with social, medical and other forms of care. Further work to improve access to these services and improve the mechanism for protection of children is still underway. Interpreter [2:02:26]: The interpreters respectfully remind regarding speed. Tajikistan [2:02:30]: As regards non-judicial and additional measures for protection of children, under the legislation for minors there are alternative measures for social rehabilitation, where they're in conflict with the law, non-custodial measures under the relevant article of the criminal code, minors who are first-time offenders and have not committed very serious offences are not necessarily subject to criminal charges if improvements can be achieved without such coercive measures. They may receive a warning. They may be handed over to the supervision of their parents or a relevant state body. They may have their leisure time limited, and there may be particular behavioural requirements applied. We seek to apply this consistently in our legislation through a decree on the particular application to minors of alternative measures. Under the programme for reform. Of the judicial system for minors to 2027, there are measures to broaden the application of alternative measures beyond custodial sentences. We are continuing to develop a new criminal code which seeks further to humanise the criminal legislation and broaden application of alternative measures to minors. As regards prohibition of corporal punishment of children, including in state bodies, Tajikistan has undertaken a set of legislative and practical measures to prevent corporal punishment. and encourage non-violent methods of parenting. Under our national legislation, we now have the following changes, which directly prohibit corporal punishment, including physical punishment of children. The law on protection of the child prohibits the use or threat of use of violence against a child. and the law on responsibility for parenting requires parents not to use violence, including physical punishment, in raising children. There is a similar prohibition for teachers. In order to ensure that this is carried out, there are information campaigns in state bodies and structures and among the staff of educational establishments. Our commitment to this goal can also be seen. By our participation in international initiatives. That seek to eradicate violence against children, including the first global ministerial conference on stopping violence against children, held. In November 2024, and the second such conference held in 2025 in Bucharest. Thank you. Tajikistan · Representative of the Ministry of Health [2:06:14]: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, distinguished members. I represent the health ministry. As regards financing for prevention of disease in Tajikistan, there is not a separate budget line for child health, but over the past five years, of the volume of financing for health from in the state budget has increased by 74.5% to over 2 billion som, up to over 5 billion som. And we have a new financing mechanism. Including per capita provision for certain services, results-based financing, and event-based financing. So our ministry, with the support of the World Bank and working with the finance and education ministries, is carrying out an early childhood development project to improve our human capital. To 2026, including early interventions to ensure healthy childhoods. The effectiveness is based on maternal mortality. Interpreter [2:08:01]: The interpreters regret that the speed is making it impossible to provide full interpretation. Tajikistan · Representative of the Ministry of Health [2:08:07]: Monitoring. And separate state programs. CRC · Chair [2:08:14]: Excuse me, I really would appreciate if all of you would speak slowly. I understand we want to address as many questions as possible, but it does not bring anything if colleagues do not understand. I understand everything what you're speaking, but you know, everyone needs to understand. So please, thank you. Tajikistan · Representative of the Ministry of Health [2:08:40]: On the issue of combating child malnutrition, there's a manual on this to address malnutrition among children. And they are provided with a specialized diet, which is ready to eat. We also have a national communication program on the early years. The purpose is to reduce short stature and stunting among children under five. It's aimed at caregivers, parents and grandchildren, medical workers and others. As a result of this program, it has been possible to improve breastfeeding rates. Stunting has been reduced to 14%, and additional food is now provided. The health ministry, working with the World Food Programme within the. Communications project, has sought to influence behaviour in order to positively influence diets and introduce variation. That has been done through the media and marketing campaigns. Furthermore, in Tajikistan, there is a state program to develop school food up to 2027. This covers primary school children. It's covered by the Interagency Coordination Agency, representing all the relevant ministries, and over 400 schools are covered by this. This brings benefit to over 2 million children, and 40% of the student population has been covered by this. the budget provides over five has over doubled for school meals and it has now increased to 37 million some CRC · Chair [2:11:30]: if the speaker could please slow down thank you Tajikistan · Representative of the Ministry of Health [2:11:38]: In Tajikistan, to support breastfeeding, the following measures are being taken: it should be started in the first hour after birth; medical workers work with mothers to show them appropriate methods; and measures are being taken to ensure that breast milk continues to be used. On the