Committee on the Rights of the Child

Sixty- third session

27 May–14 June 2013

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

List of issues concerning additional and updated information related to the initial report of Uzbekistan (CRC/C/OPSC/UZB/1)

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information, if possible before 1 February 2013, not exceeding 15 pages.

The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Optional Protocol during the dialogue with the State p arty.

1.Please indicate to the Committee all measures taken to establish a comprehensive data collection system that covers all offences under the Optional Protocol, in particular data concerning child economic exploitation as well as child prostitution.

2.Please provide statistical data (disaggregated by sex, age, urban and rural residence, ethnic origin and nationality) for 2010, 2011 and 2012 on the number of:

(a)Reports of sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, as well as cases investigated, prosecuted and outcomes of these cases;

(b)Children trafficked from or through Uzbekistan and children trafficked within the State party for the purpose of sale, prostitution, engagement in forced labour, illegal adoption or pornography as defined in article 3, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol;

(c)Children offered, delivered, or accepted by whatever means for the purpose of prostitution, engagement in forced labour, illegal adoption, organ transfer and pornography; and

(d)Child victims who have been provided with assistance for recovery, reintegration and compensation.

3.Please inform the Committee of measures undertaken by the State party to harmonize all its legislation and bring it in full conformity with the Optional Protocol’s provisions with regard to the prohibition of all acts constituting sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and update the Committee on the progress achieved in that regard.

4.Please inform the Committee of the practical steps taken regarding the implementation of the National Action Plan on Countering Trafficking in Persons for the period 2008–2010 and the National Action Plan on the Worst Forms of Child Labour for the period 2008–2010, and provide information on the outcomes of the evaluation of the projects under the two plans. Please also provide information on the new Child Wellbeing Action Plan (2011–2012).

5.In addition to the information on the establishment of Interdepartmental Commission to Counter Trafficking in Persons, please inform the Committee whether there are plans to establish an entity responsible for the overall coordination of the activities under the Optional Protocol.

6.Please inform the Committee of the mandate and the resources allocated to the human rights ombudsman, including on whether it is mandated to receive complaints from children. Also, please update the Committee on the envisaged establishment of a children’s ombudsman as mentioned in paragraph 88 of the State party’s report, indicating whether this mechanism has competencies to receive complaints from or on behalf of children regarding violations of all rights covered under the Convention and its two Optional Protocols. Further, please provide information on the number of such complaints received by either mechanism and on their results.

7.Please provide information on the budgetary resources allocated for the implementation of the Optional Protocol during the years 2010–2012.

8.Please indicate the measures that have been taken to criminalize the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Please also inform the Committee of practical measures taken by the State party to investigate these acts, bring perpetrators to justice and punish them accordingly.

9.Please also update the Committee on all measures taken by the State party to prevent the use child labour and child forced labour in the cotton sector and to stop the mobilization of schools and other educational institutions to participate in the cotton harvest. To this end, please also elaborate on all measures adopted to strengthen labour laws’ enforcement and all related policies and plans of actions.

10.Please inform the Committee of all steps taken by the State party to strengthen international cooperation for the prevention of all offences under the Optional Protocol, in particular child forced labour. In this respect, please indicate whether the State party envisages granting access to observers from the International Labour Organization to monitor the situation of child economic exploitation, and to independent human rights groups, during the cotton harvest.

11.Please clarify whether legal persons, including corporations, can be held liable for acts or omissions related to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Please also provide information as to whether the State party can establish extraterritorial jurisdiction for offences under the Optional Protocol.

12.Please provide detailed information on the measures undertaken by the State party to provide assistance, care, shelter and compensations to victims of offences under the Optional Protocol, in accordance with article 9, paragraph 3.

13.Please indicate all procedures adopted to provide protection to child victim of trafficking and witnesses, in particular during the trial process, to ensure non-criminalization of victims for being trafficked.