Child Commend Tajikistan for Banning Corporal Punishment, Raise Issues Concerning HIV/AIDS Infections and Child Labour
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the sixth and seventh combined periodic reports of Tajikistan under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with Committee Experts praising the State’s ban on corporal punishment and raising questions concerning HIV/AIDS infections and child labour.
Aissatou Alassane Sidikou, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member for Tajikistan, said the State’s legal reform prohibiting corporal punishment was a major step forward. What measures were in place to make this reform operational?
Zeinebou Taleb Moussa, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, said that there had been an increase in the rate of HIV/AIDS infections in recent years. What measures were in place to prevent new infections among children and prevent mother-to-child transmission?
Mary Beloff, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, said that there were cases in which parents sent their children to work because they had economic difficulties. What support was available to families to prevent this? Some 40 per cent of cotton was harvested annually by children. How was the State ensuring appropriate oversight of the agricultural sector across Tajikistan to prevent child labour?
Introducing the report, Muzaffar Ashuriyon, Minister of Justice of Tajikistan and head of the delegation, said Tajikistan was working consistently to protect children's rights. It was consistently taking practical measures to implement the Committee’s recommendations, following an action plan on their implementation for 2018-2022.
Tajikistan had implemented a set of legal measures to prohibit corporal punishment, the delegation said. The law on the protection of the child prohibited the use or threat of use of violence on children by parents or teachers. Information campaigns on this law were carried out in State bodies and educational establishments.
The delegation also said that the State had implemented measures to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, including early testing of pregnant mothers and antiretroviral therapy. Only 32 cases of mother-to-child transmission of HIV were detected in 2025, and thus far, only four cases had been identified in 2026. The State’s goal was to eradicate HIV by 2030.
There had recently been a positive trend in the scale of child labour, the delegation said. The rate of child labour dropped to 15.3 per cent by 2023, down from 23.4 per cent in 2013. However, more work was needed to combat the phenomenon.
In closing remarks, Hynd Ayoubi Idrissi, Committee Expert and Taskforce Coordinator for Tajikistan, welcomed the State’s efforts in improving the coverage of education for vulnerable children, in the registration of births, and in many other areas. There was still potential to improve, however. She trusted that the State party would continue investing in its children and rising to the remaining challenges.
Mr. Ashuriyon said in concluding remarks that in the dialogue, the delegation had presented the State’s efforts in various fields related to children's rights. Tajikistan would continue to take practical and systematic measures to implement the Committee’s recommendations and protect and promote the rights of the child.
In closing remarks, Committee Chair Sophie Kiladze welcomed that the delegation was motivated to implement more reforms and improvements for children. She said she looked forward to the State party presenting its progress in implementing the Committee’s recommendations in the next dialogue.
The delegation of Tajikistan consisted of the First Deputy Minister of Interior, the Deputy Minister of Education and Science, the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection, the Commissioner for Children's Rights, and representatives from the Executive Office of the President, the Agency on Statistics under the President, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, and the Permanent Mission of Tajikistan to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will issue the concluding observations on the report of Tajikistan at the end of its one hundred and first session on 28 September. Those, and other documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, will be available on the session’s webpage. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.
The Committee is scheduled to next meet in public on Friday, 25 September at 5 p.m. to close its one hundred and first session.
Report
The Committee has before it the sixth and seventh combined periodic reports of Tajikistan (CRC/C/TJK/6-7).
Presentation of Report
MUZAFFAR ASHURIYON, Minister of Justice of Tajikistan and head of the delegation, said Tajikistan was consistently taking practical and systematic measures to implement the Committee’s recommendations, following an action plan on their implementation for 2018-2022. In accordance with article 34 of the Constitution, mothers and children were under the special protection and patronage of the State. Ensuring and protecting the rights of the child was a priority of the national strategy of Tajikistan in the field of human rights protection for the period up to 2038. The Department for the Protection of the Rights of the Child of the Executive Office of the President was responsible for the overall coordination of the activities of State bodies and their interaction at the interregional and interdepartmental levels. It coordinated the activities of commissions on the rights of the child in oblasts, cities and districts.