question of discrimination, to prevent discrimination of children with disabilities, the following measures are being taken. Equal rights are provided to education, medical care and social services. On preventing the transmission of HIV, where a child is found with HIV, a comprehensive investigation is carried out. and measures implemented to prevent transmission. CRC · Chair [2:13:07]: If the speaker could please slow down. Tajikistan · Representative of the Ministry of Health [2:13:09]: With early diagnosis. And children up to the age of 18 can receive social benefits if they have HIV. CRC · Chair [2:13:25]: If the speaker could please slow down. Thank you. Just to check with the interpreters, I think she's now speaking normally. I don't know what is the problem. Can you explain, please? UN · Head of interpreting team [2:14:03]: This is the head of team here. Yes, I can. I confirm that the text is being read extremely fast with figures and with specialized terminology, and it is extremely fast. Thank you. CRC · Chair [2:14:14]: Yeah. So according to our our experience, it is not extremely fast, but yeah, I would like to ask the delegation to speak in normal pace as far as possible. Please continue. Tajikistan · Representative of the Ministry of Health [2:14:38]: This is the first time for us, our delegation. On the provision of drinking water, under the reporting data for 2026, drinking water is provided through 791 centralised infrastructures, 121 of which are municipal. Out of over 1,000 decentralised sources, including wells, drinking water needs can also be met. According to testing, the quality of drinking water is as follows. Under the reports, 66% of the population, that's 31% of rural dwellers and 90% of urban dwellers, as well as have uh centralized drinking water children's. Hospitals and polics are fully supplied with drinking water at the same time to support International organizations including UNICEF providing repairs under agreements they meet the sanitary sanitary requirements from 1st of January to the 26th of August 2026, specialists of our laboratory at the Goszsanepidnadzor of the Republic has conducted surveys of sources of drinking water, a total of 9,000, almost 10,000 sources of drinking water. Looking at the six Over 6,000 samples of water were tested and a number of them did not meet the requirements. 36 did not meet the requirements. Tajikistan · Representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs [2:17:12]: Good afternoon, members of the committee. With. Respect to questions of creating a mechanism for submitting complaints for corporal punishment with respect to children and conducting investigations, we'd like to note that In 2022, a government decree established an instruction on the mechanism for collecting statistical data with respect to children who have committed crimes, as well as victims of crimes and violence. The instructions are aimed at integrated a unified system for collecting statistical data, boosting the effectiveness of assessing situations in this area, defining a protocol for response and developing effective state measures in the area of juvenile justice, preventing crimes, abuses and protecting the legitimate interests and rights of children. The Interior Ministry is taking all measures to protect minors from all forms of violence, cruel treatment, and harm to their health. An order of the Interior Ministry confirmed the procedure for reviewing communications by children to our ministry. In line with this, children can independently refer their cases to the Interior Ministry agencies on issues related to cases of violence and also in response to other circumstances. An order of the Interior Ministry of March 2023 established instructions for investigating cases of domestic violence, including with respect to children. We have a hotline at the ministry that is functional, where victims of violence can seek assistance, including anonymously reporting about domestic violence. With the inclusion of participation by mobile companies, we have expanded a system whereby Members of families can use the hotline to report cases of violence. The 59 centers across the country work for cooperation with the police. Their goal is to bring the police closer to the population and ensure smooth communication of cases, as well as the functioning of mobile police centers. under the Interior Ministry on a permanent basis. We conduct visits to the provinces to engage in awareness raising and teaching the population about the law with sessions and workshops on such topics as preventing crimes amongst the population, including preventing domestic violence. Particular attention is focused on protecting the rights of victims of crimes and violence, including children, working with teachers and psychologists also. We have a smooth system for working to collect and analyse data in our database to analyse the character of crimes. With data on the gender and age of children and the type of violence over the first five years, law enforcement agencies have registered more than 4,500 crimes against minors. As regards bringing to account over 500 people who committed crimes with respect to over 5,000 children, In order to improve the legislation in this area, in 2023, the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child saw additions in Article 11 banning the use or the threat of use of violence with respect to children. According to official data from UNICEF, In 2024, Tajikistan became the 67th country in the world to ban corporal punishment against children and noted that improving this legislation includes a ban on corporal punishment under any circumstances. With respect to questions of shoring up the human potential and human resources of agencies working to prevent violence against