Report on work carried out to combat human trafficking and forced labor in 2019
Recent years, just like in many other areas, extensive work has been implemented to prevent and eliminate human trafficking and forced labor, to protect the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.
In particular, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh.M. Mirziyoyev in his speech at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on 19 September 2017 noted that effective measures to eliminate child and forced labor had been undertaken in cooperation with the International Labor Organization.
As a result of these efforts, child labor and the practice of systematic use of adult forced labor in agriculture, during refurbishment and landscaping works have been eliminated.
I. Improving National Legislation and law enforcement practices
Over the past three years, 15 normative and legal acts, including 2 Laws, 2 Decrees and 3 Resolutions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2 Resolutions of the Government have been published targeting systematization of activities in these areas and elimination of existing challenges. Morover, 6 Conventions and Protocols of the International Labor Organization and the International Organization for Migration have been ratified as well.
In particular, the adoption of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PF-5775 "On additional measures to further improve the system of combating human trafficking and forced labor" created a new coordination system of Government agencies in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor to enhance the image of our country at the international level.
In accordance with this Decree, a National Commission was created to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor consisting of subcommittees on combating trafficking in persons and forced labor.
The Regulations governing the National Commission and subcommissions were endorsed, and Regional Commissions were established and necessary legal grounds for their activities were created.
Measures have also been identified and are being implemented to systematize the activity of the National Commission and its subcommissions, regional commissions to further strengthen cooperation between state and public organizations in this area, including:
– Priority Action Plan for 2019-2020 on increasing efficiency of Government agencies in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor;
– Media Plan to raise awareness of general public and international community about the work being undertaken in the field on combating human trafficking and forced labor;
– Roadmap aimed at improving Uzbekistan's position in international rankings in the field of human trafficking and forced labor, taking into account the recommendations of the International Labor Organization, the US State Department, the Cotton Campaign and Human Rights Watch;
– Program of practical actions to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of our citizens abroad.
The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On introducing amendments and modifications to some legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan" (No. ZRU-558 dated August 28, 2019) was published in order to strengthen responsibility of persons engaged in using forced labor.
The Law provides for fines of up to 30 times the basic estimated amount for forced labor, and up to 100 times the basic estimated amount for the same offense if committed repeatedly within a year after the imposition of an administrative penalty.
Also, in order to strengthen the responsibility for child labor and forced labor offences, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On introducing amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan" had been adopted to determine the measure of liability for criminal offences.
In 2019, the following 4 documents of the International Labor Organization were ratified:
– Convention No. 144 "On Tripartite Consultations to Promote the Application of International Labor Standards";
– Convention No. 81 “On Labour Inspection in Industry and Commerce”;
– Convention No. 129 “On Labor Inspection in Agriculture”;
– Protocol to the Convention on Forced Labor No. 29 (1930).
For information: To date, 17 conventions and 1 protocol of the International Labor Organization have been ratified in order to implement international norms in our national legislation.
Taking into account international experience and in order to further improve national legislation in the field of combating human trafficking draft Law “On amendments and modifications to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan“ On Combating Trafficking in Human Beings” was developed and submitted to the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis in accordance with the established procedure.
1. Activities aimed at combating human trafficking
A public website www.ht.gov.uz and “hotline” (99) 311-01-01 of the the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been launched to identify victims of trafficking in persons, providing them with social and legal assistance.
The site regularly publishes information on the latest changes in legislation in the field of combating trafficking in persons, the results of ongoing organizational, awareness raising, operational-search activities.
In 2019, a total of 710 complaints related to human trafficking had been received including 422 through the “hotline” and 288 from other sources of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
443 applications received qualified legal explanations, 189 were satisfied, 57 were rejected based on legal grounds, and 21 were left without consideration.
In 2019, 94 crimes related to human trafficking were registered, showing a decrease to 26 or 21.6% compared with 2018. According to the criminal classification, the offenses related to:
– 50 for the purpose of sexual exploitation;
– 3 of them with the intent to use forced labor;
– 41 were crimes related to infant trafficking.
