News

Uzbek Farmer Punished with Water Cutoff After Refusing to Surrender Extra Grain to the State

In his video appeal Bobur Pardaev, a farmer from the Oltinsoy district, addressed the district hokim, Bahrom Mahmatraemov, standing in the middle of his wilted cotton field. In the video, Pardaev said that the hokim had instructed local irrigation authorities to deny his field access to water. As a result, the farmer said that half of his cotton harvest has already been destroyed.

Uzbekistan: Obstacles to Registration of Human Rights NGO Akbaskur in Karakalpakstan

Akbaskur’s case highlights how inconsistent legislation, unnecessary bureaucracy, and politically motivated interference can create fertile grounds for blocking civil society initiatives, particularly those launched by grassroots activists. It demonstrates that, despite the existence of a legal framework, its procedures and implementation remain vulnerable to arbitrary interpretation and informal power structures.

UZBEKISTAN: FREE WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED ACTIVISTS, PROVIDE URGENT MEDICAL CARE, QUASH CONVICTIONS

A court in Kashkadarya on July 18 sentenced Khakimova and Keldiyorova to six years and one month and six-and-a-half years in prison, respectively, on dubious extortion charges. Khakimova, who has breast cancer, gave birth in mid-September. So long as she remains imprisoned, the authorities need to ensure that she and her newborn child receive prompt and appropriate medical care.

Khakimova, 40, who works as a teacher at a local school, has regularly commented on social media about corruption in the education system in Kashkadarya region and has served as a public interest representative in local cases. Khakimova has also collaborated with one of the other defendants, Shukrullo Parpiev, 44, who is the head of a small firm called “Blogger-Defenders” and a member of the Independent Human Rights Organization, a local rights group. Another three defendants – Shakhnoza Safarova, Farogat Mamatova, and Oydin Rustamova – also worked at local schools. The verdict indicates that the seventh defendant, Musallam Umirova, was employed at an entity called Republican Social Security Society.

Enter Engineering. The company that received multi-billion dollar projects does not pay its workers

In recent days, the workers of Enter Engineering (EE), a major government contractor in Uzbekistan, have demonstrated continuously. The fact that the company has delayed the salaries of more than 50,000 workers in its more than 10 enterprises for 4 months is the cause of workers' dissatisfaction.

UZBEK COTTON HARVEST 2023: RISK OF FORCED LABOR REMAINS HIGH

Uzbek Forum for Human Rights published its report on the 2023 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan. Monitoring findings show that although there was no widespread, systematic, government-imposed forced labor during the 2023 harvest, an acute shortage of pickers in several districts led to coercion by officials to recruit sufficient numbers of pickers to fulfill production targets.

UZBEKISTAN: FARMERS’ COOPERATIVE APPEALS CLOSURE

A court in Nukus, Uzbekistan will consider an appeal on December 19, 2023, from a farmers’ cooperative that was closed in November under a court order, Human Rights Watch and Uzbek Forum for Human Rights said today. Closing the cooperative violated the internationally protected rights to freedom of association and to organize.

An Economist vs. Uzbekistan’s Silk Industry: Whose Facts Matter?

In late August, a civil court judge in Tashkent ordered independent economist Yuliy Yusupov to publish a retraction and apologize in the media to Uzbekipaksanoat, the Uzbek Silk Association, for an article he published in March this year, which revealed corruption and the use of coercion in the production of silkworm cocoons. Yusupov, director of the Tashkent-based Center for Economic Development, stands by his assessment of the silk sector and has filed an appeal. The appeal court’s decision will be a key test of whether independent researchers in Uzbekistan are free to publish fact-based analyses, particularly when they are unpalatable to the state or the businesses it protects.

COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST EBRD: LABOR RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, LAND GRABS AND EXPLOITATION AT COTTON PRODUCER INDORAMA AGRO IN UZBEKISTAN

Uzbek Forum has interviewed dozens of workers and farmers who have reported the loss of livelihoods caused by illegal land confiscations, lack of access to land, mass redundancies and abuse of labor contracts, as well as attempts to dismantle the trade union. Furthermore, farmers contracted to deliver cotton to Indorama Agro complain of delayed payments for the cotton they have delivered and exploitative contracts that include no minimum price for their cotton. Workers and stakeholders who speak out, risk retaliation and intimidation. Following interviews with Uzbek Forum monitors, farmers and workers have been interrogated by security service officials and warned against speaking to “international organizations”.

UZBEK COTTON HARVEST 2022: NO SYSTEMATIC FORCED LABOR OF PICKERS BUT GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF THE COTTON SECTOR PUTS FARMERS AND WORKERS AT RISK

During the 2022 cotton harvest, Uzbek Forum monitors found no evidence of systematic, government-imposed forced labor for the second consecutive year. While this is a strong indication that efforts by the government to eliminate child and adult forced labor have taken hold, isolated incidents of forced labor and extortion to pay for the cotton harvest were identified in some districts with low populations and insufficient numbers of pickers and during the later stages of the harvest when less cotton in the fields makes recruitment of voluntary pickers more challenging. In general however, wages for pickers were sufficient to recruit adequate numbers to the fields, providing important supplementary income to rural communities.

Saida Mirziyoyeva comments on the law providing for criminal liability for involving teachers in forced labor

The Senate approved the law, which provides for punishment up to criminal liability for involving teachers in forced labor. Saida Mirziyoyeva called it a big phenomenon in the field of education.