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Primitive Living Conditions for Children Picking Cotton in Uzbekistan
Recent photos obtained by the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights expose the starkly promitive living conditions for children labouring in the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan.
These photos, taken in October in Kashkadarya region, Uzbekistan show that children as young as 12 are picking cotton and living in primitive conditions for weeks during the harvest.
They are forced [...]
EU Parliamentarians Reject Textile Deal With Uzbekistan
European Union parliamentarians have rejected a trade deal that would have eased Uzbekistan’s export of textiles to Europe, citing the use of forced child labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe reported.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament voted unanimously against the inclusion of textiles in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), [...]
Younger Teens Sent to Work in Cotton Fields in Uzbekistan
Children as young as 13 are already being forcibly sent to work in the cotton fields, the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights reports.
As the pressure mounts to harvest more cotton given high prices on the global market and droughts in Uzbekistan, since September 10, school-age children have already been mobilized to work in the cotton [...]
Students in Surkhandarya Province Mobilized to Pick Cotton
Starting on September 5, students from the ages of 14-17 at schools in the Surkhandarya region have been sent to the fields to pick cotton, the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights reported on September 8.
Since the Soviet era inn Uzbekistan, middle school consists of grades 1-9. Children start school at the age of 7, although [...]
Report from the Cotton Fields: Uzbek Students Put to Work Weeding
A translation of a report from the field from the indefatiguable Elena Urlayeva, a human rights defender based in Tashkent, via Bakhadyr Namazov, a human rights advocate from the Committee for the Release of Prisoners of Conscience in Uzbekistan and an independent journalist, dated May 24, 2011:
Elena reports that she is in Khojeyli district in [...]
Uzbek Official Grilled on Human Rights During German Trip
Vladimir Norov, Uzbekistan’s first deputy foreign minister, faced some significant heat on his country’s poor human rights record during meetings this week in Berlin.
And apparently Germany also felt the heat, because Berlin stepped up with more public statements on human rights as a result, according to BBC’s Uzbek Service. This could possibly signal a shift [...]
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. [...]
Life of an Uzbek Child Rights Advocate
Our colleague Umida Niyazova has posted a blog about her childhood and her life as an advocate for child rights, fighting against forced child labor in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan by documenting the stories of families throughout the country.
Umida remembers her own mother, a teacher in a middle school, compelled to leave her [...]
Uzbek Government Forms Working Group on Forced Child Labor — But Still No Invitation to the ILO
The Uzbek government has announced the formation of a new working group to ensure no forced child labor is used in Uzbekistan, centralasiannewswire.com reported, citing UzDaily.com, an Uzbek pro-government online business daily.
Yet Tashkent has still not issued an invitation to the International Labor Organization (ILO) to visit Uzbekistan during the cotton harvest season in the [...]
Stunning footage from the Uzbek-German Forum
Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights: 2009 cotton harvest
Beyond documentation of the youth and vulnerability of those exploited this past year, this footage shows so clearly what miserable work children are forced to do. You can hear in the audio the sounds of the pods and branches scratching their hands and tearing at their clothes.
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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.