137 (145) members of organized crime groups including 119 (124) women and 18 (21) men were prosecuted for the crimes committed.
137 people were victims of these crimes, including 96 victims (90 women and 5 men, 1 minor) of sexual and labor exploitation, and 41 victims of child trafficking.
The number of crimes of trafficking in persons the purpose of sexual exploitation decreased by 27.5% (from 69 to 50), and the majority of these crimes were related to the smuggling of women abroad for sexual use.
Of the 50 crimes committed, 22 cases were related to the exploatation of our citizens in foreign countries, 4 cases were related to forced labor within the republic while 24 cases were related to the trafficking in persons abroad. Two of the victims of this category of crimes (in Khorezm and Navoi regions) are underage female.
In turn, the share of infant trafficking in human trafficking-related crimes made up 43.6% (41) with 23 boys and 18 girls being victims of infant trafficking.
When the causes of infant trafficking crimes were investigated, the majority of perpetrators were young women between the ages of 18 and 30 including 5 young unmarried women who tried to hide pregnancy from relatives and family members.
In 2019, the courts examined 109 criminal cases related to human trafficking against 149 people, where 144 people were convicted in 104 crimanial cases, the criminal prosecutions against 3 people were dismissed and 2 people were sentenced to measures of compulsory medical treatment.
Courts sentenced 37 persons to life imprisonment, 54 to non-custodial sanctions, and 50 to conditional sentences for the crimes related to human trafficking. 15 victims were paid 75.7 мillion soums in financial compensation.
In order to eliminate the causes of the criminal act and the conditions that led to its commission, the Republican Criminal Courts considered 20 cases of crimes related to human trafficking in mobile courts. 97 special rulings on the revealed violations were issued to the relevant state body, citizens' self-government body, public association.
Systematic work is being carried out to improve the professional skills of related specialists in cooperation with government agencies, non-governmental and public organizations and international organizations working to combat human trafficking.
In particular, from October 31 to November 1 of 2019, trainings on "Effective media coverage of anti-trafficking issues" were carried out in Fergana, Andijan and Namangan regions in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration in order to improve the professional training of anti-trafficking media representatives and government officials.
On November 10, 2019, a training webinar aimed at improving the skills of members of the regional commission on combating trafficking in persons and forced labor and ensuring the proper organization of work in the places was held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The training module “International and national mechanisms for combating trafficking in persons and forced labor” was included in the program for retraining judges for senior positions in order to improve the professional qualifications of judges in the fight against trafficking in persons and forced labor.
On November 26, 2019, a roundtable discussion on "Improving organizational and legal mechanisms to combat human trafficking: national experience and international practice" with the participation of international experts, the Subcommittee on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and law enforcement agencies was held in close cooperation with the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan.
2. In the field of combating forced labor
A number of organizational and practical measures have been taken in the field of combating forced labor.
In particular, in order to accelerate the consideration of citizens' complaints and to eliminate forced labor, the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, together with the State Labor Inspectorate and human rights activists, has launched a hotline "1176", the site www.dmi.mehnat.uz, telegram messenger "mehnathuquqbot" and the Telegram Group.
In 2019, a total of 1,282 applications related to forced labor including 403 via the hotline, 454 in writing, 250 via the Internet and 175 through social networks were received.
Of the applications received, 609 were related to cotton harvesting and other agricultural activities, 384 to landscaping, 228 to construction and repair work, and 61 to other labor intensive activities.
All appeals were investigated, the violated labor rights of citizens were restored and appropriate explanations and recommendations were provided on this issue.
Monitoring of cases of use of forced labor had been carried out in 2,779 organizations, enterprises, institutions and farms.