The Convention was an integral part of the country's legal system. To implement the Committee’s recommendations, draft amendments and additions to the law on legal assistance and the Criminal Procedure Code had been developed to ensure access to free legal assistance for children who had committed an offence, and to children who were witnesses and victims of crimes. Additionally, in 2022 and 2024, amendments and additions were made to the Family Code and the laws on appeals of individuals and legal entities and on the protection of the rights of the child, which aimed to protect children from violence and the threat of violence, as well as take into account their opinions when issues affecting their interests were being resolved. In cases of abuse of parental rights, the child had the right to apply directly for guardianship and to other State bodies. In 2024, Tajikistan became the sixty-seventh country in the world to legally prohibit corporal punishment of children.
The law on State and insurance pensions and the law on the protection of the rights of the child enabled children's access to disability pensions, including social pensions. In 2025, the total number of persons with disabilities in the Unified Database of Persons with Disabilities was 172,538 people, of which 35,381 were children with disabilities under 18 years old. In March 2021, the Agency for Social Insurance and Pensions under the Government developed and implemented a new digital procedure for the appointment and payment of pensions.
The State party was consistently improving the national system for collecting, analysing and disseminating data on children. The Statistical Agency had worked to improve disaggregated data on education, health, social protection, juvenile justice, crime, and children in vulnerable situations. In 2012, 2017 and 2023, medical and demographic studies were conducted and up-to-date information on child mortality, health, nutrition and other important indicators was obtained. A roadmap for improving statistics on children in Tajikistan was developed in 2025, which aimed to improve the availability, quality and use of data on children. The national methodology for assessing poverty had also been revised and a methodological framework for measuring child poverty was prepared.
To prevent juvenile delinquency, the Department for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency and Youth was established within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which directly protected the legitimate rights and interests of minors. In 2020, a law on the system for the prevention of juvenile delinquency, the national programme for the prevention of juvenile delinquency for 2020-2024, and the Government Decree regulating stays in the reception and distribution centre for minors were adopted. In January 2020, the law on the procedure and conditions for the detention of suspects, accused and defendants was amended, according to which, upon receipt of a report of the use of torture against a minor, a mandatory medical examination was carried out by at least three external medical workers. The law prohibited the detention of minors with adults or in solitary confinement cells and guardhouses. A 2022 Government Decree approved instructions on the collection of data on children in conflict with the law and child witnesses and victims of crimes.
The programme for reforming the children's justice system for 2023-2027 and the action plan for 2023-2025 were adopted in 2023. As part of their implementation, a compendium of normative legal acts on protecting children's rights was published. In training curricula for the judiciary and the police, mandatory courses on children's rights and justice for children had been introduced. Training events were held for 197 judges and court staff on national and international standards of juvenile justice, and nine child-friendly interrogation rooms were opened. In 2021, amendments were made to the Criminal Procedure Code, according to which a minor suspect needed to be interrogated no later than 12 hours from the moment of detention. The detention of a minor could not last more than 48 hours. To reduce the level of re-offending among children, the Government adopted in 2020 a programme for the rehabilitation and social reintegration of minors.
In 2021, the human rights education programme for 2022 to 2026 was adopted, and the next iteration of the programme for 2027 to 2031 was currently being developed. The latest iteration of the programme would take into account issues of human rights, digital technologies, environment and climate change, as well as gender equality. From 2018 to 2025, the Ombudsperson for Children's Rights organised 386 speeches in the media on various topics of the rights and freedoms of the child, accepted and considered 1,128 appeals from individuals and legal entities, and conducted 301 monitoring visits and inspections. The Ombudsperson held meetings on the Convention with teachers and students of more than 50 education institutions.
One of the important achievements in improving State policy was the adoption in 2026 of the programme for the protection of the rights of the child for 2026 to 2030. The main goal of the programme was to strengthen the national system for the protection of the rights of the child, ensure the best interests of the child, create a safe environment for life and education, prevent all forms of violence and discrimination, improve the level and quality of social services, improve the legal and institutional framework, as well as bring State policy in line with international documents in the field of children's rights.
Mr. Ashuriyon presented details on the State’s laws, policies and programmes to strengthen education and health care for children and eradicate child labour. He said that the measures that Tajikistan had implemented indicated that the State was working consistently to protect children's rights.
Questions by Committee Experts
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Taskforce Coordinator for Tajikistan, congratulated Tajikistan on the many legislative measures that it had implemented since submitting the last report. Were civil society and children involved in drafting the State’s report? Had the proposed amendment to the Family Code mentioned in the report been adopted?
The State party had adopted excellent strategies related to education, healthcare and water. Had it evaluated its national action plan for children for 2018 to 2022? Had the proposed global strategy for children's rights been adopted? The State party had many institutions working on children's rights. Which was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Convention? Did local commissions on children's rights have sufficient resources?
