Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the format of a video conference, a meeting was held with representatives of the US Department of State, the US Department of Labor and the US Embassy in Tashkent.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the efforts of the Republic of Uzbekistan to eradicate human trafficking and forced labor. Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Relations N. Yakubov noted that this meeting was marked by an important event - the entry into force for Uzbekistan of ILO Conventions No. 129 "On Labor Inspection in Agriculture" and No. 81 "On Labor Inspection in Industry and Trade", ratified last year.

He assured his American colleagues that Uzbekistan will continue to demonstrate its commitment to the principles of the complete elimination of all forms of forced labor and combating human trafficking. This is evidenced by the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan" On Combating Trafficking in Human Beings ", the approval of the Strategy for the Development of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2020 - 2030, the development of the Labor Code in a new edition, increased responsibility for forced labor, in particular, the tightening of administrative measures and the introduction of criminal liability for forced labor, as well as plans to reform the State Labor Inspectorate in accordance with international ILO standards.

In turn, the representative of the US Embassy B. Sherwood stressed the importance of the meeting and thanked the Uzbek colleagues for their willingness to cooperate and openness to dialogue. P. Hamilton, an employee of the US State Department’s Office for Monitoring and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, informed the Uzbek side that annually the US Congress instructs the State Department to prepare a report on the situation with human trafficking in more than 190 countries of the world, including Uzbekistan, and also briefly presented the structure of the report. and data collection procedures. J. Reinitz, a specialist at the Bureau of International Affairs of the US Department of Labor, also brought to the meeting the information on the progress of the preparation of the Report on the Worst Forms of Exploitation of Child Labor ("TDA Report")

The representative of the Bureau of International Labor Relations of the US Department of Labor L. Strootkamp separately emphasized the importance and productivity of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the ILO, in particular within the framework of the ILO Country Program on Decent Work. “We will continue to support the Ministry of Labor of Uzbekistan on the international agenda in the field of labor relations,” she said.

The Chief State Legal Labor Inspector G. Niyazmetova spoke in her presentation about the measures taken by the Republic of Uzbekistan to eradicate forced labor.

Representatives of the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan and the Uztekstilprom Association also took part in the dialogue, which took place in a business-like and constructive atmosphere.