Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - According to the Uzbek Embassy in the USA, the international coalition Cotton Campaign issued a statement in response to an open appeal from the Minister of Employment and Labor Relations of Uzbekistan, Nozim Khusanov, calling for an end to the boycott against the Uzbek cotton, Dunyo reported.

Cotton Campaign, which includes labor and human rights NGOs, as well as commercial companies, organized a boycott movement in Uzbekistan in 2013 due to the use, in its opinion, of child and forced labor in picking cotton in the country. Many world-famous clothing brands joined the boycott - Nike, Adidas, Zara, GAP, Levi's, H&M, UNIQLO and several others.

In a statement, the coalition notes that ending the “cotton boycott” is a matter of time. “The question is not whether to end the boycott or not, but when and how to do it, and, first of all, how the end of the boycott can become a catalyst for responsible sources of supply and investment,” says Bennett Freeman, one of the co-founders of the coalition.

The human rights structure notes the importance of expanding the mechanisms of “responsible deliveries” aimed at ensuring compliance with labor standards, labor and health protection, human rights and other ethical standards in the cotton industry. Additional factors of sustainable progress, Cotton Campaign includes ensuring the rights and opportunities for civil society, including the registration of NGOs, as well as the conditions for the creation of independent trade union organizations by employees.

“We recognize and are encouraged by the progress made by Uzbekistan in ending forced labor, and members are looking forward to deliveries from Uzbekistan,” said Nate Herman, senior vice president of the American Clothing and Footwear Association, stressing that taking into account forced labor cases identified during the 2019 cotton harvest, “brands need additional safeguards to protect workers.”

Cotton Campaign confirms its commitment to revising the boycott, which was announced during a visit to Uzbekistan in late January this year. In this context, the coalition refers to conducting an assessment of the results of monitoring the cotton picking in 2019 and overall progress in implementing the “Reform Roadmap” proposed by human rights defenders in June 2019.

In conclusion, the coalition expresses interest in continuing constructive interaction with the government of Uzbekistan.

According to our diplomatic mission in Washington, the appeal of the head of the Ministry of Labor of Uzbekistan to the coalition was widely covered in leading American and international media, including the New York Times, Diplomat, Reuters, Radio Freedom, Al- Jazeera, Radio France Internationale, Eurasian Investor and others.

An article in the New York Times, “Uzbekistan asks human rights groups to end the boycott,” notes that by appealing to the Cotton Campaign to abolish the boycott, the Uzbek government is seeking to increase export earnings and create jobs during the pandemic.

“President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who came to power in late 2016, gradually eliminated the forced labor system by prohibiting officials in the regions from mobilizing students and public sector workers to pick cotton,” the article says. The material also reports on the adoption by the head of Uzbekistan of a decree on the abolition of the system, according to which the regions were to ensure the cotton production volumes established by the central government.

The article, citing a letter from the Minister of Labor, indicates that ending the boycott will allow the country to receive an additional US$$1 billion in revenue from the sale of cotton and textiles in Western markets. “Today, due to a boycott supported by companies such as Amazon, Calvin Klein, Adidas, and Inditex, the 34 million-strong country mainly sells cotton and textiles in Asian markets, suggesting lower prices and limited growth opportunities,” notes in the article.

The publication “The Diplomat” in its article cites data from the Ministry of Labor, testifying to the consequences of the pandemic for the labor market and a decrease in population incomes in this regard.

The material notes on the legal and structural reforms carried out by the country's leadership aimed at eliminating the practice of forced labor and the conditions conducive to it.

It is reported that this progress is confirmed not only by the monitoring results of the International Labor Organization, but is recognized by human rights organizations themselves, such as the Uzbek-German Forum, which stated that "the measures taken so far have led to significant tangible improvements."

The Al-Jazeera article also indicates the importance of ending the boycott for the Uzbek economy, as well as the level of progress achieved in the country. “When the reformer president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, came to power in December 2016, he assured himself of his commitment to stopping forced labor and introducing private property in agriculture. It is expected that the cluster system of private enterprises will gradually assume the role of the only producer of cotton,” the article says.

At the same time, the article cites statements by ILO representatives that the problems of forced labor in Uzbekistan are no longer systemic and the penalties for such offenses are significantly tightened.