Once justice and legitimacy fade away a state becomes a gang of bandits.
Augustine Aurelius.
The statement of Human rights Society of Uzbekistan
About compulsory and child labour in Uzbekistan
The August, 5th, 2009
Since 2004, Uzbek and international human rights organizations have constantly brought up the question on the use of child and forced labour in the cultivation of a cotton and by the authorities of Uzbekistan. The authorities have not recognized or have denied compulsory attraction of schoolboys, 12-16 aged, to agricultural works. With the boycott beginning on the purchase of the Uzbek cotton by a number of known foreign firms, such as Tesco, Walmart, Target, Levi Strauss, Gap, Limited Brands and Marks and Spencer and H&M the authorities of Uzbekistan in first half of 2008 were forced to ratify two documents of the United Nations on child labour, namely the Convention of the International Labour Organization No.138 “About the minimum age for employment” and the United Nations No.182 “About prohibition and immediate measures on eradication of the worst forms of child labour”.
Despite ratification of the given international documents in Uzbekistan, compulsory child labour is still used. According to different independent estimations from 1,6 to 2,5 million children at the age from ten to fifteen years, and also ten thousand students and state employees annually for two autumn months are under compulsion to be involved in processing of a cotton and clap gathering.
For this period involved on agricultural works pupils of schools, lyceums and colleges, and also students of higher educational institutions (HIGH SCHOOLS) completely come off study, and children under supervision of teachers collect a cotton without days off, from 7 o’clock in the morning to 7 o’clock in the evening. They work on fields, processed by poison chemicals, used for destruction of leaves of a cotton. Nobody asks children and their parents, whether children on fields in terrifying conditions wish to work: under the scorching sun, the extremely poor food, the insanitary conditions in places of lodging for the night, and for default of the established norm of gathering of a clap – public humiliation or a physical flogging.
Child labour on cotton plantations does not grow out of the initiative of their families, but is organized by local authorities under direct instructions of the government. Despite evidence of a problem, the authorities publicly deny the fact of mass operation of children and the participation in this phenomenon. The government refers to the accepted laws forbidding use of child labour. However for those who are familiar with daily realities of Uzbekistan, this argument is
unpersuasive and even ridiculous.
Answering questions of participants about child and forced labour in Uzbekistan at 3rd session of Committee on United Nations human rights (Human Rights Council, Third Universal Periodic Review), which took place on December, 11th, 2008, the head of the governmental delegation of Uzbekistan, the director of the National center of human rights of Uzbekistan Akmal Saidov has told: “All cotton in Uzbekistan is made privately, not by the government. It is all made in a private sector. Attraction of children on clap gathering is not a state policy “[3]. With A.Saidov’s words, doctors of jurisprudence, in any way it is impossible to agree. Confirmation the last, that the state is not responsible for the acts made on manufacture in a private sector at cotton gathering even if forced child labour is used – fully absurd. According to laws of the country the state bears responsibility for all infringements of labour legislations, in whatever sector of the economy they are made, especially for the infringements connected with the use of child labour.
For the control over infringement of the labour legislation by the state, special bodies are created: labour inspections at hokimiats, inspections on affairs of teenagers. The general supervision of legislation execution should be conducted by the Office of Public Prosecutor, as is known.
In January 2009, “the Alliance of right defenders of Uzbekistan” member Elena Urlaeva, gave a statement to the director of the National center of Human Right in Uzbekistan Akmal Saidov, has come the answer from the National education Ministry (NAM) the number 1099/08-2893 from 18.12.2008 year signed by the deputy minister Ahlidinov R. V where she is informed, that Uzbekistan has joined the International Conventions on protection of the rights of children and
representatives of national education have been warned about prohibition of use of forced labour of children, and children were not to be exposed to forced labour. That deputy minister Ahlidinov R, has given the answer, which we consider to be deliberately false and mismatching the validity, hiding the mass operation of children on gathering of cotton.
The Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) welcomes and supports efforts of right defenders of “Alliance” which continue to demand the bringing to account of the prime minister of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyaev, the minister of national education Gayrat Shoumarov,ombudsman on human rights of Republic Uzbekistan Saiyera Rashidova, directors of National center on Human Rights of Uzbekistan Akmal Saidov, hokims of areas and Republic Karakalpakstan, and also
the president of the country of Islam Karimov, General public prosecutor Rashidjon Kadirov for inactivity in protection of the rights of children.
