Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Uzbekistan.htm
Uzbekistan is a source country for women and girls
trafficked to the UAE, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia,
South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and Israel for the purpose of commercial
sexual exploitation. Men are trafficked to Kazakhstan and Russia for the
purpose of forced labor in the construction, cotton, and tobacco industries.
Men and women are trafficked internally for the purposes of domestic
servitude, forced labor, in the agricultural and construction industries, and
for commercial sexual exploitation. Some girls are also trafficked internally
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Many school-age children,
college students, and faculty are forced to pick cotton during the annual
harvest. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 Check out a later country report here and possibly a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Uzbekistan. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of
particular interest to you. Would you
like to write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims International Organization for
Migration ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** The Curse of
Cotton: Central Asia's Destructive Monoculture International Crisis
Group, Asia Report N°9328, Bishkek/Brussels, 28 February 2005 www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/central-asia/093-the-curse-of-cotton-central-asias-destructive-monoculture.aspx [accessed 16 January
2011] www.files.ethz.ch/isn/28408/093_curse_of_cotton_central_asia_destructive_monoculture.pdf [accessed 5 October
2016] The economics of
Central Asian cotton are simple and exploitative. Millions of the rural poor work for little
or no reward growing and harvesting the crop.
Forced and child labor and other abuses are common. Schoolchildren are still regularly required
to spend up to two months in the cotton fields in Uzbekistan. Despite official denials, child labor is
still in use in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Students in all three countries must miss their classes to pick
cotton. Little attention is paid to the conditions in which children and
students work. Every year some fall ill or die. Women do much of the hard manual labor in
cotton fields, and reap almost none of the benefits. Cash wages are minimal, and often paid late or not at all. Human Trafficking
In Uzbekistan Matthew Martinez, Borgen Project, 31 January 2021 borgenproject.org/human-trafficking-in-uzbekistan/ [accessed 19 March
2021] The U.S. Embassy in
Uzbekistan reported that in 2017, president Mirziyoyev
incorporated international NGOs to track potential traffickers and laborers,
and through wide-reaching campaigns and production monitoring, the number of
people being forced to work the fall harvest has fallen each year. However,
the demand for cotton has not ceased, and it found that reports of forced
labor were increasing within the Uzbek subdivisions of Syrdarya,
Surkhandarya, Khorezm and
Tashkent in 2019. Even with
legislative power, the need for cotton was still prominent, and corrupt
government officials still threatened public sector employees to work.
S&P Global reports that near the end of 2019, President Mirziyoyev proclaimed “Instead of using forced labor, I’d
prefer not to have the cotton. Let it stay in the fields.” ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Uzbekistan U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/uzbekistan/
[accessed 29 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR The International
Labor Organization (ILO) increased the scope of its third-party monitoring on
child and forced labor in the cotton harvest during the year. Government-compelled
forced labor of adults remained in other sectors as well. Despite a 2018
government prohibition, reports continued of local officials forcing
teachers, students (including children), private businesses employees, and
others to work in construction and other forms of noncotton
agriculture and to clean parks, streets, and buildings. Officials
occasionally compelled labor by labeling these tasks as hashar,
voluntary work for the community’s benefit. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT Children were
employed in small-scale family agriculture; in family businesses, such as
bakeries and convenience stores; and in the provision of some kinds of
services. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/uzbekistan/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 10 May
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Economic exploitation
remains a serious problem, as does the trafficking of women abroad for
prostitution. A 2009 law imposed stronger penalties for child labor, and in
2012, Mirziyoyev, then the prime minister, pledged
to end the practice completely. In 2017, the president issued a decree to
formally ban forced agricultural labor by students, health workers, and
teachers. During the subsequent cotton harvests, the government increased
incentives for voluntary labor and granted access to international observers.