children and expanding their mandates, we would like to note that in order to activate further our efforts to prevent violence within families and ensure an effective gender policy in the country to prevent violence and discrimination within family relations, to protect the rights and freedoms of each individual and to increase the level of awareness of laws among society, the government has adopted a state program to prevent domestic violence in the country 2025 to 2030 and a plan of actions for 2025 to 2037 to coordinate actions between entities engaged in this area. We created an interagency council to prevent domestic violence under the government. Within the interior ministry, we have nominated 26 staff members, local inspectors working on domestic violence. Given this important area, In 2026, we allocated 44 additional staff positions, and the regional inspectors responsible for preventing have now become 65 in number. These inspectors have all gone through special training and courses on domestic violence, and we intend to increase the number of specialists in order to boost the efficacy of prevention of domestic violence. A interior ministry decree in December 2025 in order to ensure better protection of public order, we established the position of a chief inspector for preventing domestic violence. His mandate includes control, verification, coordination of subordinate inspectors, and rendering practical assistance to field inspectors. We have also integrated mandatory education programs for staff members of the Interior Ministry, the prosecutor's office, lawyers, and judges. This training is aimed at boosting the professional qualifications of these members of the judiciary on preventing domestic violence, the non-acceptability of cruel treatment with persons, and care of victims of violence against women and children. Professional ethics also. and safe methods of investigation. With respect to sub-paragraph, we note that, under the Government's approved programme, the system of services for providing support to children who have become victims of violence and to ensure that they have access to rehabilitation and consultation support, we have allocated state funding and the support of international organisations and donors. These resources are targeted to providing assistance which meets the specific needs of the victims with respect to their age, gender, health condition and poverty level with respect to ensuring access to social services under the state agencies for protection. We have created a specialist agency for providing services to the victims of human trafficking and victims of domestic violence. If A child is housed in this institution. He is separated from adults. These institutions provide comprehensive services under the single window system with free medical, psychological, social and legal assistance in one location. Food, medication and housing is also fully funded for them. Thank you. Tajikistan · Representative of the Ministry of Education and Science [2:27:16]: Distinguished Chair, members of the committee, with respect to the question of discrimination, I would like to underscore that in the Republic of Tajikistan, all children are guaranteed the right to education regardless of their gender, language, ethnicity, race, religious convictions, or other circumstances. All children in Tajikistan are covered by mandatory general education up till grade 11. Preventing the enjoyment of the right of a child to education and violating their rights involves liability under the legislation of the country. If there is discrimination or violation of the rights of the child, the child has the right independently, without the consent of their parents or guardians, to complain to the head of the school they attend, who must then take the appropriate measures to restore the rights of the child. If this goes beyond the mandate of the school leadership, then they must refer the case to the appropriate competent agencies. With respect to a violation of the rights of the child, cases can be considered at a public commission associated with the school, responsible for ensuring care and education for the child with the appropriate responses. In order to ensure accessible and safe mechanisms for the protection of the rights of children in education establishments, we have created an instruction on the mechanism for interaction with the child in such cases of complaints and communications, establishing the protocol for response to the complaint for the child, consideration of the complaint and considering and adoption of measures to restore the rights of the child. The Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan and also other corresponding ministries responsible for this area, where they identify cases of discrimination or other violation of the rights of the child, immediately must take the appropriate measures within the limits of their own authorities. Thank you. Speaker 37 [2:29:42]: Members of the Committee, I would like to compliment the previous statements with some statistics on early marriages. In 2025, the number of early marriages in Turkistan was 603. For the eight months of 2026, they have fallen down to 183 early marriages. So there is a trend for the number of early marriages annually to clearly reduce. CRC · Chair [2:30:15]: answers, and we were disrupted some sort of, I know, several times, but I think we can keep the pace. Now, I would like to open the floor to my colleagues for the follow-up questions. However, I would appreciate if you can keep the questions briefly, please, as brief as possible. And also, I was notified by the head of delegation, His Excellency, that our colleagues speak also a little bit fast. So if you can keep the questions brief, but in a lower pace, please, as