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French Protesters Mark Karimov’s Birthday
Demonstrators in France turned out on January 30th, President Islam Karimov’s 74th birthday, to call attention to the dictator’s many human rights violations.
The activists picked the Uzbek Embassy in Paris, but embassy staff refused to accept their petition or meet with the protesters, says fergananews.com.
Among the protesters were members of the Association for Human Rights [...]
Response from Assistant Secretary of State Blake to Activists Against Child Labour
A letter from Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake in reply to an appeal from human rights and labour activists September 27 was received, dated October 18:
Response to Sept 27 HR Ltr on Uzbekistan
Clinton Heads to Uzbeki-beki-beki-stan-stan amid Rights Protests
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed off to Uzbekistan this weekend as part of her tour of Central Asia which included a surprise visit to Afghanistan Thursday.
While chatting with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul yesterday, Clinton took time to joke about a recent humorous incident in the United States, when Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain [...]
World Day Against Child Labor
Today is World Day Against Child Labor, and the International Labor Organization and supporters have organized events in more than 50 countries. They are making the day this year with a new report on children in hazardous work.
Human rights monitor Elena Urlayeva has been reporting from the cotton fields in Uzbekistan, where students have been [...]
Uzbek Cotton Smuggler Arrested at Kyrgyz Border
Kyrgyz border guards halted a cotton smuggler coming out of Uzbekistan on May 24, ca-news.org reported May 25, citing a statement from the Kyrgyz Committee for National Security.
Kyrgyz authorities report that on on the evening of May 24 at the Alga border crossing near the Aydarken border post, borders guards along with local security [...]
World Bank in Uzbekistan: excusing child exploitation?
A modest proposal: if international organizations feel incapable of speaking out against Uzbekistan’s state-sponsored child exploitation (can’t damage that all-important mandate, can we?), at the very least they should be able to avoid promoting it. Can we agree?
Unfortunately this seems like too much to ask. The World Bank has decided to devote this year’s small [...]
Asian Development Bank: “We intend to expand cooperation with Uzbekistan.”
The thickest thread in the interlocking economic web that keeps child slavery in place is of course the international cotton purchasers that allow the regime to profit from exploitation. But international development banks have a not-insignificant role too, considering they provide loans for agricultural projects, technical assistance, and, critically, political cover for this appalling [...]
2010: Uzbekistan’s Year of the Harmoniously Developed Generation
You can’t make this stuff up, folks. President Karimov envisions 2010 as the year of the “Harmoniously Developed Generation,” and has signed a package of instructions to his government to bring this about. I wonder if harmonious development includes a few months hard labor in his cotton fields?
Analysis: forced child labor a symptom of deep structural problems in agriculture
Deutsche Welle Russian service features a snapshot of current conditions and analysis of Uzbekistan’s forced child labor in cotton by Uzbek sociologist Alisher Ilkhamov. Key point:
…forced child labor is itself a symptom of deep structural problems in agriculture. Amongthe primary ones is the strict centralization of the cotton sector in Uzbekistan, nearly to the same [...]
AFT and other groups protest: Uzbek child labor has got to go
October 14 AFT protest: Uzbek kids belong in school
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REPORTS
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.