In 2018, the International Labor Organization (ILO) noted that 93 percent of
cotton workers were voluntarily employed for that year’s harvest, while child
labor was not an issue. Nevertheless, local officials still faced pressure to
meet government quotas, and reports of adult forced labor and abuse of
workers persisted. Some local officials who employed forced labor were
prosecuted and fined during 2019. In October 2019,
President Mirziyoyev dismissed Deputy Prime
Minister Zoyyir Mirzayev
after photographs of cotton farmers being forced to stand in cold irrigation
ditches as punishment for a poor harvest were widely condemned on social
media. Mirzayev was present during the incident,
and reportedly insulted the farmers as they stood in the knee-deep water. 2017 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor Office of Child
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, US Dept of Labor, 2018 www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ilab/ChildLaborReport_Book.pdf [accessed 22 April
2019] www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2017/ChildLaborReportBook.pdf [accessed 8 May
2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 1013] In addition to the meaningful
efforts made towards eliminating forced child labor, the Prime Minister also
issued a decree forbidding the forcible use of teachers, healthcare workers,
and adult students in the cotton harvest in September 2017. (22) Evidence
still shows that government officials forced over 300,000 adults to pick
cotton during the reporting period. (26; 27; 1; 24; 28). Uzbeks Prey to
Modern Slave Trade Times of Central
Asia, Tashkent, May 23, 2008 iwpr.net/report-news/uzbeks-prey-modern-slave-trade [accessed 16 January
2011] iwpr.net/global-voices/uzbeks-prey-modern-slave-trade [accessed 19
February 2018] When Abror, an unemployed engineer at the locomotive depot in Urgench, in northwest Uzbekistan, lost all hope of
getting a job at home, he left for the Volgograd region of Russia in search
of a better life. But he found no job
that matched his skills. Unwilling to go back to Uzbekistan, where his family
and aged mother depended on him returning with money, he took a job with a
local farmer. In return for weeding vegetable patches, feeding the poultry
and cleaning the hen house, the farmer promised him a small wage. Abror’s new life
as a servant rapidly turned into a form of slavery. Far from giving him any
wages, the farmer seized Abror’s identity papers
and told him he was not going to pay him any money as he would have “nowhere
to spend it”. In spite of his
grim experience in Volgograd, Abror plans to hire
himself out again this spring to repay this debt. “Once it gets warm, I’ll sell myself into
slavery again,” he said. “What else can I do? Otherwise, my family of four
will be left to live off my sick mother’s pension.” Two Uzbekistani
Agents arrested in Human Trafficking case Pattaya City News, 10th
July 2007 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12 September
2011] The warrant stated
that they are wanted on charges relating to human trafficking involving
Uzbekistan Woman who are lured to Thailand to work as Prostitutes. Police
arrested Miss Mayram Yakubova
aged 54 and Miss Lola Mamadova aged 26 who were
accused of running the operation. Evidence found in their room included log
books containing names and outstanding debts for each woman. It appears that
women would be brought over to Thailand at a cost of 200,000 Baht which was
initially covered by the agents. The women would charge 1,500 Baht for sex
with 1,000 Baht going to the Agent to pay off their debt. Police found
additional passports for women who are thought to be operating as Prostitutes
here in Pattaya. Cotton Carries
Heavy Cost For Uzbek Students Ozoda Rakhmatullayeva,
freelance journalist in Bukhara, Eurasianet,
January 19, 2005 www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav012005.shtml [accessed 16 January
2011] dev.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav012005.shtml [accessed 19
February 2018] eurasianet.org/cotton-carries-heavy-cost-for-uzbek-students [accessed 2 March
2019] University students
forced to pick cotton during Uzbekistan’s cotton harvest have been left with
mounds of crippling debts from their experience. At the end of the two-month stint, the
student said that he was presented with a bill for 9,000 sums, about $8.41,
for the food provided – nearly the sum of his monthly stipend. Others claim
debts as high as 25,000 sums, or about $23. Defining Rights,
Finding a Voice Institute for War
& Peace Reporting IWPR staff - The Women’s Reporting & Dialogue Programme, WPR Issue 16, 16 Dec 2005 iwpr.net/report-news/defining-rights-finding-voice [accessed 16 January
2011] iwpr.net/global-voices/defining-rights-finding-voice [accessed 19
February 2018] Conservative
agendas have also dominated. In Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, for instance, the
authorities have restored community institutions such as the mahalla - a traditional form of self-government - and the
court of elders. Conservative male institutions such as this can have a
dramatically damaging effect on women’s rights. Mahalla committees
have sweeping powers to decide who will receive funds for social assistance,
giving them significant leverage over families within their neighbourhood. With mahalla
committees sometimes using this to pressure
families, usually women and children. Once consequence of this is that women
with political ambitions sometimes lose state benefits. United States
Government Supports Repatriation of Trafficking Victims Embassy of the United
States, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 01/25/2005 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12
September 2011] The meeting brought
together Uzbek officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
Internal Affairs, Prosecutor’s General, as well as Uzbek diplomatic
representatives to foreign countries with officials from Israel, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ukraine, South Korea, China, and the UAE. The IOM
has determined that these countries are the most common destinations for
Uzbek victims of human trafficking. The goal of the meeting was to
establish effective mechanisms for returning and providing assistance to
trafficking victims. 179 Victims of
Trafficking Rescued in Uzbekistan Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL, 2004-12-06 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12
September 2011] The project
successfully helped many victims return to their homes from abroad.
