Progress in Uzbekistan

ILO Monitoring in the Cotton Industry in Uzbekistan

For a number of years ACRATH and other NGOs have been speaking out about child labour in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan. In a report released in February 2017 the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicated that organized child labor is now socially unacceptable in Uzbekistan and the practice has been phased out.

ILO monitored the implementation of government commitments and measures against child and forced labor in Uzbekistan and reported that “no incidences of child and forced labor were identified with regard to World Bank-supported agriculture, water, and education projects.” However, forced labor remains a risk for some categories of people, including students, staff of educational and medical facilities and government employees.  The monitoring concluded, among other things, that further steps are required to remove the risks of forced adult labor, and noted that the existence of such risks has been recognized by the Government of Uzbekistan. The Government continues to make policy improvements aimed at reducing risks of undesirable labor practices. Read more…