As a result, administrative penalties under Articles 51 and 49 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility of the Republic of Uzbekistan were imposed on 259 (including 118 cases related to the cotton harvest season) people who used forced labor and 56 officials who delayed salary payments and failed to create the necessary working conditions, including:
– 18 district and city governors and their deputies;
– 82 principals of public education institutions and heads of district public education departments;
– 10 heads of preschool educational institutions;
– 5 heads of health care institutions;
– 20 heads of banks and financial institutions;
– 122 officials of other business associations;
– 2 dismissed district governors who failed to create adequate working and living conditions.
The State Labor Inspectorate issued a total of 225 written instructions, 16 warnings and 25 recommendations to the heads of local authorities, republican and regional organizations and educational institutions regarding the causes of forced labor and eliminating conditions that support forced labor.
Also, as a result of the investigation conducted by the prosecutor's office, 7 officials were imposed administrative penalties, while 2690 heads of local executive authorities, enterprises, organizations and institutions, farms received warning.
In addition, as a result of inspections on the issues related to the creation of decent working conditions for employees and compliance with labor protection regulations conducted by labor law inspectors, 6,569 violations of labor regulations were identified which led to the legal actions against employers.
2,480 seminars dedicated to the issues of compliance with the employment law during the recruitment process and creation of decent working conditions for employees were held for employers and their representatives including heads of governmental and non-governmental organizations, farms.
At the same time, 32 non-governmental non-profit organizations received 1 billion 74 million soums in public grants allocated by the Public Fund under the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other state funds with the intent to enhance the role of civil society institutions in the prevention of human trafficking and forced labor.
4 international experts and 16 civil society activists partcipated in a third-party monitoring on the issues of the use of child labor and forced labor during the 2019 cotton harvest conducted in cooperation with the International Labor Organization.
The results of third-party monitoring were announced at an international roundtable on "Decent Work in Support of Reforms" held on February 5, 2020 in Tashkent.
According to them, the child labor and forced labor have been completely and systematically eliminated in the cotton industry of Uzbekistan and the number of cases of forced labor during the the cotton harvest campain decreased by 40% compared to 2018 and 94.1% of cotton pickers worked voluntarily.
In addition, national monitoring on the use of child labor and forced labor during the cotton harvesting capmain in 2019 was mainly conducted by representatives of civil society institutions, with the participation of 65 activists.
The head of the Legal Department of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia Yu. Peleshenko, representatives of the International Labor Organization A. Dubova, D. Urunova and A. Khankhadjaev participated in the national monitoring as international experts.
In the process of national monitoring, specialists paid 399 visits to districts and cities where they interviewed 3,159 respondents from 731 farms, 146 educational institutions, 106 health care facilities, 77 business entities, 56 khokimiyats, 35 mahallas.
According to the results of the monitoring, no cases of involvement of the staff of the budget-funded organizations, in particular, medical staff and teachers in the forced labor during the cotton harvest campaign were identified.
Therefore, as a result of monitoring conducted by labor inspectors in 2019, 21 cases (landscaping works of school zone) of use of child labor were revealed (Bukhara, Samarkand, Namangan, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Khorezm and Tashkent regions) and inspectors imposed fines against 21 officials (49.3 million soums).
A number of measures have been taken to raise public awareness on the fight against forced labor, to establish mechanisms for feedback and rapid communication with the communities.
In particular, during the 2019 cotton harvest season 281 appeals were received through the "hotline" and the telegram channel kasaba_bot, launched within the framework of the project "Feedback Mechanism" of the Federation of Trade Unions.
Of these, 82 were related to the forced labor during the cotton harvest campaign, 119 - non-payment of wages for the collected cotton, 44 - insufficient working and living conditions for the cotton pickers, and 34 related to the money collection for the organization of the cotton harvesting works.
All appeals were considered in the places with the participation of experts and 130 (46%) of them were confirmed and immediate measures were taken to eliminate the identified problems.
III. On the protection and assistance to victims of trafficking in persons and forced labor
Today, the Republican rehabilitation center for assistance to the victims of human trafficking operates in Tashkent to provide comprehensive assistance and social rehabilitation to victims of human trafficking.
