Does recent ratification of ILO conventions 138 and 182 constitute real progress in tackling the issue of forced child labour?
Not yet. While this step warrants encouragement, the government of Uzbekistan has yet to demonstrate a real and sustained determination to eradicate forced child labour. Until it does so, these conventions will share the fate of other unfulfilled ILO conventions long-since ratified by the Uzbek government. The legal frameworks needed to immediately end the practice of forced child labour are not lacking, rather such laws and conventions remains hollow declarations and are used to obscure the harsh realities of the Uzbek cotton sector. A real indication of the government’s genuine intention to abolish forced and child labour would be initial steps to implement reforms in the cotton industry. The government’s determination to eradicate this shameful abuse can be further gauged in the forthcoming cotton crop cycle.
