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How Many Children Are Working in the Cotton Fields in Uzbekistan?
Organizations working in the campaign against forced child labour have estimated the number of children working in the cotton fields to be from 1.5 million to 2 million. These estimates were made on the basis of extrapolation of numbers based on surveys of limited areas. Recently, two new sources became available which help confirm [...]
Uzbek Prime Minister Demands Abundant Cotton Harvest
The prime minister of Uzbekistan has demanded an abundant cotton harvest and threatening jail time for those who fail to produce state quotas, once again setting the tone for desperate local administrators and farmers to resort to forced child labour to accommodate the pressure from Tashkent.
Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, [...]
On Eve of ILO Review, Uzbek GONGOs Deny Child Labor Problem
On the eve of a review by the International Labour Organization concerning Uzbekistan’s failure to stop forced child labor, the Uzbek government has made a last-ditch effort to claim it was controlling the problem, fergananews.com reported.
On June 2, the Council of Federations of Unions of Uzbekistan and the Association of Farms, both state-controlled organizations, and [...]
Reflections on the 2010 Harvest and What to Expect in 2011: Umida Niyazova
Umida Niyazova, an Uzbek emigre who founded the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, is a leading child rights advocate campaigning against the use of forced child labor in her homeland.
In a recent interview with cottoncampaign.org, she shared her reflections on the past harvest in the fall of 2010, and what we might expect this year.
1. [...]
Uzbek Students Forced to Weed Cotton Fields
Students in the Jizzak region of Uzbekistan have been ordered from their classrooms and sent to the cotton fields to weed the ground in preparation for the sowing of cotton, the independent website uznews.net reported.
Teenagers of 15 and 16 years of age were told they had to help do the weeding to help maximize this [...]
What Does President Karimov Know About Child Labor in the Cotton Industry?
How much does President Islam Karimov know about the use of children in the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan?
Surely he must know a lot, because he is intimately connected to preparations for the cotton crop this year as in other years, and has become involved in every aspect of the industry personally, right down to the [...]
New Uzbek Presidential Decree Further Restricts Private Farmers
On April 18, President Islam Karimov signed a decree titled “On Measures to Observe Legality in Reorganization and Optimization of the Sizes of Land Parcels of Farmers’ Associations.”
This presidential measure translates into further empowerment for local administrative officials to seize farmers’ land through the courts, the semi-official Uzbek news site uzmetronom.com reports.
The decree outlines [...]
Cotton Prices at Historical High
Cotton prices are at their highest in 140 years, the Wall Street Journal wrote in October 2010 — and they keep climbing.
The price last week on the market in India, the world’s second largest producer, is $1.93 per pound — it’s been hovering around $2.00/lb. for some time and is expected to stay around this [...]
EU Approves Textiles Trade Agreement with Uzbekistan; Activists Protest
The European Union is facing accusations of tacitly supporting child labor after the European Council, the EU’s main decision-making body, approved a trade agreement with Uzbekistan on textiles, the InterPress Service (IPS) reported.
Soon after Uzbek President Islam Karimov visited Brussels in January, the European Council approved a protocol granting various tariff and customs privileges and [...]
Shift from cotton to fruit crops…in Tajikistan
Fergana.ru reports on Tajikistan’s gradual decrease in acreage planted under cotton in favor of orchards:
According to the chief agronomist of the Sogd provincial department of agriculture, Abduvohid Yarmatov, this year 16 thousand hectares of cotton were eliminated: 71 thousand hectares were planted under cotton before, and only 55 thousand are currently. The main reason for [...]
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Download 2010 SOAS Report What Has Changed
The production and export of cotton continues to be a major feature of the economy, politics and everyday lives of the people of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. This report analyses the nature and causes of their use of child labour in the cotton sector.