Fighting for the safety of Kyrgyzstan’s healthcare heroes
How a union leader is championing the rights of health workers.
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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.
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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.
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Turkmenistan Cotton: New Reporting Reveals Systemic Forced Labor, Despite Some Steps By Government To Reduce Mobilization
The government of Turkmenistan should expand the preliminary measures it took in the 2024 harvest to reduce forced labor through reforms that address root causes, empower workers and farmers, and allow independent monitoring and reporting, the Cotton Campaign said. The call comes as today the Cotton Campaign’s frontline partners Turkmen.News and Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights released their findings of independent civil society monitoring of the 2024 cotton harvest in Turkmenistan.
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Aliaksandr Yarashuk from Belarus awarded the Arthur Svensson International Prize for 2025
Aliaksandr Yarashuk, president of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), vice-president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Governing Body, is being honoured for his uncompromising defence of workers’ rights and democracy in Belarus.
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JOINT STATEMENT: URGENT CALL ON THE IFC AND THE EBRD FOR REMEDY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AT INDORAMA AGRO, UZBEKISTAN
Indorama Agro has systematically eroded workers’ rights by exploiting their vulnerability created by insecure working conditions whereby employees have been misclassified as “service providers”, depriving some 400 workers of trade union membership and safeguards and benefits under employment law. Public monitors have documented multiple cases of workers being coerced to work without pay under the threat of non-renewal of their contracts—an indicator of forced labor.
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Turkmenistan – CESCR – Gender Equality – February 2025
Unfortunately, gender inequality is widespread in Turkmenistan. Sexual and reproductive healthcare, specifically resources, data and information, are inadequate or lacking altogether. This is exacerbated by state-controlled media and its failure to disseminate scientific knowledge and evidence-based information. Sexual and reproductive health information is desperately needed for women to have an opportunity to reach their full potential, particularly to ensure health, economic security and legal protections.
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Reporter Nurgeldi Halykov Banned From Leaving Turkmenistan
Turkmen.news correspondent Nurgeldi Halykov has been placed under a travel ban. On January 12, he was not allowed to board a flight to Dubai where he was travelling on a work visa. He was held for several hours at Ashgabat airport and interrogated in a separate office. In the end he was not permitted to cross the border.
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Evolution workers deserve a fair deal
While the ICE gaming conference attracts thousands of visitors in Barcelona on 20 to 22 January, dealers and shufflers employed in Georgia by exhibitor Evolution Gaming are in a desperate battle for fair pay and decent working conditions.
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International migrants are vital force in the global labour market
International migrants are playing a crucial role in the global economy and made up 4.7 per cent of the total global labour force in 2022, with most employed in high-income countries and in key sectors such as services, notably care provision.
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