Tajikistan placed great importance on social spending. Almost 40 per cent of its budget was devoted to social insurance, education and related fields. How did it follow-up on the allocation of budgets? What percentage of social spending was devoted to children?
The State party had exerted efforts to improve its data collection, but there were still some difficulties, particularly related to data on early childhood. What measures were in place to improve such data collection and improve coordination between State institutions on data collection?
What measures were in place to ensure the independence of the national human rights institution, which still had “B” status under the Paris Principles. Did it have sufficient resources to do its work? To what extent were its recommendations implemented by the State? There were reports of shrinking civic space and of difficulties encountered by civil society organizations trying to do their work. What measures were in place to improve the working conditions of civil society organizations?
What steps had been taken to make juvenile justice laws effective? Were children allowed to refer cases to the justice system without adult participation? How was the State informing children about the options open to them in the justice system?
The Expert congratulated Tajikistan on the significant efforts it had made related to birth registration. Over 95.5 per cent of children had birth certificates. What were the main difficulties encountered in registering births? How did the State support the registration of asylum seekers and stateless persons?
ZEINEBOU TALEB MOUSSA, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, commended the efforts made by Tajikistan at the legislative and institutional levels. The report covered the period of 2017 to 2022 but only included data up to 2021. The Expert called on the delegation to provide updated figures. The Government had invested in improving the collection of disaggregated data, but the data given in the report made it difficult to deduce differences between groups of children. Could the delegation present data on girls and boys, children in urban and rural areas, children in poverty, children with disabilities and children with HIV? The report did not address the Lyuli and Pamiris minority groups of children and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children. Could information on these groups be provided?
Did gaps in birth registration disproportionately affect minority groups of children and children born out of wedlock? What targeted measures were being considered for these children? Had the State party decided to ratify the 1954 and 1961 conventions on statelessness? How many stateless children were currently registered in the country?
The State’s education responsibility act of 2024 prohibited certain “unlawful education”, including religious education. How did this conform with children’s right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression?
What concrete procedures ensured that individual assessments were carried out before decisions were made on placements, family separation or the education of a child? How many decisions were subject to such an assessment? The Committee welcomed the training organised for State officials on respect for children’s opinions. What measures were in place to ensure that children’s opinions were considered in decisions that affected them?
AISSATOU ALASSANE SIDIKOU, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, welcomed that the national programme against domestic violence was adopted in 2024. However, legislation only provided for administrative sanctions for domestic violence while care for child victims and witnesses remained insufficient. How was the State party combatting social norms permitting violence against children, and how was it promoting positive parenting? How many refuges and specialised structures were available for children? The legal reform prohibiting corporal punishment was a major step forward. What measures were in place to make this reform operational? How was its implementation monitored?
There were insufficient legislative provisions to prevent sexual violence. Cases of sexual violence were hidden by child victims themselves because of fear of societal judgement. How was the State encouraging reporting? What measures were in place to prevent sexual violence and support child victims?
The Criminal Code included an offence for producing or transferring pornographic articles depicting children beyond Tajikistan’s borders, but did not cover the production and possession of such material for private purposes within Tajikistan. Would the State amend this legislation?
The rate of child marriages in Tajikistan was the highest in Central Aisa, with 14.3 per cent of girls married, divorced or living in informal unions. The Family Code permitted marriage at age 17 in exceptional circumstances which were not defined. In 91 per cent of cases, marriages of girls aged 17 were permitted because the family was in financial difficultly, without consideration of the best interests of the child. How would the State work to prevent such decisions?
What social protection measures were taken to provide comprehensive support to families whose children were at risk of institutional placement? How was the State working to prevent children from being separated from their families? When did the State plan to adopt measures to effectively implement formal, professional foster family arrangements and deinstitutionalise childcare?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said in 2018, there were 2,000 marriages involving girls aged 17, but the number of such marriages had since declined. There were 603 early marriages in 2025, but only 183 early marriages in the first eight months of 2026. These marriages could only take place when permitted by a court in exceptional circumstances, for example when a girl’s economic situation meant that they could not earn enough for their survival.
Non-governmental organizations were registered by the Ministry of Justice. There were no restrictions on submissions for registration. There were also no legal restrictions preventing public bodies from considering the opinion expressed by a child.
