The World Bank is accused of funding agricultural projects in Uzbekistan that are linked to state-sponsored child labour and forced labour in the cotton industry.
In a report out on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch and the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights said they documented systematic forced labour and cases of child labour in an area where the Uzbek government is implementing a World Bank-funded irrigation project.
The human rights groups claimed their investigations pointed to the continued systematic use of forced labour throughout the country’s cotton sector, and said it is “highly likely” other World Bank-funded projects are affected.
use of forced labour throughout the country’s cotton sector, and said it is “highly likely” other World Bank-funded projects are affected.
The World Bank said it had confidence in its monitoring processes and that the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO), which is contracted to carry out its monitoring work across the country, recently concluded that no forced or child labour had been found in World Bank-funded projects.
The ILO defended its role monitoring the projects and invited activists to share information with the organisation and make it aware of any cases they identified.
Uzbekistan is one of the world’s biggest cotton producers. The sector generates more than $1bn (£783m) in annual revenue.
Between 2015-16, the World Bank invested $519m in agricultural and irrigation projects across the country, with the caveat that the government must comply with national and international laws prohibiting forced and child labour.
Uzbekistan has faced sustained criticism over its use of mandatory manual labour in its national cotton industry. The government stands accused of the mass enforced mobilisation of people to work as unpaid labourers during harvest and planting seasons.
In recent years, following bans on Uzbek cotton by international retailers and fashion brands alarmed by reports of widespread mobilisation of children into the fields, the country has embarked on reforms to eradicate child labour from its cotton industry.
Yet human rights campaigners say forced labour – and sometimes child labour – still persists.
Researchers who worked on Tuesday’s reportcarried out interviews with nearly 100 people across the country, who allege they were subjected to or witnessed forced and child labour in the cotton industry.
They claimed that the government forced teachers, students, medical workers, other public and private sector employees and sometimes children to harvest cotton under duress. Human rights campaigners attempting to monitor conditions during the harvest have allegedly been threatened, beaten and detained.
The report said its interviews and access to leaked government documents and communications, showed it is “highly likely” the Bank’s other agricultural loans, and investments in education, are linked to ongoing forced labour.
The Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights said that by choosing narrow, ineffective monitoring, the Bank was effectively providing cover for the government’s abuses.
“The World Bank is giving Uzbekistan cover for an abusive labour system in the cotton industry,” said Umida Niyazova, the organisation’s director. “The World Bank support for these projects has created the impression that Uzbekistan is working to end forced labour in good faith, when it is not.”
The World Bank and the ILO both disputed the report’s findings. “The World Bank Group does not condone forced labour in any form and takes seriously reports of incidents in the cotton sector of Uzbekistan,” said a World Bank spokesperson. “We continue to voice our strong concerns on labour issues to the government of Uzbekistan and we have been working with the International Labour Organisation to put in place a robust monitoring programme.”
The Bank said that in February 2017, following a series of monitoring trips, the ILO said “no incidences of child and forced labour were identified with regard to World Bank-supported agriculture, water, and education projects”.
In the report, the organisations criticised the ILO for its monitoring of World Bank projects. It said ILO monitoring of conditions in cotton fields had been conducted in the presence of government officials with a policy of asking local people to self-declare if they were being coerced into work.
“The ILO is a tripartite UN agency made up of government employer organisations and worker representatives. The ILO’s partnership with the Uzbek government and government-aligned bodies undermines the effectiveness of its monitoring efforts, and its monitoring does not reflect the facts on the ground,” said Jessica Evans from Human Rights Watch.
Beate Andrees, chief of the ILO’s fundamental principles and rights at work department, said: “We have been contracted by the World Bank to do this monitoring and it has allowed us to shed light on the vulnerabilities to forced labour and enter a dialogue with the Uzbek government that has created positive change from one year to the next.
“The presence of the World Bank in Uzbekistan has clearly helped drive positive change, and we have seen an extraordinary pace of progress in Uzbekistan with regards to creating reforms in its cotton industry.”
The country’s new president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has promised change after two decades of authoritarian rule under Islam Karimov, whose death was reported in September 2016. The ILO and Human Rights Watch agree that the leadership provides an opportunity for international governments and financial institutions to press for comprehensive changes to its cotton sector.
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