In 2019, the Republican Rehabilitation Center provided medical, psychological and legal services to 220 victims of human trafficking (including 121 men, 63 women and 36 minors). In addition, 113 of them were provided with permanent job places.
At the same time, An estimated 24 million UZS in grant funds were awarded to over 16 victims of human trafficking to facilitate their self-employment (4 heads of cattle, 8 sewing machines, 3 welding machines, 3.5 mln. UZS per person).
Monitoring to analyze the further activities of the victims supported by the Center was carried out in cooperation with the regional departments of the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations.
Consular offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided necessary consular and legal assistance to 40 citizens of Uzbekistan who became victims of human trafficking and provided practical assistance in their return to Uzbekistan.
For information: among the victims received assistance 16 were in Kazakhstan, 15 in Russia, 5 in Thailand, 2 in the UAE and 2 in India.
3,938 citizens of Uzbekistan were employed abroad through the Agency for External Labor Migration and private employment agencies, while 213,371 citizens were provided with legal advice.
For information: Citizens were employed Korea (1470 people or 37.3%), Russia (1334 people or 33.8%), Turkey (535 people or 13.6%), Lithuania (342 people or 8.7%), Latvia (80 people or 2 people) %), Bulgaria (38 people or 1%), Poland (38 people or 1%) and other countries (101 people or 2.6%) in an organized manner.
Agency Representations in the Russian Federation (100 thousand US dollars) and in the Republic of Korea ($ 430,000) collected a total of $ 530,000 in uncollected wages of the migrant workers from foreign employers, and provided advice and legal assistance to 21,764 citizens.
IV. Raising public awareness of the negative factors of human trafficking and forced labor
1. Actions on combating forced labor
More than 5,000 workshops, over 2,000 roundtables and 15 conferences on International regulations and national legislation in the field of forced labor were held in 2019.
Also, 309 tv and 548 radio programs, 492 newspaper and magazine articles were dedicated to the awareness raising on the forced labor.
A legal-methodological manual "Beware of forced labor!" was developped for employers and employees, as well as representatives and activists of citizens' self-government bodies and delivered to places.
In cooperation with the International Labor Organization, 600 banners were placed in densely populated areas and 200,000 flyers were distributed among citizens in order to raise public awareness of the negative factors of forced labor during the cotton harvest campaign.
On September 13, 2019, the Agency for Information and Mass Communications in cooperation with the International Labor Organization's "Third Party Monitoring" project held a press conference on "Measures to eliminate and prevent forced labor in Uzbekistan”.
An open dialogue on the fight against forced labor in Uzbekistan in 2019 was broadcast in the program "Munosabat" aired on the TV channel "Uzbekistan" on November 4, 2019.
2. Сombating human trafficking
In 2019, a number of advocacy activities were carried out within the framework of the program "Human trafficking is a problem of our time" in order to raise awareness of the population about the tragic consequences of human trafficking, to prevent citizens, especially women and youth from falling into the trap of this scourge.
About 3,800 advocacy groups have been formed under this program who prmoted their ideals through appearences in more than 7,500 mass media means, including 2,600 on the Internet (social networks, official news sites, etc.), and 2500 on television, 1,600 on the radio and over 1,000 in printed materials.
In addition, more than 24,400 round tables, about 8,600 seminars and over 750 conferences were held in this direction with the participation of the population.
Advocacy activities on prevention of human trafficking and illegal migration were carried out in districts and cities, as well as at airports, railway stations and border checkpoints, about 235,000 brochures, booklets, recommendations, posters and other materials were distributed and over 5,100 banners were installed.
In addition, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights invited ministries and departments, the diplomatic corps, civil society and the media representatives to the presentation of the "Guiding principles for the provision of Human Rights in the Return of the victims of human trafficking to their country of origin" published in Uzbek language and the film about human trafficking "With Love from Sonya".
