Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Pre-sessional working group

List of issues in relation to the second periodic report of Uzbekistan (E/C.12/UZB/2), adopted by the pre-sessional working group at its fifty-first session (21-24 May 2013)

I.General information

Please indicate to what extent the Parliamentary Ombudsman is compliant with the Paris Principles and inform the Committee as to whether steps have been taken to seek accreditation from the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC). Please also provide information regarding the activities undertaken by the Ombudsman in the field of economic, social and cultural rights, including complaints and follow-up thereto, as well as legislative proposals.

II.Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1-5)

Article 1 – Right to self-determination and free disposal of natural wealth and resources

Pleaseprovide information on measures taken to address the disadvantage in relation to the enjoyment of Covenant rights in Karakalpakstan, which is particularly affected by poverty and environmental degradation.

Article 2, paragraph 2 – Non-discrimination

Please provide information on the changes introduced to the procedure for the registration of citizens at their place of residence (propiska) referred to in paragraphs 370 and 371 of the State party report, and explain to what extent they address the de facto discrimination based on a person’s birthplace, residence, urban or rural status, especially for internal migrants, in particular regarding access to employment and housing.

Article 3 – Equal rights of men and women

Please provide information on the enforcement of the legislative acts mentioned in paragraph 377 of the State party report and of the Bill on State guarantees of equal rights and equal opportunities for men and women, if adopted,as well as on their impact on women’s equal enjoyment of economic, cultural and social rights.

III.Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6-15)

Article 6 – The right to work

Please provide information on the impact of measures taken to reduce unemployment and underemployment in the State party, especially among women and in the rural areas. Please also explain to what extent the introduction of the 2008 regulation on the procedure for reserving jobs for several vulnerable groups, as described in paragraph 484 of the State party report, has led to securing regular employment for them.

Article 7 – The right to just and favourable conditions of work

Please indicate whether the current minimum wage level ensures an adequate standard of living for the workers concerned and their families. Please also provide information on the impact of the measures taken to ensure the enforcement of the minimum wage as well as on the status of the draft Act on remuneration of work mentioned in paragraph 558 of the State party report.

Please provide information on the measures taken or envisaged with a view to abolishing the quotas imposed on local administrations for the production of cotton, a system which is not only a violation in itself of a farm owner’s free choice of work, but also leads to forced labour, child labour and unfavourable conditions of work. Please provide information on court cases relating to violations of labour rights in cotton plantations and on sentences handed down.

Please elaborate on the measures taken by the State party, and the impact thereof, to address the root causes of the migration of a considerable number of workers from the State party to neighbouring countries and explain the measures taken by the State party to prevent these workers falling into situations of servitude or slavery. Please also inform the Committee as to the extent to which the new regulations introduced to fight against trafficking constitute an obstacle to labour migration.

Please provide updated information on the percentage of workers employed in the informal economy and on the percentage of companies falling into the category of “small enterprises” operating in the informal economy. Are “small enterprises” subject to inspections by the State Public Health Inspectorate and the State Legal Inspectorate of Labour? Please provide information, including statistical data, on the impact of the enforcement of the 2007 Administrative Liability Code, mentioned in paragraph 478 of the State party report, on businesses and the protection of the right of workers in the informal economy to just and favourable conditions of work.

Please indicate how the principle of equal pay for work of equal value is protected in the State party’s legislation and in practice.

Article 9 – The right to social security

Please provide information on the eligibility requirement for the various social security schemes in the State party, and indicate which are based on contributions. Please also provide the percentage of the population covered by each scheme, together with information on the assistance and services available to those who are not covered by the social security system. Please explain to what extent the revised amounts of social security benefits, as indicated in the State party report, enable an adequate standard of living for the recipients and their families.

Article 11 – The right to an adequate standard of living

Please provide data, disaggregated by sex, region and district, and year, on the percentage of the population living under the poverty line.Please provide information on measures taken to combat poverty in small towns, in rural areas, in some regions such as the Fergana region, and amongfamilies who do not own land plots and are forced to take up seasonal agriculture work.

Please provide information on the measures taken to implement the Committee’s recommendation on rural development and agrarian reform. Please inform the Committee as to how the allocation of farming land parcels, mentioned in paragraph 497 of the State party report, has been carried out, and of the conditions attached to these allocations.

Please clarifythe information provided in paragraph 744 of the State partyin relation to forcedevictions without the provision of alternative accommodation, which is not in conformity with article 11 of the Covenant and general comment No. 7 of the Committee on forced evictions. Please also provide statistical data on homelessness in the State party.

Article 12 – The right to physical and mental health

Please provide information on measures taken by the State party to prevent and alleviate food-borne diseases as well as to address the increasing prevalence of overweight among the population.

Referring to the 2008 Ministry of Health Order N. 403 on the “improvement of drug-related assistance”, please provide information on the availability and accessibility of treatment for drug addiction. Please also provide similar information on smoking cessation support programmes in the State party.

Please provide information on the impact of measures taken to improve water and sanitation management in the State party, including on dialogues with neighbouring countries in this regard. Please provide information on the steps taken to address contamination of soil and water as a result of extensive use of chemicals in agriculture. Please also inform the Committee of the measures taken to mitigate the impact of environmental pollution on the health of the State party’s population.

Articles 13 and 14 – The right to education

Please provide updated statistical data, disaggregated by sex, rural and urban areas, on enrolment rates at the various levels of education. Please also inform the Committee of the impact of measures taken, such as the building of new education infrastructure, on access to secondary education, vocational training programmes, and higher education, in particular for women.

Article 15 – Cultural rights

Please indicate to what extent an inventory of the State party’s cultural heritage has been made and whether protection policies have been implemented following the adoption of the Protection and Use of Objects of Cultural Heritage Act in 2001and the Protection and Use of Objects of Architectural Heritage Act in 2009.