Children were free to choose to study in a religious institution. The State party had stopped illegal religious education in children’s homes, as this had a negative impact on the psychology of children. Often, this education was provided by teachers who did not have sufficient religious training.
Under the Criminal Code, sexual contact with minors was considered to be rape regardless of whether there was consent, including when the victim was a boy. When the victim was aged 14 or younger, the legislation had more serious repercussions for the perpetrators. An inter-agency group had been set up to develop new legal mechanisms on preventing sexual relations with children. Measures being discussed included registration of perpetrators following repeat offences. Questioning of minor victims of sexual violence needed to be carried out by trained professionals and minors had the right to request the presence of a relative.
Under the law on birth registration, there were measures for establishing the identity of parents who did not have identity documents. The State organised a mobile service that visited villages to conduct birth registrations and provide information on the procedure. In 2025, this service conducted almost 1,500 registrations, including of around 880 children. The State party had implemented an electronic birth registration system and was conducting awareness raising campaigns in the media on the importance of birth registration.
The Government had established approved lists of names for boys and girls to prevent names that did not correspond with the State’s traditions and culture. If both parents were not Tajiks, they were able to choose a name from another language. There was a State committee that collected proposals for children’s names and sometimes added these names to the approved lists.
In 2016, the State established the posts of Deputy Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children. Funding for the Ombudsman’s Office had increased by two and a half times since 2016. The Ombudsman was independent and was not accountable to the State apparatus. The Ombudsman annually reported on children’s freedoms to the Parliament and the executive. From 2018 to 2025, the Ombudsman received over 1,000 communications and issued hundreds of press releases on strengthening capacities to protect children's rights. The State party was working to improve the Ombudsman’s Office and bring it to “A” status under the Paris Principles. The State party was currently considering whether to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the communications procedure.
The coordination of activities related to children's rights was dealt with by the Committee to Protect the Rights of the Child under the Presidency. These activities were implemented by the State’s 68 local committees on children's rights. The activities of the Committee to Protect the Rights of the Child and the childcare authorities did not overlap. Work was underway to improve the legislative basis of these bodies and delimit their activities.
In February this year, the State adopted a provision on a national database for children with disabilities and children deprived of parental care. This made it possible to exchange information on these children and ensure the protection of their best interests.
The national strategy to protect human rights included measures to reduce statelessness. The State had a national action plan on statelessness and in 2019 had adopted an amnesty law, under which around 1,500 people were legalised up to 2022, including hundreds of stateless persons. The 2025 census also included questions on statelessness.
The Constitution and the Criminal Proceedings Code had provisions ensuring the participation of psychologists in hearings involving children. Minors who were first offenders could be resolved of criminal responsibility and instead issued warnings or behavioural restrictions. Legislative reforms carried out since 2023 broadened alternatives to detention for minor offenders. Tajikistan was committed to improving the juvenile justice system, focusing on the best interests of the child. It was continuing to develop a new Criminal Code that would further humanise criminal legislation.
The State party was consistently working to improve mechanisms for family care of children deprived of parental care. It was developing a law on foster care and changes to the Family Code to provide legal coverage of foster families. These measures would establish a legal basis for a fully functioning foster care system.
Measures were taken to ensure that children who had suffered violence were provided with all necessary care and rehabilitation. A centre for social services to victims of trafficking and domestic violence was set up in 2018; it had 30 regional centres that provided comprehensive services, including medical care, temporary lodging, meals and other services.
Tajikistan had implemented a set of legal measures to prohibit corporal punishment. The law on the protection of the child prohibited the use or threat of use of violence on children by parents or teachers. Information campaigns on this law were carried out in State bodies and educational establishments.
There was no separate budget line for child health in Tajikistan, but over the past five years, financing for health had increased by 74 per cent. The State was carrying out an early childhood development project to improve human capital to 2026, which included early interventions to ensure a healthy childhood. There was a manual on addressing malnutrition among children and a national communication programme on nutrition. Thanks to these measures, the State had improved breastfeeding rates and reduced the stunting rate to 14 per cent. Further, Tajikistan had a school feeding programme covering over 400 schools, benefiting over two million children, which was 40 per cent of the student population.
Drinking water was provided through almost 800 centralised infrastructures and over 1,000 decentralised sources, including wells. Some 66 per cent of the population, including 31 per cent of rural dwellers and 90 per cent of urban dwellers, had access to centralised drinking water, and all children’s hospitals had access to this drinking water.
