Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Kyrgyz Republic

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Kyrgyz Republic
2022 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor:

Minimal Advancement – Efforts Made but Continued Law and Practice that Delayed Advancement

In 2022, the Kyrgyz Republic made minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Ministry of Internal Affairs continued to conduct raids of businesses at high risk for labor law violations, including raids to identify vulnerable children and child labor. The Criminal Code was also amended to strengthen penalties for sexual abuse of children and involving children in illicit activities. In addition, the government funded the construction and staffing of 31 new schools to improve educational access. However, despite new initiatives to address child labor, Kyrgyz Republic is assessed as having made only minimal advancement because it continued a law and practice that delays advancement to eliminate child labor. A new general moratorium on labor inspections was put into place from January 1 through December 31, 2023. The lack of unannounced inspections may leave potential violations of child labor laws and other labor abuses undetected in workplaces. Children in the Kyrgyz Republic are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking. Children also engage in child labor in agriculture. Minimum age protections are not extended to children engaged in non-contractual employment, and research indicated that labor law enforcement efforts are not targeted to all sectors in which children are vulnerable to child labor, especially agriculture. In addition, the scope of social programs to address child labor is insufficient to fully address the extent of the problem.

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