Child labour continues
13/11/2008
International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) has issued a report about child labour in Uzbekistan based on information gathered by human rights defenders within the country in September and October.
While the government claims it has banned forced child labour, there have been allegations that children as young as 11 and 12 are still being forced to pick cotton and that the government deliberately closes schools and uses other coercive measures to enforce compliance. There are claims that, while the government has recently signed two ILO conventions against forced and child labour, it continues to rely on state-orchestrated child labour to bring in the cotton harvest.
According to ILRF, Uzbekistan is the world’s third largest exporter of cotton, and cotton is that country’s largest source of export revenue.Share this story:
