[18.08.2008] Socially conscious shareholders, pension funds and human rights advocates have joined together to demand that the government of Uzbekistan stop using forced child labor in its cotton harvest.

Every year, the government of Uzbekistan reportedly mobilizes hundreds of thousands of children - many from ten to fifteen years old - for the manual harvesting of cotton.

U.S. and international shareholders with combined assets of over $250 billion, along with human rights advocates, sent appeals today to Uzbek President Islam A. Karimov, Director General Juan Somavia, the head of the International Labor Organization (ILO), and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Also today, representatives of four major textile, apparel and retail trade associations will meet with the Uzbek Ambassador to the United States to express similar concerns.

"We commend the four trade associations for using their influence to change these intolerable practices," said Patricia Jurewicz, Associate Director from As You Sow Foundation, a non-government organization (NGO) that promotes corporate social responsibility. "Combined, these trade associations represent almost 100% of all purchases of cotton products in the United States. The fact that they are meeting with the Ambassador of Uzbekistan, are publicly condemning forced labor and asking for international monitoring sends a clear message that forcing children to pick cotton must end immediately."

Credible evidence exists that the use of child labor in Uzbek cotton fields continues on a systematic scale despite Uzbekistan's ratification of several ILO conventions relating to forced and child labor. Investors and human rights organizations are urging the Government of Uzbekistan to take immediate, concrete steps toward ending the use of forced child labor in cotton harvesting. These steps include full implementation of the ILO child labor conventions, inviting the ILO to conduct an assessment mission of the current situation, and allowing independent monitoring of cotton-picking practices from international NGOs and media outlets during the fall 2008 harvest.

Earlier this year, investors started engaging global corporations to track the source of cotton in their supply chains and sent letters to more than 100 corporations in North America, Europe and Asia that produce or retail cotton-based products.

"Although many companies have said that it is impossible to trace the source of their cotton - purchases that may occur several steps down the supply chain - we have found that where there is a will, there is a way," said Adam Kanzer, Managing Director and General Counsel at Domini Social Investments. "Companies are finding that it is indeed possible to trace the source of their cotton, and we believe responsible companies have an obligation to do so."

C&A, Gap Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Marks & Spencer, Target, Tesco, and Victoria's Secret have already taken measures to exclude Uzbek cotton from their merchandise because of the use of child labor during the cotton harvest. The investors and NGOs are working in partnership with additional major retailers such as Wal-Mart to identify ways in which they can help to eliminate the use of child labor in the harvesting of cotton in Uzbekistan.

For additional background information, please refer to:

    * http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/docs/declworld.htm (ILO ratifications)
    * http://www.ejfoundation.org/pdf/white_gold_the_true_cost_of_cotton.pdf (report)
    * http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7068096.stm (news video)
    * http://www.iwpr.net/galleries/centasia/grabka/01.html (photos)

Source: CSRwire

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