In 2022, a Government Decree established a mechanism for collecting statistical data on children who committed crimes and child victims. This data boosted the effectiveness of responses to child violence and helped to develop State measures on protecting the rights of children. The State party was taking measures to protect children from all forms of violence. It had established a hotline through which children could report cases of violence and seek assistance. The Ministry of Interior was engaged in awareness raising on preventing violence against children and domestic violence. Over the past five years, law enforcement agencies had registered more than 4,500 crimes against minors, and 500 offenders of those crimes had been prosecuted.
The Government had adopted a programme to prevent domestic violence for 2025 to 2030 and a national action plan for 2025 to 2037 to coordinate actions between entities engaged in this area. There were 65 regional inspectors who worked to detect cases of domestic violence and the State planned to increase the number of inspectors in the future. It was also providing training to members of the judiciary on preventing domestic violence and caring for victims.
All children were guaranteed the right to mandatory education up to grade 11. If a child's rights were violated at school, the child had the right to report the case independently to school leadership, which was required to refer the complaint to the competent agencies. A protocol for responding to complaints and restoring the rights of the child had been developed.
Questions by Committee Experts
AISSATOU ALASSANE SIDIKOU, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, said that the number of child marriages appeared to be decreasing, but there were still cases of orphans who were married under exceptional legislation. What vocational training and other measures were in place to allow poor girls to learn a profession and become independent, rather than just being married off at 17?
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Taskforce Coordinator, congratulated the State on its significant progress in driving down extreme poverty. Poverty rates in urban areas had decreased from over 20 per cent in 2021 to around nine per cent in 2023. However, the rural poverty rate was still at 23 per cent in 2023. What measures were in place to expand the coverage of social protection systems? How would family allowances be extended to counter poverty in rural areas? There were areas where water, sanitation and hygiene facilities were not available for women and girls; this issue needed to be addressed.
Tajikistan had significant environmental fragility, experiencing almost 150 natural disasters per year. What measures were in place to assess the impact of environmental issues on children? How were child-sensitive interventions included in key climate policies, and how were children involved in developing climate policies and strategies?
The Expert congratulated Tajikistan on increasing access to primary and secondary education. The enrolment rate was now at 97 per cent. However, most young children did not have access to formal pre-primary education. There was also a gender gap in attendance in secondary school education, which could be explained by pregnancies and child marriages. How was the State addressing this and strengthening the access of all children to education? Why had the school programme been shortened by a year? What leisure and cultural activities were available for rural children and children with disabilities?
ZEINEBOU TALEB MOUSSA, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, said that there was a gap between the number of children with disabilities registered by the State and the number enrolled in schools. Out of around 31,000 children with disabilities, only 7,300 were reportedly enrolled in schools and 900 were home-schooled. How was the State encouraging their enrolment? The State followed the medical model of disability. What steps had been taken to move to a human rights-based approach that focused on the individual needs of the child?
How many daycare centres and integrated social services centres were currently operating in the State and what proportion of the child population had access to these centres? How many children with disabilities received social services and rehabilitation over the reporting period, and how many children who had requested access to these services had not received it? How many families of children with disabilities received the disability benefit? What proportion of needs was covered by the disability benefit?
Could the delegation provide data on the poverty level and on annual neonatal and under-five mortality rates by region? What was the geographical coverage of free care services for children with disabilities and children under one year of age? What was the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life?
The report noted that the work of school psychologists needed to be better supervised. How would the State achieve this? What care was available to children with mental health issues in remote regions? How many cases of youth suicide were recorded between 2017 and 2022?
MARY BELOFF, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, asked how Tajikistan guaranteed that the detention of asylum-seeking children and refugees was a last resort. What alternatives to detention were available? Did migration officials receive training on the best interests of the child? In 2021, residence permits for Afghan citizens were suspended. In this context, how did the State guarantee that Afghan children had access to the asylum procedure and would not be deported simply because of their migration status? How did the State ensure that the best interests of the child were considered in decisions on returns? There were cases where unaccompanied minors were denied access to the asylum procedure because they did not have an adult representative. What measures were in place to guarantee a legal guardian was assigned to these children? Were there measures to facilitate family unification and contact between minors and their families?
Roma children reportedly faced difficulties in registering housing and accessing public services due to poverty and a lack of personal documentation. Did the State have a national action plan on promoting the rights of the Roma? How available was mother tongue education for the Roma and other minority children? Minority girls were particularly exposed to discrimination and exploitation. What measures were in place to protect these girls from child marriages and economic exploitation and address the root causes of these issues?