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the "Istiqbolli Avlod" Center held a media briefing in Tashkent on the results of the “Fight against human trafficking” project in Central Asia and the "16 days against violence" campaign.
On November 13-14, 2019, Tashkent hosted an international conference on "The role of the courts in combating human trafficking." It was attended by a total of 35 experts and representatives of international organizations from more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Austria, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Spain, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia and Portugal.
V. Strengtheining international cooperation
1. Combating forced labor
In order to secure the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens and enhance the image of our country in the international arena, efforts are being made to strengthen cooperation with representatives of civil society and foreign non-governmental organizations in this area.
A number of international events have been held in Uzbekistan to bring to the attention of the international community the large-scale measures taken in Uzbekistan to prevent child labor and forced labor, complete elimination of any of its manifestations.
In particular, on February 4-8, 2019, the Uzbek delegation visited the United States and a number of international organizations to raise awareness of the work being done in Uzbekistan to ensure human rights, as well as labor rights.
During the visit, members of the delegation also took part in the annual meeting of the International "Cotton Campaign" Coalition. This annual meeting brings together the representatives of various human rights organizations, the Association of American Manufacturers, retailers and trade unions.
During the visit, separate meetings were held with representatives of the World Bank, the Presidential Administration, the State Department and the Department of Labor.
As a result of efforts to combat forced labor in our country, in March 2019, the US State Department removed Uzbek cotton from the list of products prohibited from public procurement in the United States due to the use of forced labor and child labor.
On April 1-3, 2019, the Uzbek delegation took part in a discussion forum on "How Uzbekistan combats on child labor and forced labor in the cotton harvest" held in Brussels. The forum was attended by representatives of the European Union, the International Labor Organization, the World Bank, the diplomatic corps, labor and human rights organizations and foreign media experts.
During the forum, the Uzbek delegation provided a detailed information on the ongoing reforms in Uzbekistan, in particular, the efforts aimed to develop and modernize the agricultural and textile industries, increase the attractiveness of the country's investment climate, complete elimination of child labor and forced labor, prevention of their any form of manifestations, development of institutional cooperation in this area.
The delegation also held talks with representatives of the European Union, the International Labor Organization, the International Trade Union Confederation, Human Rights Watch, textile companies and other international institutions.
Continuing the efforts in this sphere, on November 6-9, 2019, a roundtable talks "Import of clothing to the European Union. Achieving Transparency and Stability in the Supply Chain” were held in cooperation with the European information-analytical portal "EURACTIV" in Brussels, Belgium.
Ministries and agencies involved in the fight against forced labor have also carried out some work to study the experience of foreign countries and to ensure the participation of their employees in international trainings.
2. Combating human trafficking
Close cooperation has been established with the relevant law enforcement agencies of Central Asia in order to fully protect the rights and interests of victims of human trafficking and provide assistance to the individuals who suffered from this crime in repatriation.
With the purpose of the fight against human trafficking and illegal migration, a draft project on "bilateral agreements" to combat all forms of human trafficking developed in cooperation with law enforcement agencies of the United States, India, UAE, Turkey, Thailand and Malaysia has been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The law enforcement agencies of Central Asian countries have launched joint programs like "Stop Human Trafficking" and "Illegal".
On March 26-30, 2019, a joint preventive operation "Stop human trafficking" was conducted in the territory of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
For information: During the joint operation, a total of 43 crimes related to human trafficking were disclosed in 4 countries (21 in Uzbekistan, 19 in Kazakhstan and 3 in Kyrgyzstan).
Among the detected cases in Uzbekistan, 3 were related to the sexual exploitation and 18 to the prostitution pimping and pandering cases.
2,861 raids were carried out in nightclubs, saunas and hotels, 258 women engaged in prostitution were listed in the preventive register, 87 cases of administrative offenses were detected and administrative measures were imposed against the perpetrators.
