On June 25, the US Secretary of State delivered remarks at the release of the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report – annual publication issued by the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

The annual publication demonstrates the efforts of governments in 187 countries and territories, including the United States, to combat human trafficking and forced labor. The countries are assessed according to the minimum standards that track the “3Ps” of the Palermo Protocol: Prosecution, Protection, and Prevention.

Despite the fact that Uzbekistan has remained in the Tier 2 Watch List, the report notes positive changes in the country and measures taken by the government to improve the situation.

“In Central Asia, some governments have a long-standing history of compelling people to work in the cotton industry and other sectors. Uzbekistan’s significant efforts to address this are setting a new standard for others in the region,” said Secretary Pompeo during presentation.

The report shows changes in legislation, cooperation with civil society activists during third-party monitoring in 2019, and the establishment of a high-level National Commission to Combat Human Trafficking and Forced Labor.

This National Commission was established under the leadership of the Chairperson of the Senate, as well as the institution of the National Rapporteur was introduced. The Commission consists of two sub-commissions: on Combating Forced Labor, chaired by the Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, and on Combating Human Trafficking, chaired by the Minister of the Internal Affairs. The organization helped increase the prevention efforts in the country.

The Report highlights an increase in the number of labor inspectors of the State Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations. 21,172 checkups and 18,332 appeals were conducted by the Inspectorate; including administrative penalties for forced labor to 259 officials, 132 of them during the cotton campaign in 2019.

The TIP Report outlines the measures taken by the Government to prevent cases of forced labor. Among other things, it was noted that administrative responsibility for the use of forced labor has been increased and criminal responsibility for the repeated use of forced labor after the use of administrative penalties has been introduced. Work on the implementation of international labor standards into national legislation continued – four ILO conventions were adopted: Convention 144 on Tripartite Consultation, Convention 129 on Labor Inspection (Agriculture), Convention 81 on Labor Inspection (Industry and Commerce), and Protocol to the Forced Labor Convention 29.

At the same time, a continuing positive practice of involving civil society activists in the monitoring process was marked. In 2019, the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations issued permits to 15 civil activists for free access to monitoring.

The Government is pursuing steps to reduce the mobilization of citizens for forced cotton harvesting and to comply with the ban on the use of child labor in the fields, including such instruments as raising the salaries of cotton pickers, conducting awareness-raising campaigns in cooperation with ILO, and punishing local officials and managers for using forced labor.

In addition to the analysis of the situation, the report presents key recommendations for Uzbekistan’s transition to the next category in line with the extraterritorial application of US national legislation – the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Among them are the following:

• Continue efforts to ensure all citizens are aware of their “right to refuse” participation in the cotton harvest or other work outside their professional duties;
• Respecting due process, increase investigations and, when sufficient evidence exists, criminally prosecute persons complicit in human trafficking, including officials involved in mobilizing forced labor;
• Implement procedures for identifying trafficking victims to ensure they are systematic and proactive, including those developed with international partners;
• Continue training law enforcement officials on proper handling of trafficking cases;
• Continue implementing the national action plan for improving labor conditions in the agricultural sector;
• Continue grants that fund anti-trafficking NGOs assisting and sheltering victims who were not admitted to the state-run shelter;
• Adopt draft amendments to the criminal code to protect the identities of trafficking victims;
• Monitor private employment agencies for recruitment fees and ensure they are paid by employers rather than prospective job applicants.

The Minister of Labor of Uzbekistan Mr. Nozim Khusanov emphasized in his recent interview that proposals on amending the legislation have already been prepared and the adoption of normative acts is expected. According to amendments, private employment agencies will not charge the clients in advance for services of sending to work abroad. Instead, this fee will be paid by the employer.

Video of remarks by Secretary Pompeo at the 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report Launch Ceremony is available on Youtube.

Full version of the TIP Report can be downloaded here.