Ms. Constance Thomas
Director, International Programme on the Elimination
of Child Labour (IPEC)
International Labour Office
Route des Morillons, 4
CH – 1211 Geneva
Switzerland
Dear Ms.
Thomas,
We
appreciate the efforts of the International Labour Organization to promote the
application of ILO conventions in Uzbekistan. As a global coalition of business,
labour and human rights organization, we have long advocated for high-level,
tripartite ILO monitoring of the cotton sector, which is a vital first step towards
ending forced labour and forced child labour in Uzbekistan. We are pleased that
the ILO has begun monitoring this year’s harvest. Yet we remain deeply concerned
that the Uzbek government has prevented unfettered access for the ILO and that
the people of Uzbekistan are unable to fully participate in the monitoring.
The
root cause of forced labour and forced child labour in Uzbekistan is the
state-order system, under which the government coerces both adults and children
to grow and harvest cotton. It is undeniable that the state-organized, coercive
mobilization of over a million children and adults to work in the cotton fields
in Uzbekistan is forced labour for economic development on a massive scale. Already
this year, Uzbek civil society has documented clear instances of forced labour.
In the spring, authorities mobilised children and adults to plough and
weed,[1]
and authorities beat farmers for planting onions instead of cotton[2]. Prior
to this school year, administrators required parents to sign commitments that their
children would pick cotton in order to register for school.[3] Starting
September 6, authorities mobilised teachers, doctors and other public-sector workers
to pick cotton or pay fines.[4]
Starting September 10, high-school and university students have been sent to
pick cotton, and government officials have ordered business owners to send
their employees, contribute financially, or face tax inspections.[5] On
September 16, 200,000 people were sent to the fields from Tashkent city alone,[6]
and government officials have mobilized one-fifth of all public-sector workers in
Syrdarya region.[7]
It is
vital that the ILO take these reports seriously, as evidence that the government
has not demonstrated its commitment to end forced labour.
Already, Uzbek citizens have reported that authorities
have instructed them to tell international monitors ‘we came to pick cotton
voluntarily in order to help our government, to raise the economy of the
country and work hard for our motherland.’[8]
This raises
serious concerns that Uzbek government participation in on-the-ground monitoring
is having
a chilling effect on Uzbek citizens’ willingness to speak openly with the ILO
monitors
Again,
we emphasize the vital importance of unfettered monitoring, which we see as independent
of government interference, timely access to all locations, full participation
of civil society, and tripartite validation. Given
these concerns and that the root cause of child labour is the forced-labour
system, we
urge you to raise the level of transparency of the ongoing ILO monitoring mission
in Uzbekistan: first by making public the implementation plan and survey
instruments, second by taking into account reports from independent
civil society, and third by ensuring the findings are validated with the
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and International Organisation
of Employers (IOE).
By taking
these important steps we believe that the mission can be an effective first
step toward eliminating the root causes of forced labour and forced child
labour in Uzbekistan.
Sincerely,
The
Cotton Campaign
Advocates
for Public Interest Law
American
Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
American
Federation of Teachers
Anti-Slavery
International
Association
for Human Rights in Central Asia
Calvert
Investments
European
Center for Constitutional and Human Rights
Human
Rights Watch
International
Labor Rights Forum
Open
Society Foundations
Responsible
Sourcing Network
[1] Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, Chronicle of Forced Labour, Issue 1, June 5, 2013, http://uzbekgermanforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Reports-from-the-cotton-fields-Issue-1-2013.pdf
(accessed 20 September 2013).
[2] “Vice-governor beats 8 people at government meeting in Uzbekistan,”
CA-News.org, 26 April 2013, http://www.cottoncampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/CA-NEWS_-Vice-governor-beats-8-people-at-government-meeting-in-Uzbekistan.pdf
(accessed 20 September 2013).
[3] Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, Chronicle of Forced Labour, Issue 2, August 26, 2013, http://uzbekgermanforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2-Cotton-Chronicle-2-20132.pdf
(accessed 20 September 2013).
[4] Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, Chronicle of Forced Labour, Issue 3, September 9, 2013, http://uzbekgermanforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/3-Cotton-Chronicle-2013.pdf
(accessed 20 September 2013).
[5] Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, Chronicle of Forced Labour, Issue 4, September 19, 2013, http://uzbekgermanforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4-Cotton-Chronicle-2013.pdf
(accessed 23 September 2013).
[6] Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders of
Uzbekistan (IGIHRDU), 16 September 2013, http://ca-news.org/news:1080594/
(accessed 16 September 2013).
[7] Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, Chronicle of Forced Labour, Issue 4, September 19, 2013, http://uzbekgermanforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4-Cotton-Chronicle-2013.pdf
(accessed 23 September 2013).
[8] Ibid.