Also, on November 18-22, 2019, preventive operation "Illegal" was held in the cities of Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent in cooperation with the related state bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
For information: As a result of the operation, 3 fugitives on the international wanted list were detained for committing the human trafficking crime. 56 citizens of Kazakhstan (employers) who used forced labor against the citizens of Uzbekistan were brought to administrative responsibility, while 6 people who violated the migration legislation were prosecuted.
In addition, the court ordered 186 Uzbek citizens to leave the country for violation of the rules of stay in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the period of stay of 427 individuals in Kazakhstan was reduced.
According to the “Re-admission” Agreement, it was agreed to deport 83 (23 of them were brought back) citizens of Uzbekistan detained in temporary detention centers, who reportedly used for forced labour and unable to return to their homeland for various reasons without any legal measures.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan and diplomatic missions and consulates abroad regularly take wide-range systematic measures to combat human trafficking and forced labor, as well as to provide assistance to our compatriots who suffered from such crimes.
In particular, new consulates general wide opened their doors for the citiizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan permanently residing abroad in the Russian cities like St. Petersburg, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok as well as in Kazakhstan including the cities of Almaty and Aktau, in Guangzhou city of China, to provide them necessary legal assistance.
In addition, additional staff units for the representatives of the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations were introduced at the Embassies of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Russia (2 staff units) and in the Republic of Korea (2 staff units), at the Consulate Generals in Istanbul (2 staff units) and in Novosibirsk (1 staff unit).
On November 25, 2019, members of the National Commission against Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor held a videoconference with representatives of the US State Department and the Department of Labor.
A delegation of the US State Department and the Ministry of Labor visited Uzbekistan in accordance with the agreement reached during the video conference. During the event, members of the delegation were closely acquainted with the efforts of our country to combat human trafficking and forced labor.
In addition, the specialists of the state and public organizations dealing with the issues of human trafficking and forced labor visited Russia, Norway, Italy, Austria, Turkey and Kazakhstan to improve their skills as well as to study the best experiences of foreign countries.
In order to further develop international cooperation in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor, a program of joint projects to be implemented by ministries and agencies in cooperation with international organizations in 2020 has been developed and implemented.
The program outlines measures aimed at the further development of cooperation among the relevant ministries and agencies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the International Labor Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Organization for Migration, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to prevent human trafficking and forced labor.
VI. Existing problems in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor and recommendations for their solution
1. Even today, some local executive officials, heads of ministries, departments and their subdivisions still practice the forced labor methods.
In 2019, cases of involvement of employees of the Ministries of Defense, Interior Affairs, Emergency Situations and cadets of military schools forced labor in the cotton harvest were revealed. This has led to protests from various human rights organizations.
According to the results of monitoring conducted by the International Labor Organization, 5.9% (102 thousand people) of workers were involved in forced labor during the cotton harvest in 2019.
Besides, the national monitoring conducted by the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan in cooperation with representatives of non-governmental organizations revealed 47 cases where 3,895 individuals (including 700 servicemen) were forced to participate in the cotton harvest.
2. While human trafficking-related crimes decreased in 2019 compared to 2018, infant trafficking-related crimes remain high among the total crimes committed in this area.
In particular, 38% (46) of the 120 human trafficking-related crimes committed in 2018 were infant trafficking crimes, and 43% (41) of the 94 crimes of this nature committed in 2019 were infant trafficking-related crimes.
3. Analysis of crimes related to human trafficking shows that criminals using new methods and means to recruit people for this type of crime.
The mechanism for ensuring the legal grounds to consider the complaints on human trafficking and the detection and prosecution of such crimes, as well as the principle of inevitability of punishment for such crimes has not been effectively worked out.
In particular, in 2019, out of 710 complaints received related to human trafficking, criminal proceedings were initiated in 94 (13%) cases and legal action was taken against the perpetrators in 137 cases.
Specialists working in this field lack knowledge and experience to initiate criminal proceedings against traffickers and bring the cases to the courts.
International organizations also negatively assess the decline in the number of judicial proceedings on such crimes in Uzbekistan.
