The U.S. issued amnesty for Uzbek cotton

On September 20, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor published the 17th edition of its annual Findings on the Worst Form of Child Labor (TDA Report.) 

The TDA report includes an assessment of government action to advance efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. Countries are assessed as having made significant, moderate, minimal or no advancement.

This year the TDA report noted that Uzbekistan achieved moderate advancement for the first time, as a result of the Uzbek government’s considerable effort to reduce forced child labor for the cotton harvest.

The Department of Labor simultaneously released a complimentary report, List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. The list includes 148 goods from 76 countries around the world.  This year, cotton from Uzbekistan was removed from the list.

American diplomats in Uzbekistan noted that the United States commends Uzbekistan for this important achievement, and urges the government to continue to allow independent observers unrestricted access to monitor labor conditions during the cotton harvest through unannounced site visits, and to punish officials who threaten or detain observers or require children to bring cotton to school.