Cotton Campaign Letter to the European Commission Calling for an Import Ban Against Forced Labor Turkmen Cotton
(Washington, D.C.) – The EU should ban products made with forced labor, including cotton and cotton products from Turkmenistan, from entering the EU market, the Cotton Campaign said. In a letter to European Commission President von der Leyen, the Cotton Campaign, a global coalition working to end forced labor in cotton production in Central Asia, called on the EU to take stronger action against forced labor, including by adopting import control measures to stop goods produced with forced labor from reaching European consumers.
“A forced labor ban is critical for pressuring the Government of Turkmenistan to reform its state-imposed forced labor system in cotton production”, said Allison Gill, Forced Labor Program Director at Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), which hosts the Cotton Campaign. “A ban would complement human rights due diligence requirements on companies to exclude Turkmen cotton from their supply chains.” All cotton and cotton products from Turkmenistan have been barred from entering the U.S.since 2018 because of systematic, state-imposed forced labor in cotton production.
During the 2021 cotton harvest, from late August through November, the Government of Turkmenistan forced tens of thousands of teachers, doctors, nurses, and government staff to pick cotton under threat of penalty. As the Government continued to deny the existence of COVID-19 in the country, even as a third wave appeared to peak in August, state employees were forced to travel to the fields in overcrowded buses and were not provided masks or other protective equipment.
“Turkmenistan remains one of the most repressive and closed countries in the world. There are no independent institutions or mechanisms to protect workers against reprisal for refusing to pick cotton. Anyone who attempts to speak out faces harassment, physical attacks, and arbitrary imprisonment” said Ruslan Myatiev, director of Turkmen News, which monitors forced labor in Turkmenistan’s cotton fields. In 2016, Gaspar Matalaev, a human rights activist who reported on abuses in the cotton sector, was tortured and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The Government of Turkmenistan continues to crack down on activists, bloggers and other perceived government critics, which means that many civil society organisations that are critical of the repressive regime in Turkmenistan must work from exile.
Through complex and opaque global supply chains, cotton produced within Turkmenistan’s state-imposed forced labor system enters the EU market. Trade data made available by EU Member States shows that in 2020 the EU imported over €12 million worth of cotton and textiles directly from Turkmenistan. Allowing Turkmen cotton products to be sold in the EU provides an unacceptable level of impunity for the Government of Turkmenistan and its state-imposed forced labor system. It also allows brands to avoid their obligation to exclude products made with forced labor from their supply chains. “Shutting down the global market for forced labor Turkmen cotton is essential to pushing the Government to end total state control of the cotton production system, which relies on the exploitation of farmers and forced labor of Turkmen citizens,” said Farid Tukhbatullin, Chairperson of Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, a member of the Cotton Campaign.
“Europe must not be a safe haven for cotton produced with forced labor in the Uyghur region, Turkmenistan, or anywhere else. The European Commission must speed up efforts for effective implementation of an import ban to cut off supply of products made with forced labor”, said Chloe Cranston, business and human rights manager at Anti-Slavery International, a member of the Cotton Campaign. “As in the Uyghur Region, it is impossible for brands to undertake meaningful due diligence to prevent and remediate forced labor in Turkmenistan. The only way they can be sure their supply chains are forced labor-free is to fully map their supply chains to the raw material level and exclude cotton originating in Turkmenistan.”
The European Commission, EU Member States and all brands and retailers who sell their products in the EU must take immediate action to ensure supply chains are free of cotton originating in Turkmenistan. This would also bring European law into closer alignment with policies to prevent the sale of goods tainted with forced labor, such as the US import ban and a measure introduced in Canada to bar entry to goods produced with forced labor. The Cotton Campaign urges the EU to adopt import control measures to stop products made with Turkmen cotton from entering the EU. These measures must complement and reinforce accountability and enforcement actions to prevent and remediate forced labor in supply chains, under the mandatory human rights due diligence (mHRDD) framework. The European Commission is expected to present a legislative proposal for mHRDD in early 2022. We call upon the European Commission to consult with civil society organisations and experts in state-imposed forced labor and human rights due diligence in the process of developing both the import ban and the mHRDD legislation.
—-
About the Cotton Campaign
For almost a decade, the Cotton Campaign has used independent reporting, supply chain research, and accountability actions to pressure the Government of Turkmenistan to end state-imposed forced and child labor in its cotton sector. We are a coalition of international human and labor rights NGOs, brand and retail associations, responsible investor organisations, supply chain transparency groups, and academic partners.
The Cotton Campaign hosts a Pledge in which companies have committed not to source cotton from Turkmenistan because of systemic, state-imposed forced labor involved in Turkmenistan’s annual cotton harvest. The Pledge has been signed by 140 global brands and retailers.
Click here to download the Cotton Campaign’s letter to the European Commission President von der Leyen.
For media inquiries, please contact Raluca Dumitrescu, Cotton Campaign Coordinator at raluca@ilrf.org.