There were cases in which parents sent their children to work because they had economic difficulties. What support was available to families to prevent this? How did the State ensure that it did not punish parents but applied a more preventative approach? Child labour was concentrated in agriculture; some 40 per cent of cotton was harvested annually by children. Only seven of the State’s 68 districts had labour inspectors. How was the State ensuring appropriate oversight of the agricultural sector across Tajikistan to prevent child labour?
In some cases, children in street situations were taken by the police and brought before the judiciary to be charged with administrative offences such as vagrancy or begging. How would the State prevent arbitrary detention and ensure that these children were protected and not treated as criminals?
Other Committee Experts asked about legal safeguards to prevent the revictimisation of child victims during police interrogations and court hearings; plans to develop a stand-alone crime on domestic violence; how school staff and other professionals were trained to detect signs of trauma in children; the level of psychological counselling accessible to children in rural areas; and mechanisms to discipline State officials who failed to enforce protection orders for families at risk.
Experts also asked how the ban on corporal punishment was being enforced and communicated in rural areas; how mobile birth registration units were reaching extremely remote locations in the State; measures taken to increase access to drinking water; whether children had been included in discussions related to ratification of the Optional Protocol on the communications procedure; and the State’s approach to regulating digital technologies.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the Criminal Code included an article criminalising the act of moving child pornography across the border. If this act involved teachers or other persons responsible for the care of minors, or if it was done for the purposes of earning money, harsher punishments were issued.
The Government had developed the State’s medical and sanitary systems. The State had repaired more than 2,000 medical institutions over the last six years. In 2021, the child morbidity rate was 19.1 per 1,000 live births, but it had decreased each year since and was 10.8 in 2025. The maternal mortality rate had decreased from 23.2 per 1,000 births in 2022 to around 19 in 2025. The State had set up eight maternal health centres and had more than 16,000 beds serving mothers and infants. The State was integrating World Health Organization guidelines on medical and sanitary assistance for children and adolescents into medical regulations.
The State party recommended breastfeeding no later than 30 minutes after birth. Mothers were given consultations on how to breastfeed and were recommended to exclusively breastfeed for up to six months. There was a national communication programme promoting health and nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life, which had led to a reduction in anaemia and vitamin A deficiency among children up to age five.
The State party was strengthening psychological assistance for children and adolescents. It had trained doctors to identify depression, anxiety and other issues, and conducted awareness raising on mental health that targeted vulnerable children. Funding for psychiatric health centres had more than doubled since 2021. A draft policy on improving psychiatric health among children and adolescents up to 2030 had been developed and teachers were trained on identifying at-risk children.
Mothers and children who were subjected to violence were provided with a range of support services. Social rehabilitation centres provided accommodation for victims and their families. There were 57 daycentres in the State, and over 3,000 vulnerable people had received services at these centres.
Children with disabilities had access to various rehabilitation services in urban and regional support centres. There were seven State institutions for children with disabilities, and a centre for children on the autism spectrum was opened in 2021. Children with disabilities received free medical care. These children had the right to lodge complaints about violations of their rights and receive protection from discrimination. In considering complaints, the best interests of the child needed to be taken into account. In 2023, 79 children were sent home from residential institutions, and currently there were 64 children living in these institutions. The State encouraged children with disabilities to participate in programmes that concerned the interests of children. It celebrated the talents and achievements of children with disabilities on the annual day for persons with disabilities.
There had recently been a positive trend in the scale of child labour. The rate of child labour dropped to 15.3 per cent by 2023, down from 23.4 per cent in 2013. Some 26 per cent of these children were working in employment that was not appropriate for their age or was a threat to their health or education. More work was needed to combat child labour.
The State was currently developing a draft law on education that sought to protect children from harmful information. The dissemination of harmful information had an adverse impact on children’s development, and the State planned to adopt this legislation to address the issue.
In 2022, the Government amended the Criminal Code and the Labour Code to increase sanctions for sexual crimes against minors and prevent repeat offending. These sanctions prevented sexual offenders from holding certain posts that involved minors. Persons sentenced for crimes of rape of persons under 16 and other immoral acts were required to serve prison sentences and could not be freed before the period of imprisonment elapsed. For certain crimes, lifetime imprisonment could be imposed.
Within the national human rights education programme, information campaigns were carried out among State officials, teachers, young people and media representatives. Over 480 people participated in training sessions on human rights from 2023 to 2025.
