DAEWOO: HELP END UZBEK COTTON SLAVERY
You may have heard of Daewoo cars or electronics but did you know that Daewoo is the largest processor of slave labour-picked Uzbek cotton?
In Uzbekistan’s last cotton harvest, eleven citizens forced to pick cotton lost their lives. The tragic losses included Tursunali Sadikov, a 63-year old farmer who died of a heart attack after being beaten by an official of the Department of Internal Affairs, and Amirbek Rakhmatov, a six-year schoolboy who accompanied his mother to the cotton fields, napped in a trailer, and suffocated when cotton was loaded on top of him.
Daewoo has continued doing business in Uzbekistan even after publicly acknowledging that the Uzbek government uses forced labour to produce the cotton it buys and processes. If Daewoo were to stop operations in Uzbekistan and publicly pledge its opposition to the Uzbek government’s forced labour system, Daewoo would send a strong message to the Uzbek government that forced labour cannot continue.
Tell Daewoo to stop its cotton operations in Uzbekistan until the government has ended the use of forced labour in the cotton industry.
The Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan is one of the largest producers of cotton globally. Recently released reports document that during the latest harvest, the Uzbek government continued to force over a million children and adults– including teachers, nurses and doctors– to work in the fields and meet daily picking quotas. Children and adults subjected to this state-orchestrated system of modern slavery miss out on education or their wages, and many citizens are threatened and beaten.
Well over 100 apparel companies from all over the world have taken a stand and pledged not to buy Uzbek cotton, to push the Uzbek government to end its slave labour system. Whilst these companies are sending a strong message, Daewoo continues to do direct business with the government of Uzbekistan, undermining the commitments undertaken by well-known retailers. In return, Daewoo benefits from a discounted price for Uzbek cotton and tax incentives from the Uzbek government.
