News

The hokim of Andizhan reneged on his promise and “state employees” were again sent to collect cotton

The regional administration rejected accusations of the use of forced labor and stated that employees of state organizations, as well as employees of special services, have been collecting cotton on a voluntary basis.

Teachers in Andijan Ordered to Hire Workers to Pick Cotton

A report received by the editorial office of Kun.uz says that the head of Qorgontepa District administration in Andijan Region, Avazbek Ergashev, is demanding that teachers of secondary schools recruit workers to pick cotton. Reports say that the head of the district administration is demanding that every teacher should bring one of the relatives of their pupils to pick cotton and is exerting pressure on teachers who fail to find fewer than five people to work on the cotton fields.

Uzbek Official Insulted at Cotton Meeting Dies from Cerebral Haemorrhage after Suffering Humiliation

A 57-year-old khokim of the Ulugnor district of the Andijan region of Uzbekistan, Asilbek Yusupov, died on October 6. According to several independent sources of the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights (UGF) in the Andijan region, the hokim suffered verbal abuse during a meeting on the collection of cotton. Immediately afterwards he was taken to hospital.

Uzbekistan: Some Workers Excused from Cotton Fields

Preliminary monitoring by Uzbek-German Forum, which independently monitors forced labor in the cotton sector in Uzbekistan, shows that teachers and healthcare workers in some districts have been recalled from the fields, but workers in other districts have not.

Uzbekistan: 2 Activists Freed, Others Arrested Guarantee Freedom to Express Critical Views

Uzbek authorities should drop politically motivated charges that stem from the exercise of basic human rights and release all those imprisoned as a result of such charges, Human Rights Watch said. Mirziyoyev should also send an unambiguous message to all law enforcement that no one in Uzbekistan will be punished for the peaceful exercise of free speech.

Uzbekistan’s new leader fails his first test

One year after the death of Islam Karimov, the continued use of forced labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields shows how slow the pace of change really is.

Uzbekistan: school directors speak out about regular physical abuse by local government official

A video shot in secret and posted online shows a district official in Uzbekistan beating and humiliating several principals of local schools. The district chief was reportedly punishing the principals for their failure to send teachers to an Independence Day celebration in late August. (Current Time TV)

Uzbekistan Reducing Cotton Fields But Forced Labor Remains

Uzbekistan is cutting back on its cotton cultivation to make way for fruit and vegetable fields. While that happens, however, the custom of forcing state workers to pick cotton is proving hard to abandon.

A Peek Behind the World Bank’s Mask

On June 27 we released a joint report documenting forced and child labor linked to the World Bank’s agriculture projects in Uzbekistan. We hoped it would cause bank officials to rethink their approach. But then the bank’s country team inadvertently left an internal conversation on our voicemail. Oops! It revealed their ultimate goal: to protect the bank from external pressure and get new agriculture projects through their executive board “unscathed,” as one of the voices on the phone said. He went on: “We want to avoid any more stuff that goes out that says ‘oh and look [a board member is] really taking this seriously, now they’re going to call for a full board hearing.”

Document of Evidence: Public Sector Employees in Samarkand Massively Mobilized to Carry out Reconstruction Works

On July 29, the popular Uzbek news website www.kun.uz  published an article written by the journalist Tura Murod, who had recently been fired for criticizing the massive mobilization of teachers for mandatory “public” works and such as cleaning the streets, weeding and picking cotton, as well as repairing and constructing public buildings.