far as it is possible. First, country task force, if there are questions. Madam Ayoubi-Idrissi. CRC · Coordinator · Hinda Ayoub-Endrissi [2:31:08]: Thank you very much, Chair. I don't have any follow-up questions, but I would like to focus on the second round of questions later. CRC · Chair [2:31:18]: Thank you. CRC · Committee member · Aicha Tassidi Kou [2:31:21]: Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I just have one little follow-up question, and this is with respect to child marriage. Thank you very much for all of your efforts. You've given us figures which demonstrate that the trend really is falling off, but you gave us as an example the exceptions. the case of orphan children who are still married under these exceptions, does the State not envisage other social protections for such poor orphans, for example, vocational training, which could allow vulnerable, poor girls to learn a profession and thus become independent and autonomous, rather than simply getting married off at 17? CRC · Chair [2:32:15]: Thank you. I don't have any questions from the country task force. The next speaker is Ms. Juliana Sherry-Farrante, please. CRC · Committee member · Juliana Sherry-Farrante [2:32:31]: Good morning, everyone, and thank you, delegation, for today's dialogue. I am going to focus my two questions on something that bothers me a lot, which is basically domestic violence within the house and the trauma that children pass through. I have understood that, while you have a section in the criminal code on sexual violence, if I have understood well, there is still a legal lacuna with regard to a standalone offence under the criminal code for domestic violence, not sexual violence but domestic violence. I understand that a law on prevention of domestic violence exists, but there is no standalone crime, which obviously makes enforcement very difficult. What legal and effective safeguards exist to prevent the second victimisation or retraumatisation of child victims during police investigations and court hearings? With regard to the first statement that I made, I wanted to ask whether it is going to take long to make a standalone crime for domestic violence. You mentioned training for professionals and investigators. I need you to make a difference between domestic trauma and domestic violence, which are not the same thing, as one is an action and the other is psychological. How well are the local authorities and the schools and the professionals that you mentioned trained to spot signs of domestic trauma now in children, which is obviously caused by most of them by the domestic violence? What level of specialised psychological and mental health counselling is accessible to traumatized children in rural against urban areas? And my last question is, is there or what concrete and accountable mechanisms are in place to discipline the police officers, the people responsible, the prosecutors who fail to issue or enforce protection orders for families at risk? Thank you very much. CRC · Chair [2:35:06]: Thank you very much. Madame Suzanne Aho. CRC · Committee member · Suzanne Aho [2:35:16]: Hello, and thank you very much for the answers you've already given us. I'd like to go back to corporal punishment. You have adopted a legal text that bans it, and I have a colleague who asked a question: what measures have actually been taken to ensure that that ban is effectively implemented? And I'd also like to ask how well are people in the population informed that there is such a ban, notably in remote rural areas? You've given us a lot of information. But I still have some concerns with respect to the registration of births. It's declared to be free. But if there are delays or problems, People need to refer cases to the justice system, and that is very expensive. Talking about people in rural, remote areas, how well are they informed? In order to get birth certificates, are they fully aware of their rights, and how are they informed? As regards single mothers, mothers abandoned by their spouses, due to migration, for example, where they don't have the documents of the father, how can they declare their children in order to have a birth certificate? And a third concern, what about children who are born outside of hospitals? They need to have a certificate of the birth act. If they don't have that issued document issued by a hospital, if they were born at home informally in rural remote areas, you've put in place e-registration and other such methods as well as your mobile units. But these mobile units, how can they reach There are other extremely remote areas, I believe. Catlan is one location. How can they reach every single village to ensure that all births are registered? measures taken to ensure access to drinking water? I have heard that there are wells. Is all the water in wells drinkable? And what about WASH programs in schools? Thank you very much, Madam Chair. CRC · Chair [2:38:04]: Thank you, Madam. The next speaker is Mr. Benoit Van Kierspe. CRC · Committee member · Benoit Van Kierspe [2:38:08]: Thank you, Madam. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I would like to hail the delegation. And I have just one follow-up question at this stage. You mentioned the fact that the protocol on individual communications and its ratification is currently under review within the government. I know that these are issues that are very often discussed within States. Can you tell us what are the objections that have been raised and what are the procedures underway? Have children been included in this ratification discussion. Such a dialogue sometimes makes it possible to respond to questions and concerns that there may be within a state with respect to ratification of such a protocol. Thank you. CRC · Chair [2:39:13]: Merci beaucoup. Madame Aichato again, please. CRC · Committee member · Aicha Tassidi Kou [2:39:22]: Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I apologise for taking the floor again. I forgot one follow-up question. I did not get a response on the lack or deficiency of protection of children with respect to the production of sexual abuse material. I did not get a response on that, because I believe that article 241 of the Criminal Code does not sufficiently protect children. CRC · Chair [2:39:56]: Yeah, thank you very much, dear colleagues, also for keeping time and questions short. I have one short question also to the delegation. I have not heard much about the protecting children in digital environment, in general digital environment, but also specifically as well, artificial intelligence. As we all see, the artificial intelligence is developing so rapidly in a scale, in a pace that is beyond imagination. That's why I would like to hear from you because we have many different directions, digital literacy, online protection from abuse, online violence, cyberbullying, all these kind of issues. We would be grateful if you can address them in your answers. Thank you very much. Now I open the floor for the second round of questions. And first is Madame Henda, you will be addressing. CRC · Coordinator · Hinda Ayoub-Endrissi [2:41:10]: Thank you, Madam Chair, and a big thank you to the Tajikistan delegation for all of your extremely interesting responses. There are a number of questions which I'd like to handle now. There may even have been earlier responses, but I won't go back on what was said previously. As regards the standard of living, I congratulate Tajikistan for the significant progress achieved in driving down extreme poverty and achieving the SDG number one of 2030, poverty, notably of children or the rate for children has also fallen, moving from 27.21% in 2021 to 20.4% in 2023. And we see a marked improvement in urban areas where it has gone from over 20% to over 9%. However, the high dependence on remittances from the Tajik community abroad makes the population vulnerable to economic changes, exchange rates, inflation, the international situation. So there are many external sources of economic shocks And so what measures are being taken or have been envisaged to expand the coverage of social protection systems? Only about 10% of mothers and newborns currently receive from maternity benefits. So what is planned? I know there have been a lot of increases, but for family allowances in general, what is envisaged to expand them and to counter the poverty that continues to exist in rural areas? Because in rural areas, contrary to urban areas, we've seen a change in poverty from 28.4% in 2021 to 23.4% in 2023. So what is envisaged in terms of a global comprehensive social protection system instead of a fragmented system which has difficulties in overall coordination. You've spoken about water, sanitation and so on, so I won't go back on what has already been said, but I would like to go back to talk about the concerns that remain in terms of inclusivity, water, sanitation and hygiene services for the needs of women, girls and persons with disabilities, they are not yet in place, these WASH services, which need to be universally in place. And so this means that women and girls are disproportionately adversely impacted Children with disabilities also, in terms of their access to these services, are heavily impacted and this is important for inclusive education. You have focused on the environment and children's rights. You've undertaken very high level commitments. The head of state has done that. And so there's a great focus on water, environment, climate change. However, Tajikistan is one of the 10 countries in a situation of great environmental fragility, experiencing almost 150 natural disasters per year, which impact children. What measures are being taken or envisaged to ensure that there are data on the impact on children, including data on air quality, water and soil contamination and other climate-related risks? What is being done to integrate child-sensitive interventions into key climate-related documents, including naturally determined contributions and national adaptation plans, as well as the climate finance plan. And what is being done to ensure the participation of children and young people in developing strategies and policies in? This area and develop their resilience. You all know famous Climate Friday, young people's participation and the impact they can have on raising awareness of the importance of the environment and climate change. Bringing me to my last cluster now, education, leisure and cultural activities. I congratulate Tajikistan on progress in increasing access to primary and secondary education. That's over 97%. On implementing an 11-year mandatory schooling to providing the necessary services. A lot has been done. There is training of teachers, there is improved education quality and so on. Now, while we see that children aged from three to six have reached 30% in 2025, that's the enrollment rate, most young children still don't have access to full formal pre-primary education. The 2023 DHS study data show that 88% of primary age children, that's seven to 10 years, and secondary, that's 11 to 17 years. Are in age-appropriate education, and that's an excellent thing. But while attendance rates are similar for girls and boys in elementary, we do see a gender gap appearing at the secondary level. Now, that could be explained by pregnancies among young married girls. That could lead them to drop out from school. Furthermore, adolescents, I am mentioning them to give you a view of the committee's concerns. Many things have been done. There are some concerns. Can you tell us, please, about the measures