Uzbekistan ratified the Minimum Age Convention

Ferghana.Ru (Russia)

April 8, 2008

President of Uzbekistan signed the law "On ratification of the Minimum Age Convention" (Geneva, June 26, 1973), his press service reported.

The lower house of the parliament of the Oly Majlis adopted the law on March 13 and the upper house on March 27, 2008.

Article 1 of the Convention states, "Every member [of the International Labor Organization] for which this Convention is in force undertakes to pursue a national policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labor and to raise progressively the minimum age for admission to employment or work to a level consistent with the fullest physical and mental development of young persons."

Article 2 (Paragraph 3) states that "The minimum age specified in pursuance of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years." All the same, "Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph 3 of this Article, a Member whose economy and educational facilities are insufficiently developed may, after consultations with organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, initially specify a minimum age of 14 years."

Article 7 states that "National laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of persons 13 to 15 years of age on light work which is -

(a) not likely to be harmful to their health or development; and

(b) not such as to prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programmes approved by the competent authority or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received."

"The minimum age for admission to any type of employment or work which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to jeopardize the health, safety, or morals of young persons shall not be less than 18 years." (Article 3, Paragraph 1)

Uzbekistan is regularly blamed for child labor, particularly in cotton plantations. The authorities keep insisting that no children are used in cotton fields. Some European countries refuse to deal Uzbek cotton despite Tashkent's denials.

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