Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 12 August this year, a regular meeting of the National Commission for Combating Human Trafficking and Forced Labor was held.

The event was attended by members of the National Commission, representatives of relevant ministries and departments, non-governmental non-profit organizations, as well as media workers.

At the meeting, chaired by the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the National Commission Tanzila Narbayeva, they spoke about the work carried out in 6 months of 2022 to combat human trafficking and forced labor, the results achieved within the framework of international cooperation in this area and the upcoming tasks.

It was noted that work was consistently continued to strengthen the legal framework in this area and bring the legal framework in line with international standards. In particular, 8 legal acts were adopted and put into effect, namely 3 laws, 1 decree and 4 resolutions of the President.

The Convention of the International Labor Organization No. 167 on safety and health in construction has also been ratified. It was noted that the ratification of this convention serves the effective implementation of international standards on safety and health in the construction industry.

In order to further improve work in this direction, it was noted that the members of the National Commission are studying the issues of ratifying the relevant conventions of the International Labor Organization, which provide for the regulation of labor relations in the areas of health and agriculture.

It was noted that the National Commission organized a number of international events and round tables in order to bring to the attention of the international community the reforms carried out in our country in this area, as well as to improve the image of the country, and concrete results were achieved.

The US Department of State’s 2018 Annual Report on Trafficking in Persons highlights that Uzbekistan has moved from a bottom 3-tier country to a tier 2 “watchlist” country. In the latest report published recently, as in 2021, the list of countries that are carrying out large-scale work on the full implementation of international standards (category 2) has been left unchanged.

The report highly appreciated the work done in the field of combating human trafficking in the context of a pandemic in Uzbekistan. In particular, it was emphasized that the cases of identifying and prosecuting persons involved in human trafficking, including officials who involved citizens in forced labor, as well as the forced involvement of citizens in the cotton harvest, were significantly reduced. At the same time, much attention is paid to the allocation of funds for the organization of a shelter for victims of human trafficking.

During the event, the annual report on human trafficking in the world, published by the US Department of State, and the recommendations contained therein on issues that Uzbekistan should pay attention to, were discussed, and a separate action plan was adopted to implement these recommendations in practice.

As you know, as a result of large-scale reforms carried out in our country to combat human trafficking and forced labor, the boycott of Uzbek cotton has been canceled. This, in turn, further expanded the opportunities for Uzbek cotton to enter the world market.

Today, representatives of many large branded enterprises in the cotton and textile sector visit our country and express their desire to invest in this area. Along with this, they also make proposals for bringing the technical and production standards of textile enterprises in line with the international level.

In this regard, the draft Roadmap for the introduction of international technical standards and production requirements in the textile industry of Uzbekistan, developed by the National Commission together with relevant ministries and departments, was discussed.

It was emphasized that this Roadmap provides for the implementation of about 20 measures aimed at bringing technical and production standards at textile enterprises into line with the international level, cooperation between international brands and large companies with local enterprises, and widespread use in the activities of cotton textile enterprises internationally recognized labor, production, technical and other standards.

The meeting also heard information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which heads the subcommittee on combating human trafficking within the National Commission, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, which heads the subcommittee on combating forced labor.

On the issues discussed, the relevant decision of the National Commission was adopted and the upcoming tasks were determined.