taken or envisaged to continue strengthening access to education for all children, including refugee children and children from minorities, to ensure that girls in particular remain in school and do not drop out, to establish mechanisms to assess the quality of education, including teacher training and learning outcomes. What is being done on early childhood development? What is being done, please, on the development of inclusive education, including access to quality education for children with disabilities and the availability of accessible infrastructure and learning environments? What is being done to reduce the digital divide? Again, likewise, to assess Children's online safety. We mentioned this, Madam Chair, so I won't come back to it. You have increased areas of training, access by girls to training, but I read in your report that there's a reduction by one year of the school programme to provide access to vocational training. I do not know whether I misunderstood something, but the report seems to say that the school programme has been cut by a year to provide easier access to vocational training. That is not going to have an impact on the outcome of schooling. when we reduced the programme by one year to get children rapidly into vocational training. Could you tell us more about that? I did not find any more information about that in your report or in the replies. As regards leisure and cultural activities for girls, rural children, children with disabilities and so forth, I would also welcome information on that. Thank you. CRC · Chair [2:50:34]: Thank you very much, coordinator. Next speaker is Madame Zaina Boutaleb Moussa. Ten minutes, please. CRC · Committee member · Zeina Boutaleb-Moussa [2:50:45]: Thank you, Madam Chair. To move to my second cluster now on children with disabilities. We have had quite a lot of replies and information provided on that, but I will ask further questions to get more information. We have seen a significant gap between children with disabilities who are registered and enrolled in school. The centralised database said that, in 2021, there were 31,801 children under 18 with disabilities. The report also says that 7,362 children with disabilities are schooled in an ordinary environment and 975 are home-schooled. There is a discrepancy that is troubling to us. Could you please specify how many of the 31,801 children are actually of school age and how they're divided between ordinary schools, specialized schools, homeschooling, or no schooling at all? We would need figures, please, on that. Then we have children with disabilities placed in institutions. and your report indicates that in 2021 there were 106 children with disabilities cared for in permanent social welfare institutions. That's out of the total of, what, 31,801 children with disabilities? And the list of issues asks you for a complete breakdown. So how many children with disabilities are living with their families? How many are living in institutions? How many have been abandoned by their families? And how many are not attending any structure? We would need figures on that, please. You speak of a medical-based approach. We are seeking a human rights-based approach. We note that the report speaks of a medico-social assessment of category of disability and medical procedures, and that conditions access to services. to know whether the system in Tajikistan is truly moving towards an approach to disability that is based on the rights of the child, rather than on the medical model alone. What concrete steps have been taken to move the definition and assessment of disability towards an approach that focuses on the individual needs of the child and on removing obstacles to his or her full participation in society. In the report, you talk about day centres, and we have different figures among different passages of the report. Are two passages, and one speaks of 32 day care. Centres and 13 integrated social service centres created as part of public procurement, and the other speaks of 48 day care centres in 2021, with a target of 53 by 2022. Could you please tell us the total number? currently of structures of this type and their distribution between the capital, Dushanbe, the regions and rural areas, and the proportion of children who need rehabilitation who actually have access to these centres. You also mention 5,166 persons with disabilities benefiting from social services in some. Centres in 2021, including only 417 children, and it indicates that 48 day centres take care of them. So there's some confusion. They take care of 3,999 persons with disabilities without specifying the share of children. So what we would like to know is how many children with disabilities actually received social services, rehabilitation, psychological assistance or early intervention in 2020, 2021 and 2022 covered by the report, and how many children identified as needing access didn't get it. That's an important figure for us. Then Then, on the question of social provision, the sums seem very low to me, I must say. Category 1 and 2 disability children are a priority for a targeted social benefit of 512 somoni per year. That is what I see in the report. Can you please tell us how many families of disabled children actually benefit from this benefit? What proportion of the real needs can this amount cover? Is an increase envisaged in view of the real cost of caring for and accompanying a child with a disability? That is important information for us. And I think I'll move to my last question, or shall I stop there for now? Thank you, Chair. CRC · Chair [2:56:32]: You have four more minutes. You have four more minutes. Please go ahead. CRC · Committee member · Zeina Boutaleb-Moussa [2:56:41]: Then my last question is on the right to health and