Reportedly, many Uzbeks are currently victims of human trafficking and are
being employed as “virtual slaves” in Russia. Many victims report that the
majority of individuals associated with the gangs who victimize so many
Uzbeks desperate for work, are themselves Uzbeks. Child labour and the High Street BBC News, 30 October
2007 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/7068096.stm [accessed 16 January
2011] As part of a special
report we filmed children in Uzbekistan being forced to work in cotton fields
instead of going to school. For
two-and-a-half months a year, classrooms are emptied across this Central
Asian nation so that the crop can be harvested. The cotton industry is big business and is
completely controlled by the country's brutal authoritarian regime. Report to the
Congress: U.S. Policy and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe U.S. Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs,
Washington, DC, March 1, 2007 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12
September 2011] OSCE FIELD MISSIONS - UZBEKISTAN - Uzbekistan continued to take numerous
steps backward on political reform during 2006. According to a little-known
2002 parliamentary resolution, Uzbekistan's next presidential election is to
take place in December 2007. To date, Uzbek authorities have not indicated a
desire to receive assistance in preparation for the election. During 2006,
the government continued to pressure international NGOs and to repress civil
society and opposition activities. In 2006, the Government of Uzbekistan
forced 16, U.S.-based NGOs to close. In addition, throughout much of 2006,
the OSCE Center in Tashkent was prevented from conducting any projects, and
the Government of Uzbekistan successfully lobbied to change the Center to a
project coordinator's office, seeking a much narrower focus for the OSCE's
work in Uzbekistan. Nonetheless, the project coordinator's office was allowed
to engage in a few projects by year's end, and still serves as an important
resource and venue for human rights and democracy supporters. CENTRAL ASIA:
Special report on human trafficking UN Integrated
Regional Information Networks IRIN, ANKARA, 21 Oct 2003 www.irinnews.org/report/20783/central-asia-special-report-on-human-trafficking-continued At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly also be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] UZBEKISTAN - A
GROWING SOURCE
- But it is in neighbouring Uzbekistan where by far
the largest numbers now come from. "Human trafficking in Uzbekistan is
worsening and it is very problematic regarding the United Arab
Emirates," Nadira Karimova, the head of
Generation for the Future, a local NGO, told IRIN in the capital, Tashkent,
adding that there were cases of people having been trafficked to Thailand,
Malaysia and Israel, as well as Europe and the United States. Men were mostly
trafficked to Russia as labourers, whereas almost
all the women were trafficked for sexual exploitation, she said. In an effort
to tackle the issue, the NGO had opened a hotline and had been receiving
calls from parents of young women who went abroad and subsequently fell prey
to criminal groups. She added that the NGO was receiving at least 300 calls a
month, many directly from victims of trafficking. Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/uzbekistan [accessed 16 January
2011] ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/uzbekistan/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 8 May 2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Economic exploitation
remains a serious problem, as does the trafficking of women abroad for
prostitution. A 2009 law imposed
stronger penalties for child labor, and in 2012, Mirziyoyev,
then the prime minister, pledged to end the practice completely. In August
2017, the president issued a decree to formally ban forced agricultural labor
by students, health workers, and teachers. During the subsequent cotton
harvest, the government increased incentives for voluntary labor and granted
access to international observers. Nevertheless, local officials still faced
pressure to meet government quotas, and evidence of forced adult labor
continued to be reported. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61684.htm [accessed 11
February 2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Traffickers operating within nightclubs, restaurants, or prostitution rings
solicited women, many of whom had engaged in prostitution. In large cities
such as Tashkent and Samarkand, traffickers used newspaper advertisements for
marriage and fraudulent work opportunities abroad to lure victims. Travel
agencies promising tour packages and work in Turkey, Thailand, and the UAE
were also used for solicitation. In most cases traffickers confiscated travel
documents once the women reached the destination country. Victims of labor
trafficking were typically recruited in local regions and driven to
Kazakhstan or Russia where they were often sold to "employers."
Traffickers held victims in a form of debt bondage, particularly in the case
of those trafficked for sexual exploitation. Recruiters tended
to live in the same neighborhood as the potential victim and often may even
have known the victim. These recruiters introduced future victims to the
actual traffickers, who provided transportation, airline tickets, visas, and
instructions about meeting a contact in the destination country. The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2005 www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/uzbekistan.htm [accessed 16 January
2011] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children are engaged in prostitution in
Uzbekistan. Young women and possibly
adolescent girls are reportedly trafficked to destinations in the Persian
Gulf, Asia, and Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. CHILD
LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - The Penal Code prohibits the recruitment of children
for the purposes of sexual exploitation, with higher penalties for taking
children out of the country. In 2003,
the government prosecuted 101 people for trafficking-related crimes; as of
February 2004 there had been 80 convictions. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery -
Uzbekistan", http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Uzbekistan.htm, [accessed
<date>] |