One of the State’s goals was raising environmental awareness among children and adolescents. Over 400 television programmes were broadcast and over 130 events were held encouraging discussions between youth, businesses and schools on environmental issues.
From 2022 to the first half of 2026, there were 317 suicides among minors. Over 70 per cent of these children had psychiatric disorders. Children’s protection services had been carrying out a series of preventative measures for children at risk and promoting their access to social, medical, legal and psychosocial services.
The State party was carrying out a project to protect migrant children and families. Over 1,000 families had received support in accessing social, educational and medical services as part of this project. There were no obstacles to registering the births of children whose mothers were migrant workers abroad.
The State party was taking steps to support the integration of orphans into society. The national strategy for social protection to 2030 provided long-term measures to improve the social protection system. Children who could not be returned to their birth families were sent to foster families.
Under the law on preventing offences involving minors, the Interior Ministry carried out preventive measures and registration of minors living on the street or practicing begging or vagrancy. The preventative register had 536 minors on it. The State was strengthening inter-agency action to ensure that young people in difficult situations could be identified and provided with the necessary support.
The authorities took the necessary measures to ensure that child refugees’ rights were protected while they were in Tajikistan. Unaccompanied minors were sent to appropriate childcare institutions or foster families. When children did not have documents, their relatives were questioned and their personal data was recorded. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were issued with a certificate of their status, which enabled them to access services. The State had conducted 35 training sessions for 240 law enforcement staff on protecting child asylum seekers.
The State party had in 2022 approved a programme for developing private preschool institutions, and a new programme on preschool education was currently operational until 2030. Some 800 preschool institutions had been constructed in villages and towns where there were more than 100 families. In 2017, just 146,000 children attended pre-primary education, but currently over 177,000 did, an increase of 16 per cent.
The 2024 law on education established the continuation of mandatory education after the ninth year with secondary or vocational education. Some 1,600 places had been allocated for girls in vocational training. Preventing girls from attending school was a crime. Teaching in schools was provided in Tajik, Russian and English. Children chose the language that they received instruction in. There were no recorded cases of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children or minority children. All schools provided psychologists and this helped to prevent conflicts. The State was strengthening the training of these psychologists.
The State was working to overhaul closed institutions for children and was referring children to family care. Short-term daycare was provided in daycare centres to ease the burden on families, and there were also 43 social service centres that provided in-home care assistance.
Questions by Committee Experts
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Taskforce Coordinator, called for information on the dissemination of the Convention to children, including through the school curricula. In cases where both parents were working abroad and there were no relatives who could take care of children, children were often institutionalised. What assistance was provided to such children?
MARY BELOFF, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, asked why legislation on juvenile delinquency remained in the Criminal Code. Why had the State not developed a specific law on adolescent offences? Boys aged 15 to 18 could be given military training and training in weapons. How did the State ensure that these boys were not involved in conflict before age 18? What complaints mechanisms and protective policies were in place in this regard? How had the State incorporated the content of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children in general and military education?
ZEINEBOU TALEB MOUSSA, Committee Expert and Taskforce Member, said that there had been an increase in the rate of HIV/AIDS infections in recent years. What measures were in place to prevent new infections among children and prevent mother-child transmission? Why had there recently been a slight reduction in allocations for HIV programmes in rural areas? What measures guaranteed access to menstrual hygiene programmes in schools? How were adolescents supported to access sexual and reproductive health services and safe abortions?
Other Committee Experts asked about the number of clinical psychologists in the State; how the State investigated reasons behind suicides; how professionals were trained to prevent stigma concerning suicide attempts; reasons for the placement of children in residential educational institutions; the number of foster families and the number of children in foster care; and measures to support the long-term reintegration of children repatriated from Syria and other conflict settings.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the State party was taking measures to respond to situations of children in conflict with the law. A draft programme on this topic had been developed; this would introduce non-punitive measures such as mediation and monitoring measures. There was also a draft law that would reduce custodial sentences and broaden the application of alternatives to detention.
Tajikistan was implementing comprehensive measures for the rehabilitation of children who had returned from conflict zones, including in Syria and Iraq. Since 2019, over 4,000 citizens, mostly women and children, had returned to the State. The Government provided social, physical and psychiatric assessments of these citizens’ needs and supported their access to employment and education. Measures were taken to address gaps in these persons’ education and provide them with necessary psychological and social support.