development, the right to life and social programmes to 2020 allowed a reduction. In maternal mortality from 13.1 per 1,000 to 10.1 per 1,000, and in child mortality. We have heard about the poverty. Level, but the report says that the reduction covers all regions, but it does not give details region by region. Could you please tell us the neonatal infant? And under-5 mortality rates from 2017 to 2022, and. The child poverty level by region, so that we can assess whether this. Progress is benefiting all of the country's children. Free healthcare The report indicates that some care is completely free for children under a year of age, children with disabilities in certain situations, children in institutional care and some disadvantaged families. but we note that the state guarantee programme seems mainly to cover pilot cities and districts for the period 2020 to 2022. What is the actual geographical coverage of free care for children today, and what expenses are still borne by families, particularly in rural areas and for children with chronic diseases? Per capita financing now covers all 88 primary care facilities in the country. That is very positive, and we welcome that. However, the per capita funding standard has increased only from 48.24 and 38.47 som in 2017 274 and 57 respectively in 2022, for cities and districts respectively. Is that amount enough to cover the actual care needs of a child aged over a year? What quality and access indicators demonstrate the impact of the reform on children, especially in rural areas? It is important that we have. Figures for rural areas. On infant mortality, we have already seen some data, but the report indicates an overall decrease of 26.9 per cent between 2016 and 2020. To assess the progress that was made during the period that is covered by our review, we would need a year-by-year evolution. It is important. Could you please tell us the annual neonatal and infant mortality rates for each of the years 2017 to 2022, with the main medical causes and disparities among regions? I know that time is short, but breastfeeding, with seen that there's a lot of information work being done on that, but we don't have specific indicators. We hear that the government has conducted breastfeeding awareness campaigns, bringing together up to 250,000 women per year, which does show a real mobilisation effort, but it does not specify the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. There's no data on that. So what is the rate? and how does the Government measure the real impact of these campaigns beyond the number of women affected? And coming back to mental health, Madam Chairperson, your own report indicates that the evaluations carried out with school psychologists show that problems remain and that the work needs to be better supervised. Could you please tell us the nature of these problems and the specific measures taken since then to remedy them? Furthermore, the 10 medical and educational centres mentioned in the report are concentrated in the capital and in three regions. What care is available for children with developmental or mental health disorders in the other regions and districts of the country. Coming to suicide among teenagers, should I end? No? The report explicitly recognises, and that's a good thing, it does recognise that adolescent suicide is a serious issue that faces society today. It mentions training 436 additional professionals in prevention, but it does not give any data on the number of suicides and suicide attempts. How many cases were recorded each year between 2017 and 2022? We would need that information, please. HIV and AIDS. There is progress there. Should I end? So should I stop right now, please? Please let me know what I should do. Please. So I have no more time. Thank you. CRC · Chair [3:02:24]: Thank you very much, Madame Zainabou. Ms. Mary Bell, please. CRC · Committee member · Mary Bell [3:02:32]: Thank you. I thank the delegation for the reports and the replies. And I am going to be asking you about the special protection measures cluster. on refugee and migrant asylum-seeking children. Could you please tell us how Tajikistan guarantees that detention of child asylum-seekers or refugees is a last resort and for the shortest possible period of time? What alternatives are there genuinely available in Tajikistan? And I'd like to know whether migration officials receive specific training in the rights of the child and their best interests. Moreover, on some information that we received, which is public, It is July 2021, when there was a suspension of the issue of residence permits for Afghan citizens, and there have been new asylum applications and plans for that. How, in practice, do you guarantee that Afghan children can have access to an asylum procedure independent of their documents situation, and that children and have not been detained and deported just because of their migration status? In particular, what individual procedure is applied before a return decision is taken to assess the best interests of the child, the risk of irreparable harm and the principle of non-refoulement? and what specific guarantees are there to avoid the separation of children from families because of migration issues, and what remedies do the families and the children have to challenge a deportation decision? Finally, on that matter, article 67 of the refugee law as I've understood, provides for transfer of unaccompanied children and those separated from their families and those under state custody, since they're put under state custody since they don't have an adult representative. But there have been cases where they were denied access to the asylum procedure because they didn't have an adult representative. For those specific cases of unaccompanied children, can you explain