To the Uzbek government, 18 years after independence, has proven that it is possible to deceive world community: having ratified the international pacts and conventions, and accordingly bringing changes in the national legislation, it does not undertake the corresponding practicalities of implementation. (1) Eradications of tortures from practice of investigatory bodies and colonies of execution of punishment(CEP); (2) reforms of legislature; (3) on strengthening of independence of judicial system; (4) independence of mass media. We will note also available negative examples concerning practical application of the two other accepted, so-called, national plans: on eradication of tortures in police sites, investigatory bodies and CEP; on struggle against corruption. And in a case, connected with the use of child labour in the cotton industry, the Uzbek authorities adhere to a principle: “perhaps and this time it will not be noticed again”. But this time it is impossible. The sacrifice is too serious – the country’s future! Without improvements, education advancement, development of science, technology, industry, information-Internet technologies, the increase of material welfare of the people and poverty eradication are impossible. HRSU supports the resolution of the Senate of the USA regarding child labour in Uzbekistan and approves boycott on the purchase of the Uzbek cotton by a number of American and European firms trading in textile products.
HRSU considers, that resruitment of schoolboys and lyceum students, and also students of colleges and HIGH SCHOOLS for cultivation of cotton and clap gathering is an infringement by the authorities of the Constitution of Uzbekistan, the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights ratified by Uzbekistan on September 28th, 1995, United Nations Conventions on the rights of the children ratified by Uzbekistan in 1992, Conventions the International Labour Organization No.138 “About the minimum age for employment” and the United Nations No.182 “About prohibition and immediate measures on eradication of the worst forms of child labour”, ratified by
Uzbekistan in 2008. HRSU recommends to the authorities of Uzbekistan:
1. Immediately to stop child and forced labour everywhere it is still in use;
2. To create all necessary conditions for free, unimpeded monitoring by local and international right defenders on the use of enforced child labour on forthcoming cotton campaign;
3. Together with the International Labour Organisation, develop a reliable plan on full eradication compulsory and child labour and to allocate all necessary resources for its realization;
4. It is necessary to refuse notorious “state order” in agriculture – the Soviet vestige, having given to farmers the right independently to decide what to sow, to whom and on what price to sell production
5. To give to farmers the freedom and to create necessary conditions at which cotton manufacture could be profitable and they in the conditions of mass unemployment in the country could employ workers from adult population for cultivation of a cotton and clap gathering.
HRSU calls the Uzbek human rights organizations, and also opposition parties “Birlik”, “ERK”, “Ozod dehkonlar” and National movement “Birdamlik” to conduct among the population propagation and propaganda on the organisation of boycott of compulsory gathering of a clap
pupils of high schools and lycées and students of the higher educational institutions and college.
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Initiative of a group of Uzbek human rights activists and researchers in partnership
with the International Labor Rights Forum ” We Live Subject to their Orders”:
http://en.hrsu.org/2009/06/04/we-live-subject-to-their-orders/<http://mail.rambler.ru/mail/redirect.cgi?
url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.hrsu.org%2F2009%2F06%2F04%2Fwe-live-subject-to-their-orders%2F;
href=1>
2. Uzbekistan: Active workers call the world for boycott of the Uzbek cotton.
. http://www.ferghana.ru/news.php? id=12118&mode=snews
<http://mail.rambler.ru/mail/redirect.cgi?
url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ferghana.ru%2Fnews.php%3Fid%3D12118%26mode%3Dsnews;
href=1>
Karimov regime to stop forced child labour in this country!
http://en.hrsu.org/2009/06/11/karimov-regime-to-stop-forced-child-labour-in-this-country
/ # more-31 <http://mail.rambler.ru/mail/redirect.cgi?
url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.hrsu.org%2F2009%2F06%2F11%2Fkarimov-regime-to-stop-forced-child-labour-in-this-country%2F%23more-31;
href=1>
3. ( http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp? go=081211#amadopt
<http://mail.rambler.ru/mail/redirect.cgi?
url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.un.org%2Fwebcast%2Funhrc%2Farchive.asp%3Fgo%3D081211%23amadopt;
href=1>)
4. The deputy minister of national education Ahlitdinov R covers the
facts of infringement of the rights of children on education in
Uzbekistan. http://www.pau-novosti.ucoz.ru/news/2009-02-05-369
<http://mail.rambler.ru/mail/redirect.cgi?
url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pau-novosti.ucoz.ru%2Fnews%2F2009-02-05-369;
href=1>)
5. RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate.
http://en.hrsu.org/2009/04/02/resolution-expressing-the-sense-of-the-senate/<http://mail.rambler.ru/mail/redirect.cgi?
url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.hrsu.org%2F2009%2F04%2F02%2Fresolution-expressing-the-sense-of-the-senate%2F;
href=1>
Abdujalil Boymatov
The president of the Human Rights Society in Uzbekistan.
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