A/HRC/20/12 F. Education 61. In 2011, UNICEF reported that 29,000 children did not attend school in Kyrgyzstan.4 In the south of Kyrgyzstan, socio-cultural and economic factors were found to be the main contributors to this, including issues such as poverty, negative parental attitude towards education, migration of parents, security concerns, lack of available transportation means, language barriers at school and limited access for children with special needs. 5 Exposure to child labour also contributed to children being out of school. During the winter season, access to education is particularly difficult in rural and remote areas, due to the combination of harsh weather conditions and poverty. Children are unable to attend school because of their lack of appropriate winter clothing, limited public transport, and the time required for travel. 62. Financial constraints limit the availability of books or other learning support materials, particularly in minority languages. The minority languages of instruction are Uzbek, Tajik and Dungan. A UNICEF project provided textbooks in Uzbek in the south of Kyrgyzstan; teaching materials in other languages, such as Tajik and Dungan, are not available. 63. In September 2011, Kyrgyz language classes were integrated into Uzbek schools in two districts in Jalal-Abad and Osh oblasts. This was reportedly at the request of parents, with the aim of ensuring a more comprehensive education for all in the Kyrgyz language. While teaching of the State language is essential, it is important that the State supports instruction for minorities in their native languages. The Government adopted the Concept of Multicultural and Multilingual Education in 2008. Although the Concept mentions the value of having education in a child’s native language at primary school and, if possible, at other levels of the education system, the legislation does not contain explicit obligations to guarantee minority language education. 64. In December 2011, ROCA, with international and national partners, supported an event on language policy in the education sector. It highlighted the need for strategies to improve the quality of teaching, and access to instruction in the State language as well as inclusion in the curriculum of instruction in minority languages. G. Gender-based violence 65. Gender-based violence, including domestic violence, remains a widespread problem, requiring an effective and comprehensive response from all relevant stake-holders. It is compounded by the lack of economic and social independence of women and the prevalence of poverty. Many women are forced to stay in an environment where violence occurs, in the absence of a functioning referral mechanism and lack of access to appropriate and professional services. Women’s shelters operated by non-governmental organizations receive no financial support from central and local authorities. Women hesitate to report and, when they do, have to overcome problems such as intimidation, inadequate professional services and harassment, due in part to the lack of trained and skilled professional staff in medical, psychological and law enforcement institutions. As with all public services, there is also the risk of a lack of trust among minority ethnic populations, where centre staff are ethnically Kyrgyz. 4 5 12 National Statistical Committee, data collected in 2009 and published in 2010. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Study on identification of the main barriers to education for children of Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken oblasts (2011).