The State labor inspectorate of the Ministry of employment and labor relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan has carefully studied recent reports on social networks about possible cases of child labor in the Pap district of the Namangan region.

Reports from civil society activists who conducted monitoring from may 30 to June 7 in the Pap district mention the presence of a teenager in a cotton field. The State labor inspectorate of the Namangan region promptly contacted civil activists on the ground to investigate the case.

According to the results of the inspection, there were no cases of forced child labor in the Namangan region. The State labour inspectorate contacted the responsible persons to the investigation, including with the chairman of mahalla "Maydon" M. Mallayeva and deputy chairman for social and spiritual issues of women M. Gozikhanova, I. Sirojiddinov – Chairman of mahalla "Istiklol", K. Turgunov – Deputy Chairman of the "Urta Khonobod", M. Nasrieva specialist in family and women's affairs of mahalla  "Yukori Khonobod", A. Khamidova – Chairman of mahalla "Boyon", E. Madismanov – the Chairman of the mahalla "Shayxon" and citizens D. Mahkamov, B.Asatillayev, Sh.Mahkamov, U. Turdiev and B. Dusmatov.

The study details the emergence of the teenager in the field found that the child followed in the field with their parents, are employees nearby farms, "Javlonbek Janona Jurabek", "Abdurauf Pop Chodak", "Shahzaman Pungon", "Saidislam Hojiakbar Kelajak", "Pop Galib Kamol", "Gayrat Chodak Pop". The teenager came to the field voluntarily due to the closure of the school due to the quarantine regime, and, in this case, was not forced to work as a child.

Note: According to the list of jobs with adverse working conditions (no.1990, dated July 29, 2009), it is prohibited to use the labor of persons under the age of eighteen for manual irrigation of cotton and manual harvesting of cotton in the agricultural sector, but it is not prohibited to participate in the weeding of cotton.

The Ministry of labor notes that state bodies and civil society activists strive for the same result – the complete elimination of all forms of forced labor in the country and ensuring social protection of the population. Working with local and international stakeholders, Uzbekistan has put an end to child and systematic forced labour in the cotton industry, as confirmed by the international community's assessments.

The Ministry of employment and labor relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in cooperation with its tripartite partners, is studying potential risks, treating child labor as an emergency and is strengthening the implementation of reforms to eliminate forced labor in Uzbekistan.

At the same time, all regional labor inspections conduct explanatory work in the form of seminars in all farms and clusters to attract seasonal workers to agricultural work, including the registration of labor contracts, timely payment of labor, creating the necessary conditions, etc.

The population was informed about the effective organization of education and leisure for children in quarantine, about precautionary measures and a healthy lifestyle. Farmers of the papal district confirmed that members of farms perform field work in compliance with all necessary conditions and rules, and timely payment of daily labor is strictly controlled.

In addition, taking into account the increase in the number of requests via social networks in recent days, control over the conduct of awareness-raising activities on the prevention of forced and child labor and the strengthening of administrative and criminal sanctions for this type of offense has been strengthened.

Any form of forced labour is unacceptable in Uzbekistan. We remind you that the principles of non-tolerance of forced labor in Uzbekistan are clearly reflected in the national legislation, which strengthens administrative responsibility and provides for fines of 50 to 100 BGN (equivalent to 1100-2200 units), and since 2020, criminal liability has been introduced, including imprisonment.

At the same time, the Prosecutor General's office of the Republic of Uzbekistan is investigating violations of civil rights of activists, as well as possible violations of quarantine requirements that are distributed through social networks.

Anyone who has been a victim of forced labor or witnessed forced or child labor can contact the State labor Inspectorate via the official website (dmi.mehnat.uz), by phone (1176) or via Telegram (@mehnathuquq_bot). When considering complaints, information about the identity of the applicant may not be disclosed at the request of the applicant.