KHOROG, August 12, 2016, Asia-Plus — The Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) reportedly tops Tajikistan in terms of use of child labor.
The training on elimination of child labor in agriculture and introduction of the national plan of elimination of the worst forms of child labor was conducted for employees of GBAO farming units in Khorog on August 11.
Speaking at the training Ms. Muhayo Khosabekova, coordinator of the International Labor Organization (ILO)”s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor in Tajikistan, noted that the national child labor survey that was conducted in Tajikistan in 2012-2013 covered more than 6,000 households across the country.
According to the survey findings, there were 522,503 working children in Tajikistan that is 23.4 percent of 2.231 million children aged 5 to 17 living in the country.
The highest child labor rate was reported in Gorno Badakhshan – 53.1 percent. In Khatlon province, the child labor rate was 37.7 percent, in districts subordinate to the center – 15.6 percent, in Sughd province – 14.8 percent, and in Dushanbe – 1.9 percent.
Of the total number of working children, 82.8 percent worked in agrarian sector, 3.3 percent in the processing industry, 6.0 percent in energy and water supply sector, 2.8 percent in construction sector, 4.4 in retail trade, and 0.7 percent in other spheres.
It was also noted that nearly half of working children in Tajikistan are working in hazardous or unfavorable health conditions.
The training was organized by the ILO in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Employment and Employers’ Union of Tajikistan.
With the overall goal of the progressive elimination of child labor, the ILO created the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) in 1992, aimed at strengthening the capacity of countries to deal with the problem and promoting a worldwide movement to combat child labor. In 1998, the ILO Declaration on Principles and Fundamental Rights at Work identified the abolition of child labor as a core labor standard.