what operational mechanisms are available in practice to guarantee that, immediately, a legal guardian is assigned to those children so that they can have access to the asylum procedure and to adequate housing? and on children who are child migrants. The strategy to 2040 recognizes that one of the negative consequences of labor migration is that workers who go out of the country to work leave behind their families and therefore their children. I apologize. Could we specify what child protection mechanisms are activated when one or both parents emigrate? Who monitors the child? How is it assessed whether the person responsible for the child, who might be a grandparent or another relative, has the necessary conditions to ensure the well-being of the child and receives adequate support so that institutionalization really remains a measure of last resort for those children? And finally, or rather, on the other hand, are there measures to facilitate family reunification where possible or to ensure that children maintain regular contact with parents during the migration period? particularly in the main countries of destination of migrant workers, such as Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. There are cooperation agreements that particularly provide for the maintenance of the link between children remaining in Tajikistan and migrant parents abroad. And regarding children from minorities, particularly Roma and Muga communities, we are informed that Roma children are enrolled in general educational establishments. There have been no cases of discrimination recorded, but taking into account the reports of poverty, lack of personal documentation, difficulties in registering domicile and legalising housing, and unequal access to public services, which particularly affect these minorities. Could you please explain what mechanisms are used to determine situations of discrimination that are not reported or recorded? How do you detect those, and what disaggregated data do you collect on this issue? And you know that there are recommendations of the CERD from 2023 and from this committee in 2017, which ask about the existence of a specific action plan or strategy to improve the situation of Roma or Muga Luli children. Has a plan of action been implemented and what were the results? And taking into account language barriers for these groups, I would also like. To know what languages do they receive their education in, Roma children, Mughat Luli children, Pamiri and Yakhnobi children. And what availability is there of trained teachers and educational materials in their mother tongues, particularly for the preschool and basic education levels. And finally, on these minorities and girls in particular from those communities, we know that they are particularly exposed to discrimination, exploitation and not just because of their identity, their ethnic origin, but also because they are girls and women. And the CEDAW has made recommendations on that. What mechanisms are there to protect specifically girls from those communities? We've already heard about child marriage. But how do you work with the communities? How are religious leaders made aware? How do you make sure that families send their children to school? And how do you avoid early unions? On economic exploitation, the general question is this: how do you address the structural causes, the structural causes that lead children to work? and you yourselves have noted that these families, there have been cases where parents sent their children to work because they had economic difficulties. Now, in these cases, what responses are available to the families? How are they supported to avoid their children having to go back to work? And how is this done in a way that doesn't punish the parents How do you apply a more preventive approach, an approach that promotes positive care of the children? How do you address poverty? The country has made considerable progress, but there still are certain gaps and certain communities where there are difficulties. The greatest concentration of children is in agriculture, particularly in cotton harvesting. Some 40 per cent of cotton is harvested annually by children. The taken up the specific measures of the national programme to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. Can you please provide information on the specific measures? How are you implementing that programme? How do you plan to reach children in minorities in particular, who are most exposed to this type of activity? And According to information that we have, only seven of the 68 districts in the country have inspectors for this type of case. With such a low number of inspectors, how do you ensure national coverage to prevent children being present in agricultural activities, particularly in cotton harvesting? And finally, I come to street children. In the report, you pointed to rehabilitation and family reunification programs and alternative care. Now, my concern is that you yourselves in the report mention that to implement these programs, There are police operations carried out, and in many cases, children are taken from the street, but then they're sent to the police and maybe also brought before the judiciary because, in fact, they're breaking the law. It's an administrative offense, if you like, of vagrancy, begging, informal activities on markets. So I'm wondering how are you going to avoid arbitrary detentions? How do you ensure that these children are dealt with as children in need of protection because they're in the street and not as potential criminals? Thank you. CRC · Chair [3:14:05]: Thank you very much. Now we came to the end of the second round. So, head time was run out. Thank you very much. 00 p.m. and we'll continue with your answers. Thank you very much.