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Uzbekistan

World Bank Declines To Probe Uzbek Forced Labor Abuses

A young boy collects cotton in the Tashkent region. Underage labor is officially banned, but continues nonetheless.
1/11 A young boy collects cotton in the Tashkent region. Underage labor is officially banned, but continues nonetheless.
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
Many Uzbeks are ordered by their employers to temporarily give up their normal work and pick cotton instead. Medical students report being forced to sign documents saying they are going to the fields "voluntarily, in order to help his motherland to thrive."
2/11 Many Uzbeks are ordered by their employers to temporarily give up their normal work and pick cotton instead. Medical students report being forced to sign documents saying they are going to the fields "voluntarily, in order to help his motherland to thrive."
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
3/11
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
The compulsory work is carried out by pensioners as well as working adults of all backgrounds.
4/11 The compulsory work is carried out by pensioners as well as working adults of all backgrounds.
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
Rights advocates have long criticized Uzbek authorities for ordering citizens to carry out forced labor in the cotton fields.
5/11 Rights advocates have long criticized Uzbek authorities for ordering citizens to carry out forced labor in the cotton fields.
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
6/11
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
7/11
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
Medical professionals from the Samarkand region participate in the cotton harvest.
8/11 Medical professionals from the Samarkand region participate in the cotton harvest.
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
9/11
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
10/11
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
11/11
As the annual cotton harvest gets under way in Uzbekistan, officials have ordered people of all ages and professions to contribute to the harvest effort. Although compulsory labor for anyone under 18 is officially banned, school-age children were seen working in the fields alongside adults, including pensioners. Medical students and doctors were also ordered to pick cotton, leaving some clinics closed to patients. (RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
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The World Bank has declined to investigate whether agriculture-sector loans to Uzbekistan could perpetuate child and forced labor in the Central Asian country's cotton industry.

The Washington-based lender says the January 23 decision was made, in part, due to "considerable progress" Tashkent has made "in addressing the systemic issues necessary for the eradication of child and forced labor in Uzbekistan's cotton sector."

The decision has drawn harsh criticism from rights activists who have been demanding an investigation.

Umida Niyazova, director of the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, on February 2 called the decision "shocking."

She said: "To millions of victims of forced labor in Uzbekistan, the bank has said that despite recognizing the relationship between their plight and its loans, it is not worth investigating."

Rights advocates have long criticized Uzbek authorities who require state employees, teachers and even children, to work in the cotton fields.

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