Resources for Journalists, Policy Makers, Brands, Researchers and Human Rights Activists

Cotton Campaign Press Releases

Featured
Uzbekistan Should Emphasize Workers’ Rights to Maintain Momentum for Responsible Sourcing
German Businesses Should Stop All Investments in Turkmenistan’s Textile Industry
New Independent Reporting Reveals Ongoing Systematic Forced Labor and Corruption in Turkmenistan Cotton Harvest 
Uzbekistan: Freedom of Association Critical to Protecting Workers and Farmers From Forced Labor and Exploitative Working Conditions
UN Human Rights Committee Urges Turkmenistan to End Forced Labor in Cotton
Uzbekistan: Independent Monitoring Shows Human Rights Risks Remain in the Cotton Industry Despite Reforms that Ended State-Imposed Forced Labor
Turkmenistan: Systematic Forced Labor in the 2021 Cotton Harvest
Cotton Campaign - Government of Uzbekistan Joint Statement on Ending the Call for a Global Boycott of Uzbek Cotton
Cotton Campaign Ends its Call for a Global Boycott of Cotton from Uzbekistan
Cotton Campaign Letter to the European Commission Calling for an Import Ban Against Forced Labor Turkmen Cotton
Uzbekistan: First Independent Labor Union Faces Intimidation
Joint Civil Society Monitoring Finds Systemic Forced Labor in Turkmen Cotton Harvest
A Changing Landscape in Uzbek Cotton Production

Uzbekistan

Turkmenistan

Forced Labor

According to the ILO Forced Labor Convention, 1930 (No. 29), forced or compulsory labor is “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.” We refer to “state-imposed forced labor” when forced labor forms part of a state policy and is widespread or systemic.

This section provides an overview of the ILO instruments addressing forced labor as well as existing and proposed mechanisms to eliminate forced labor cotton from global supply chains.

In contexts of state-imposed forced labor in cotton production, such as in Turkmenistan, companies cannot prevent or remediate forced labor. To ensure their global supply chains are free of forced labor Turkmen cotton, companies must map their supply chains to the raw material level and exclude products tainted with forced labor.

Governments must adopt and robustly enforce import control measures against forced labor products. To effectively address the state-imposed forced labor system in the harvest of Turkmen cotton, these control mechanisms should allow for a regional scope that ensures all goods, made wholly or partially with Turkmen cotton are banned.  

 

Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence

A growing worldwide movement is working to develop and expand legally binding instruments to make the promise of decent work and responsible business conduct a reality.

The United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises require companies to carry out ‘human rights due diligence’ in their supply chains: a process to identify and assess actual or potential adverse human rights impacts; take measures to cease, prevent or mitigate these impacts, track and monitor the implementation and effectiveness of these measures, and communicate with stakeholders on these actions and their outcomes.

Momentum to translate these business and human rights principles into hard law is building around the world, with mandatory human rights due diligence (mHRDD) and corporate accountability laws already in force in some jurisdictions and political processes and civil society actions ongoing at national and regional levels.

This section offers a snapshot into recent and ongoing developments in mHRDD, with insights from a range of experts and civil society groups on what it will take for human rights due diligence legislation and multi-stakeholder initiatives to deliver decent and dignified work.

 

Ensuring Decent Work in the Cotton Supply Chains

The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines decent work as “productive work for women and men in conditions of freedom, equity and human dignity.” A job is considered decent when workers are paid a fair wage, treated equally, can freely associate, bargain collectively, and work under safe working conditions with a secure form of employment and adequate social protection.

As Uzbekistan seeks to establish itself in the global market, international brands, local suppliers, and labor groups have the unique chance to work together to set and maintain international standards at all stages of the Uzbek cotton and textile industry.

The selected resources in this section provide an overview of the international labor standards relevant to the cotton industry and showcase best practices to safeguard workers’ rights and ensure compliance with mandatory human rights due diligence and other supply chain obligations, for example through Enforceable Brand Agreements (EBAs). These practices form the foundation of the Cotton Campaign Framework for Responsible Sourcing from Uzbekistan.