REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

Mainly covers the period June 1998 to April 2001 as well as including some earlier information.

  • Population:
    – total: 6,104,000
    – under-18s: 2,899,000
  • Government armed forces:
    – active: some 6,000
    – paramilitary: 1,200
  • Compulsory recruitment age: 18
  • Voluntary recruitment age: unknown
  • Child soldiers: unknown
  • CRC-OP-CAC: not signed
  • Other treaties ratified: CRC GC/API+II; ICC; ILO 138
  • Tajikistan's civil war which ended in 1997 reportedly involved the use of child soldiers under 18 by both sides. It is not known if there are any under-18s in government armed forces due to a lack of information on minimum voluntary recruitment age. Islamist opposition groups, known to use child soldiers in the past, are still active in the country.

CONTEXT

The five-year civil war in Tajikistan ended in June 1997, with an agreement envisaging a transition period leading to parliamentary elections in 2000. A UN Observer mission (UNMOT) and CIS Collective Peacekeeping Forces were deployed to the country. Despite the presence of these peacekeeping missions, the situation in Tajikistan is still unstable and a number of armed opposition groups are active in the north-western mountainous areas. There have been continuing delays in the implementation of the peace accords. UNMOT's mandate ended in May 2000 and it was replaced by a very small UN presence. The OSCE continues to operate in the country. The governments of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan agreed in January 2001 to take joint action against Islamist opposition movements in the region.1877

GOVERNMENT

National Recruitment Legislation and Practice

Article 43 of the 1994 Constitution states that: "the protection of the homeland, safeguarding the interests of the state, and strengthening the independence, security and defence capabilities of the homeland are the sacred duties of citizens. The procedure for military service is specified by law".1878 The current legal basis for conscription is the 1994 Law on Military Service and the 1997 Law on Amendments and additions to the Laws of the Republic of Tajikistan on general military responsibilities and military service.

All men above the age of 18 are liable for military service, which lasts for two years.1879 Military service can be performed either in the Tajik armed forces or in the Russian Border Guards stationed on the Tajik-Afghan border. An NGO report presented to the Committee of the Rights of the Child in 2000 raised questions as to whether Tajikistan's legislation clearly stipulates non-recruitment below 18.1880

In the past, recruitment has proved to be a substantial problem, with local recruitment commissions badly organised and sometimes even refusing to abide by national recruitment regulations. Draft evasion has also been prevalent.1881 The conscription period may be extended in order to maintain force levels to deal with continuing instability.1882

Child Recruitment and Deployment

During the civil war (from 1992 possibly up to 1997 or 1998), there were reports of forced conscription of boys as young as 16 into government armed forces.1883 The situation appears to have been particularly serious in 1995 and 1996, with credible reports of young men being rounded up in public places and being sent directly to the front line, often with little or only minimal short-term training.1884 However this situation has improved significantly since the signing of the peace accords and conscription has been far more orderly since.1885

An NGO submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child estimated that that some 3 per cent of children had been involved in the armed conflict (although did not specify with which side).1886 In October 2000 , the Committee noted the negative impact on children of recent armed civil unrest and recommended that Tajikistan take measures concerning the care and protection of these children. It further recommended that Tajikistan ratify and implement the CRC-OP-CAC. The behaviour of the militia also came under criticism by the Committee as ill-treatment of persons under 18 has been reported, including psychological intimidation, corporal punishment and torture. Victims were said to be largely from vulnerable groups e.g. children living and/or working on the streets. Tajikistan was urged to take preventive and remedial action regarding this issue.1887

Military Training and Military Schools

In May 1998, the Minister of Defence expressed concerns about the lack of discipline and the violation of the rules of law in military camps. He claimed that this was largely due to the lack of pre-conscription training at secondary schools and the insufficient preparation of the youth for military service. He suggested that there was a need for his ministry to establish links between military units, parents and administrators.1888 It is not known if this proposal was followed up although the question of discipline was still being discussed in November 1999.1889

OPPOSITION

Following peace accords in 1997, many of the former Islamist opposition fighters were integrated into the new national army and the UN was seeking to create jobs for others.1890 As of July 1999, 5,377 opposition fighters had been registered for integration into the national army.1891 Islamist groups continue to operate from the Jirgatol region of north central Tajikistan.1892 The United Tajikistan Opposition (UTO) was reportedly dissolved on 3 August 1999.1893 However, as these forces are highly fragmented, they may not have disbanded completely. There are also reports that Afghanistan's Northern Alliance is supplied from Tajik bases. The forces of Ahmad Shah Masood are largely Tajik and based in the Panjshir Valley adjacent to Tajikistan.1894

Child Recruitment and Deployment

During the civil war, armed opposition groups recruited young boys into their armed formations – according to some local traditions, majority is reached at the age of 12 and boys are considered able to fight from that age.1895 Given that Islamist armed groups remain active in the region there is a continuing risk that children will be used as soldiers (see Uzbekistan country entry).

1877 Economist, 27/1/01.

1878 Blaustein and Flanz, op. cit.

1879 Horeman and Stolwijk, op. cit.

1880 Alternative NGO report on the implementation of the CRC in Tajikistan, 21/4/00. Presented to Committee in 9-10/00 and available on www.crin.org.

1881 Horeman and Stolwijk, op. cit.

1882 RB, www.rb.se quoting Military Balance.

1883 Information from reliable source that requests confidentiality, 3/00.

1884 RB database quoting personal correspondence of HRW, see http://www.rb.se.

1885 Implementation of the Helsinki Final Act, 4/97-3/98, submitted to Congress on 12/8/98.

1886 Alternate NGO report on the implementation of the CRC in Tajikistan, 21/4/00. Presented to 9-10/00 session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, on www.crin.org.

1887 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Tajikistan. 16/10/2000. CRC/C/15/Add.136.

1888 "Tajikistan to strengthen discipline in army", BBC Monitoring Service, 30/5/98.

1889 "Tajik Defence Minister wants to improve military discipline", BBC Monitoring Service, 14/11/99.

1890 "UN starts peace project in Tajikistan", BBC World Service, 20/7/99.

1891 "Tajikistan completes registration of rebels for army service", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 22/7/99.

1892 Haslett, M., "Central Asia's Islamic battle", BBC News, 3/11/99.

1893 OSCE Newsletter, Vol. 6, No. 8/8/99.

1894 Vandermark, C., "The Taleban: Afghanistan's problem becomes a regional one", The Weekly Defence Monitor, Vol. 4, No. 5, 3/2/00.

1895 Confidential source that requests confidentiality, 3/00.

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