Uzbekistan: Cotton Campaign Welcomes Government Commitment To Continue Engagement Towards A Sustainable Cotton And Textile Industry
Government Action To Protect Labor Rights Critical For Encouraging Responsible Sourcing
(Washington, DC, September 23, 2024) Following the elimination of systemic state-imposed forced labor in the cotton harvest, the Uzbek government still can seize the opportunity to build momentum for responsible sourcing. To fully capitalize on the end of the global boycott of Uzbek cotton and attract sourcing by global brands, the government must take action to allow independent monitoring and reporting on labor rights in the cotton sector, eliminate restrictions on workers' freedom of association, and increase farmers’ autonomy, the Cotton Campaign said.
The call comes as high-level government publicly noted "cooperation with the Cotton Campaign coalition" as an important step towards improving progress in the cotton and textile industry, in a keynote speech delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Khodjaev on behalf of President Mirziyoyev at the joint International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) - International Apparel Federation (IAF) conference in Uzbekistan, earlier this month. The Cotton Campaign Coalition was represented at the ITMF-IAF conference by Steering Committee member Nate Herman, Senior Vice President of Policy, American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), and Senior Coordinator Raluca Dumitrescu, Global Labor Justice, who engaged Uzbek government and industry representatives, as well as international stakeholders on next steps needed to encourage responsible sourcing from the country.
"We commend the Uzbek government for its readiness to continue working together towards a sustainable cotton and textile industry", said Nate Herman, Senior Vice President of Policy, American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA). "Uzbekistan provides important opportunities for sourcing—in particular, the potential for full traceability of cotton supply chains—and with further tangible progress by government and industry to protect labor rights and independent monitoring, it can become an important sourcing hub for global brands."
"It is important that the government, at the highest levels, recognises the Cotton Campaign's role in developing a sustainable industry in Uzbekistan and we welcome continued engagement", said Raluca Dumitrescu, Senior Coordinator of the Cotton Campaign, Global Labor Justice. "We have a common goal to encourage responsible sourcing and support the development of an industry that provides decent work to hundreds of thousands of farmers and workers. The government has a critical role to play in making this shared objective a reality. Translating our recommendations into concrete actions that create an enabling environment for labor rights—such as introducing further reforms to protect freedoms of association and expression—will diminish the remaining risks of forced labor, thus making the industry more attractive to global brands."
Since it lifted the Cotton Pledge in 2022, the Cotton Campaign Coalition has advocated for broader reforms to increase the farmers’ autonomy in law and in practice, empower workers and civil society, and create an enabling environment for labor rights. This advocacy aligns with a comprehensive Roadmap of Reforms, which the Coalition submitted to the Uzbek government in 2019. Despite the government receiving the Roadmap positively, the reform process has stalled, while intimidation and pressure on independent labor monitors, as well as attacks on bloggers and other independent voices as they report on rights violations and corruption have escalated. Freedoms of association and expression are fundamental to a sustainable cotton and textile industry and reversing or further delaying reforms may jeopardize efforts to encourage responsible sourcing by global brands.
Following the end of systemic state-imposed forced labor in the annual harvest, the Cotton Campaign has engaged global brands and the Uzbek industry on the concept of a pilot program for responsible sourcing. This approach would help introduce, encourage, and expand good labor practices at specific Uzbek suppliers, while incentivising participating brands to explore sourcing from there. Progress has been hindered without a broader enabling environment for labor rights. To advance this work and help create the conditions for a successful pilot, the Cotton Campaign’s recent trip to Uzbekistan included advocacy with high-level government and industry representatives, as well as engagement with international stakeholders whose initiatives are complementary to the Cotton Campaign’s work, brand engagement, and visits to cotton and textile companies.
"To comply with rapidly emerging transnational legislation governing imports and human rights due diligence in supply chains, global brands need to ensure they are able to identify, prevent, and mitigate human and labor rights risks in their supply chains—including in Uzbekistan", said Herman. "A pilot program for sourcing would bring together the Cotton Campaign, brands, and producers to develop mechanisms that enable worker voice, which are critical for the brands’ ability to exercise due diligence. This, in combination with progress by the government to create an enabling environment more broadly, including independent monitors and a vibrant civil society, would provide participating brands with the assurances needed to begin sourcing and develop long-term business relationships."
"There is a growing understanding among brands, governments, and multi-stakeholder initiatives that freedom of association and worker empowerment are the antidote to forced labor and exploitative working conditions", said Dumitrescu. "In Uzbekistan, brands and suppliers have the unique opportunity to develop mechanisms that protect workers’ and farmers’ rights from the outset of a sourcing relationship, with an emphasis on prevention. A pilot program based on global best practices for supply chain governance would provide the ideal platform to facilitate this. To ensure the necessary conditions for such a pilot, we urge the government to show it is serious about attracting responsible sourcing by reinforcing reform and taking concrete steps to meet its human rights obligations and ILO standards."
###
The Cotton Campaign is a coalition of human and labor rights NGOs, independent trade unions, brand and retail associations, responsible investor organizations, supply chain transparency groups, and academic partners, united to end forced labor and promote decent work for cotton workers in Central Asia.
