Cotton Campaign Turkmenistan Webinar: Report Launch
On May 21, 2025, the Cotton Campaign Coalition hosted this webinar to launch a report exposing state-imposed forced labor during the 2024 cotton harvest in Turkmenistan and trade routes through which forced labor Turkmen cotton enters global markets.
Members of the Cotton Campaign coalition discussed:
Key findings of independent civil society monitoring of the 2024 cotton harvest by Turkmen.News and the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights
Risk of sourcing forced labor Turkmen cotton through suppliers in third countries and ways to mitigate this risk
Preliminary steps the Turkmen government has taken to address state-imposed forced labor, following a decade of monitoring, reporting, and advocacy by the Cotton Campaign coalition
Recommendations to key stakeholders, including governments, international organizations, and business groups
Due to technical issues, the first 20 minutes of the webinar were not recorded. In her introductory remarks, Raluca Dumitrescu, Senior Coordinator of the Cotton Campaign, Global Labor Justice, highlighted that although the Turkmen government has taken some preliminary steps to address forced labor in the annual cotton harvest, it is still unclear if it has the necessary political will to end its forced labor system. Turkmenistan remains one of the most repressive countries in the world. The Turkmen government continues to use systemic forced labor in the harvest and to repress fundamental rights and freedoms. The Cotton Campaign coalition calls on all international stakeholders to increase economic and political pressure on the Turkmen government to make real progress in eliminating state-imposed forced labor. Meaningful reforms to end forced labor could create an opening for improvements beyond the cotton sector.
Cotton Campaign members who provided remarks during the webinar:
Ruslan Myatiev, Director, Turkmen.News
Farid Tukhbatullin, Chairperson, Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights
Anasuya Syam, Human Rights and Trade Policy Director, The Human Trafficking Legal Center
Ben Vanpeperstraete, Senior Advisor, Anti-Slavery International
Abby McGill, Senior Program Officer, Solidarity Center
Cara Priestley, International Advocacy Officer, Anti-Slavery International
Patricia Jurewicz, Founder and CEO, Responsible Sourcing Network
Aynabat Yaylymova, Founder and Executive Director, Progres Foundation
Allison Gill, Legal Director, Global Labor Justice
Raluca Dumitrescu, Senior Coordinator Cotton Campaign, Global Labor Justice
Resources mentioned in the recording:
