E/C.12/UZB/CO/2 (e) International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions No. 182 (1999) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (2008), and No. 138 (1973) concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (2009). 4. The Committee notes with appreciation the efforts by the State party to devise and adopt legislation, policies and programmes in response to the recommendations of the Committee, including: (a) The adoption of national plans of action for the implementation of the recommendations made by the Committee following its consideration of the State party’s initial report in 2005 and for the implementation of ILO Conventions Nos. 182 and 138; the adoption of the ILO Decent Work Country Programme (2014); the raising of the minimum employment age from 14 to 15 in the Labour Code; and the establishment of an interagency monitoring system to prevent forced labour; (b) Joining the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (2010) and establishing a Working Group to develop an anticorruption law; (c) The adoption of the new edition of the law on Social Protection of Disabled People (11 July 2008) and the Environmental Control Act (2013); (d) Criminalization of human trafficking (art. 135 of the Criminal Code); the adoption of the Law on Counteraction to Human Trafficking (2008) and a national action plan; the inclusion of employment guarantees for human trafficking victims in the Labour Code; (e) Steps that led to the decline in extreme poverty from 27 per cent in 2000 to 15 per cent in 2012; (f) The adoption of the nutrition improvement strategy (2009–2011) and the accession to the European Charter on Counteracting Obesity and the Vienna Declaration on Nutrition and Non-communicable Diseases; C. (g) Steps that led to the significant decline in infant and maternal mortality; (h) The inventory of cultural heritage sites every five years. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations Justiciability of the Covenant rights 5. The Committee regrets that, according to information provided by the State party, domestic courts do not directly refer to the Covenant, despite their competence to do so under the domestic law (art. 1). The Committee urges the State party to ensure that the Covenant provisions are invoked before and applied by the domestic courts, including by raising awareness among right holders and the authorities responsible for its implementation. It refers the State party to its general comment No. 9 (1998) on the domestic application of the Covenant. It invites the State party to include, in its next periodic report, information on court decisions giving effect to Covenant rights. Independence of the Judiciary 6. The Committee remains concerned about the reports that the judiciary lacks full independence, including owing to the five-year term of judges, which is renewed by the executive (art. 1). 2