Measures were taken to protect the children of labour migrants in Tajikistan and promote reunification with their families. When these minors were unaccompanied, the State notified their parents or relatives and facilitated their return to Tajikistan. From 2014 to 2024, 54 such returns had been facilitated. When it was not possible to reunite relatives and children, children could be temporarily placed in institutions and rulings could be made on whether they should be adopted.
The national curriculum included education on United Nations conventions, children's rights and the best interests of the child.
The State implemented measures to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, including early testing of pregnant mothers and antiretroviral therapy. Only 32 cases of mother-to-child transmission of HIV were detected in 2025, and thus far, only four cases had been identified in 2026. In 2025, only one child was born with HIV. The State’s goal was to eradicate HIV by 2030. It was implementing a programme on protecting people with HIV from discrimination and stigma.
The Health Code provided minors with the right to sexual and reproductive health services, including confidential access to contraception in special youth health centres. Information was provided in schools on sexual and reproductive health, which focused on preventing early marriage and protecting girls’ health.
The State party was developing a programme on preventing suicides among adolescents and was working to strengthen psychological assistance for them. Awareness raising on mental health was conducted in schools and early interventions were conducted to respond to mental health issues quickly and support children’s development. Each case of suicide was examined carefully by experts. A suicide was not considered a crime, but State law required law enforcement to verify if there was an attempt to induce someone to suicide.
State legislation stipulated procedural guarantees for detained minors. Children under 14 years could not be held in custody and it was mandatory for legal representatives and psychologists to be present for interrogations of minors under 16 years. Suspects could not be questioned for more than two hours without a break or for more than four hours per day. The programme for the protection of the rights of the child included concrete measures to support children’s reintegration in society and education after release from closed and semi-closed institutions.
Under the Criminal Code, crimes against minors were considered as aggravated crimes. The State did not believe that a separate law on juvenile justice was required as the Criminal Code sufficiently protected the rights of children.
Professional vocational training for citizens returning from labour migration was a State priority. Support was provided by the State to help returnees find jobs or set up small businesses. The State worked with non-governmental organizations to raise awareness of safe migration and the dangers of trafficking. Agricultural training was provided to women and young people from migrant families.
In 2022, the Administrative Offences Code was modified to cease administrative expulsions of refugees or asylum seekers who violated immigration proceedings. This legal revision also allowed foreign citizens seven days to appeal a decision on an asylum application.
The Interior Ministry conducted studies to determine why children ended up on the street, working to remove factors that could lead to such a situation again. The national poverty level had decreased from 25 per cent in 2021 to 19 per cent in 2026 and extreme poverty had decreased to six per cent. The State had reformed its methodology for assessing poverty and was developing targeted measures to improve the prosperity of citizens.
There were 2,400 children with disabilities in institutions in the State, 1,600 of whom were girls. The State party had created daycare centres for children with disabilities to promote deinstitutionalisation.
Concluding Statements
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Taskforce Coordinator, said that the dialogue had been complex but constructive. She welcomed the State’s efforts in improving the coverage of education for vulnerable children, in the registration of births, and in many other areas. There was still potential to improve, however. She trusted that the State party would continue investing in its children and rising to the remaining challenges, including in the fields of data collection, participation of children, juvenile justice and digital protection. The Committee was very pleased by the State’s efforts and looked forward to an even higher level of protection for children in the future.
MUZAFFAR ASHURIYON, Minister of Justice of Tajikistan and head of the delegation, thanked the Committee for the constructive dialogue. The delegation had presented the State’s efforts in various fields related to children's rights, including efforts to promote the protection of children from violence and to respect children’s opinions. The State would continue to conduct dialogue with the Committee and develop a plan for implementing its recommendations, considering the opinions of civil society. It would also pay attention to improving national institutions for the protection and promotion of children's rights. Tajikistan would continue to take practical and systematic measures to implement the Committee’s recommendations and protect and promote the rights of the child.
SOPHIE KILADZE, Committee Chair, said that the Committee had learned a lot from the delegation about what the State party was doing to promote children's rights in Tajikistan. She welcomed that the delegation was motivated to implement more reforms and improvements for children, and said that the Committee was happy to see the State’s progress. The Committee’s concluding observations would elaborate on the dialogue and would be tailored to Tajikistan’s context and its possibilities. She looked forward to the State party presenting its progress in implementing the Committee’s recommendations in the next dialogue. In closing, she conveyed warm regards to the children of Tajikistan.
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CRC26.018E