2016 TIP Report: Cotton Campaign Urges U.S. To Report State-Led Forced by Uzbekistan & Turkmenistan Governments
Today, the Cotton Campaign submitted evidence to the United States government in support of placing the governments of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the lowest rating in the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), which will be released in June.
The lowest ranking, Tier 3, is reserved for governments that do not comply with minimum standards to combat human trafficking and fail to take adequate steps to address the problem, and it carries the possibility of sanctions. It is the only appropriate placement for the governments of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the 2016 TIP Report.
Since last year's TIP Report, the government of Uzbekistan did not meet the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Far from taking real steps to meet the standards, the Uzbek government continued to implement a state policy of systematic forced labor. Furthermore, the Uzbek government has demonstrated that it shifts from stated commitments to action when it faces consequences for inaction. Tier 3 placement would communicate to the Uzbek government that its policy and practice of forced labor is unacceptable and encourage the Uzbek government to implement the raft of commitments it has made to apply international conventions prohibiting forced labor.
In 2015, the government of Turkmenistan also failed to meet the TVPA minimum standards and orchestrated systematic forced labor of its citizens on a mass scale. The government of Turkmenistan has ignored the International Labour Organization’s repeated request for information on the application of the forced labor conventions. Placing the government of Turkmenistan in Tier 3 will reflect the reality on the ground, and it will help press the Turkmen government to end state-led forced labor.
Click on each link below to read the full comments:
Comments Concerning the Ranking of Uzbekistan by the United States Department of State in the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report, submitted by the Cotton Campaign, January 30, 2016
Comments Concerning the Ranking of Turkmenistan by the United States Department of State in the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report, submitted by the Cotton Campaign, January 30, 2016