4. No special law has been adopted that regulates labor migration; the legal concepts related to labor migration have not been reflected in the law and, as a result, the legal status of labor migrants, their rights and obligations have not completely defined.
5. The Republican Rehabilitation Center for Assistance and Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking in Tashkent is the only organization involved in the social rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking.
Currently, the material and technical base of the Center is outdated and does not meet today's requirements. Insufficient funds are allocated for food (15,800 soums per day) and medicine (907 soums per day) supply for the victims placed in the center.
Recommendations:
1. Continuation of the International Labor Organization's third-party monitoring and national monitoring on the prevention of forced labor, with the involvement of representatives of civil society institutions and international experts, with a view to conducting monitoring in other sectors of the economy.
Hold training seminars for the managers of agricultural clusters and farms, other employers on compliance with international labor standards, creation of decent jobs and transition to a market economy management mechanism, taking into account the cancelling of the state quotas for the production and sale of cotton.
Ensuring that the cotton harvest to be carried out only by cotton and textile clusters and farms with the support of local public organizations, in strict compliance with the requirements of national legislation and without interference of local authorities in these activities.
Development of a draft national program on decent work in Uzbekistan for 2021-2023 in order to further develop cooperation with the International Labor Organization.
Continuation of the implementation of international conventions on forced labor in national legislation and consideration of the ratification opportunities of the ILO Conventions "Workmen's Compensation (Accidents) Convention" No. 17, "Maternity Protection Convention" No. 183, "On occupational safety and health" in 2020.
2. Complete inventory of existing regulations related to child adoption and development of proposals for amendments and additions to the national legislation to further simplify this process, taking into account the best international practices.
Develop and approve an action plan to further strengthen the fight against infant trafficking, with an in-depth analysis of the causes.
3. Training of law enforcement officers in accordance with international standards for the detection of crimes related to human trafficking and the principle of inevitability of punishment, intensive advanced training in developed countries.
Development of a draft law on the identification of victims of trafficking in persons in accordance with international standards and the implementation of a national referral mechanism.
4. Development of the draft law "On migration" in order to determine the external labor migration, its mechanisms and forms, to strengthen the employment of citizens abroad, to improve public policy in this area, to work with migrant workers abroad and their social protection, as well as to develop competition and market infrastructure for employment abroad.
Continue to establish offices of the Agency for External Labor Migration in countries with a large number of Uzbek migrants in order to develop cooperation with the competent authorities of foreign countries in the comprehensive protection of the rights and interests of our citizens abroad.
For information: Representative offices of the Agency for External Labor Migration are currently operating in Moscow, Russia, and Gwangju, South Korea.
5. To reconsider the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 240 of November 5, 2008 "About formation of the Republican rehabilitation center for assistance to the victims of human trafficking" and to develop a new draft resolution on amendments and additions, taking into consideration the modern requirements.
The draft document envisages improving the activities of the center, its transfer to the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the establishment of its regional branches in the regions.
6. Further improvement of the draft Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Non-Governmental Organizations" with the broad involvement of experts from international organizations, representatives of civil society in order to increase the effectiveness of the activity of civil society institutions and non-governmental organizations in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor as well as to create favorable conditions for the registration and operation of non-governmental organizations operating in this direction.
7. Development of a draft National Strategy for Employment, taking into considaration the issues of creation of decent jobs for the people, in part for women aand young individuals, as well as reducing the level of informal employment.
8. Ensuring the employment of the population, especially youth and women, poverty alleviation, active participation of civil society in the solution of these issues as well as the organization of training and awareness raising of social workers in accordance with international standards, taking measures to attract targeted grants of the UN, the European Union, the World Bank and other international organizations.
9. Development of an unified reporting system for crimes and offenses related to human trafficking and forced labor.
10. Ensuring the regular broadcasting of social videos on the fight against human trafficking and forced labor in the media, in particular through television, improving their quality and effectiveness.
National Commission was created to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor
