Cotton Campaign
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Uzbekistan's Forced Labor Problem >
      • Reports
      • Chronicle of Forced Labor
      • Photos/Video
      • FAQs
    • Turkmenistan's Forced Labor Problem >
      • Reports of Forced Labor in Turkmenistan's Cotton Sector
    • Forced Labor Cotton in Other Countries
    • Contact
  • Countries
    • Turkmenistan
    • Uzbekistan
    • Governments >
      • What other governments can do
    • International Organizations >
      • What the World Bank and Asian Development Bank can do
      • What the International Labor Organization can do
    • Companies >
      • What companies operating in Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan can do
      • What companies that use cotton can do
      • What investors can do
  • Take Action
  • Media
    • Press Releases
    • News
    • Videos
  • Blog

Blog

Legal ramifications of investment in the cotton sector in Uzbekistan

6/19/2014

0 Comments

 
Letter to the Editor of Fibre 2 Fashion, regarding "Uzbekistan, Korea sign textile cooperation agreements," 19 June 2014, by
Brian Campbell, Director of Policy and Legal Programs, International Labor Rights Forum:

Last year, the Government of Uzbekistan forced children and adults to grow and harvest cotton on a mass scale. As a result, ALL cotton in Uzbekistan is produced with forced labor. Before investing deeper into the cotton sector in Uzbekistan, the Korean Government, Daewoo International, and all other companies should seriously consider the legal ramifications of their decision.

U.S. law prohibits any person from "knowingly benefiting" from forced labor, and anyone found to be profiting from forced labor, including Daewoo's corporate executives, faces up to 20 years in prison in the United States if they are found and charged in U.S. jurisdiction. Considering the global scale of Daewoo International's global business operations, including significant investments in the United States, Daewoo may want to reconsider exposing themselves to even more liability.

The International Labor Rights Forum and other members of the Cotton Campaign filed a complaint to the U.S. Government against Daewoo International and another cotton processor in Uzbekistan, Indorama Corporation, for violating criminal laws prohibiting a company from trading a good made "in whole or in part" with forced labor. We were pleased to learn from Department of Homeland Security that they have opened an investigation into Daewoo, Indorama and other companies' violations of U.S. forced labor laws as a result of their role processing Uzbekistan's illicit cotton. As a result, Indorama has already had a shipment of yarn intended for sale in the U.S. detained and eventually re-exported. Other companies' should take heed from Indorama's experience, and support the call from Uzbek human rights activists, to insist that the Government of Uzbekistan end its forced labor system for cotton production, and, in the meantime, find alternative sources for their cotton.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    February 2020
    January 2019
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    November 2007

    Categories

    All

CONTACT: Cotton Campaign Coordinator - c/o International Labor Rights Forum, 1634 I Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20006. 
+1 202-347-4100, cottoncampaigncoordinator [at] gmail.com
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Uzbekistan's Forced Labor Problem >
      • Reports
      • Chronicle of Forced Labor
      • Photos/Video
      • FAQs
    • Turkmenistan's Forced Labor Problem >
      • Reports of Forced Labor in Turkmenistan's Cotton Sector
    • Forced Labor Cotton in Other Countries
    • Contact
  • Countries
    • Turkmenistan
    • Uzbekistan
    • Governments >
      • What other governments can do
    • International Organizations >
      • What the World Bank and Asian Development Bank can do
      • What the International Labor Organization can do
    • Companies >
      • What companies operating in Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan can do
      • What companies that use cotton can do
      • What investors can do
  • Take Action
  • Media
    • Press Releases
    • News
    • Videos
  • Blog