GOVERNMENT ADOPTS NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON CHILD

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 001086 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, G/TIP, AND DOL DOL/ILAB FOR SEROKA MIHAIL, DRL/ILCSR FOR ALFRED ANZALDUA, G/TIP FOR MEGAN HALL,SCA FOR JESSICA MAZZONE AND BRIAN RORAFF E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2018 TAGS: PHUM ECON ELAB PGOV PREL SOCI UZ SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT ADOPTS NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON CHILD LABOR REF: A. TASHKENT 793 ¶B. TASHKENT 949 ¶C. TASHKENT 632 ¶D. TASHKENT 1024 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Uzbek government recently adopted a National Action Plan on implementing two International Labor Organization (ILO) anti-child labor conventions. According to contacts and press reports, the Prime Minister also warned regional governors not to mobilize schoolchildren to pick cotton this fall - a long-standing practice in Uzbekistan dating back to the Soviet era. The Prime Minister's warning appears to have had some effect, as independent websites have reported - and Emboffs have observed - fewer schoolchildren picking cotton this fall than in previous years (so far, at least.) Nevertheless, it appears that students and faculty at universities and colleges have been mobilized in certain parts of the country. The adoption of the National Action Plan suggests that the government is becoming more serious about combating child labor, and we will continue to urge it to work closely with ILO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on programs aimed at eventually eliminating all forms of child and forced labor in Uzbekistan. End summary. PRIME MINISTER SIGNS NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON ADOPTION OF ILO CONVENTIONS -------------- ¶2. (U) On September 11, the independent Uzmetronom website reported that Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev had given a "verbal but...categorical" instruction to selected government officials banning regional governors from involving schoolchildren in cotton picking "under any circumstances." Uzmetronom also posted a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, signed by Mirziyoyev, adopting the National Action Plan on implementing ILO Conventions 182 (On the Worst Forms of Child Labor) and 138 (On the Minimum Age of Employment). ¶3. (C) Uzmetronom did not publish a final draft of the actual National Action Plan. Poloff was earlier provided a draft version by the ILO office in Tashkent (ref A),but we are unable to confirm yet whether the version of the Plan signed by Mirziyoyev is the same as that earlier draft. UNICEF CONFIRMS GOVERNMENT STEPS -------------- ¶4. (C) On September 17, UNICEF Child Protection Officer Siyma Barkin reported receiving confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the adoption of the National Action Plan and Mirziyoyev's warning. Barkin also reported that the Ministry of Labor had delivered a letter to the Ministry of Public Education and the Farmers Association explaining the illegality of mobilizing children for the cotton harvest, which she cited as "excellent progress." ¶5. (U) On September 12, the independent Uznews websites, citing farmers in Jizzakh and Samarkand provinces, reported that local authorities in the provinces planned to conduct the annual fall cotton harvest without child labor. In a September 17 article, Uznews reported being told by an unnamed official in the Samarkand region administration that the provincial governor, Uktam Barnoyev, had issued orders not to involve children under the age of 15 in cotton picking. Local teachers in Samarkand were also quoted as stating that they have been told that they will not supervise children in the cotton fields this year. Instead, they have been tasked with ensuring that children attend school. UNICEF Chief Mahboob Shareef told the Ambassador that he had not observed any children in the fields around Bukhara during a visit there the week of September 8. In contrast, the independent Ferghana.ru website reported on September 16 that its correspondents in Bukhara have seen "lots of children" harvesting cotton in the fields. OLDER STUDENTS STILL BEING MOBILIZED... -------------- ¶6. (U) Citing unnamed independent and opposition sources, Agence France Presse reported on September 15 that students at colleges and universities had been mobilized for the cotton harvest in certain regions of the country (Note: Most students begin college and lyceums at 16 years of age. End note.) The September 16 Ferghana.ru article also reported that 1,200 students from colleges were mobilized to pick cotton in the Dustilk and Mirzachulik districts of Bukhara province. ¶7. (C) In previous meetings with poloff, the ILO representative in Tashkent told poloff that her organization considered manual cotton picking a hazardous work that should not be conducted by anyone under 18 years of age (Note: ILO Convention 138 stipulates that anyone under 18 years' old should not engage in any work that jeopardizes the health, safety, and morals of young persons, see ref B. End note.) A 2001 Uzbek government decree also prohibits those under age 18 from engaging in jobs with unhealthy working conditions, including manual cotton harvesting (ref C). OBSERVATIONS BY EMBOFFS -------------- ¶8. (C) During recent travels in Tashkent, Surkhundarya, and Kashkardayra province, Emboffs have observed mostly adults and a limited number of students - the large majority of whom appear to be of college-age - picking cotton in the fields. Driving around cotton fields near Termez in Surkhundarya province on September 10, Information Officer spotted mostly adults picking cotton in the fields, and only a few children who appeared to be under 16 years of age. The adults told Information Officer that they were faculty of a local technical college and reported that their students were picking cotton in nearby fields. In the city of Qarshi in Kashkadarya province on September 11, Information Officer was told by a local human rights activist that children were not being mobilized this year. He also noted that faculty of local colleges and lyceums were being forced to pick cotton in weekly shifts of 8 to 10 teachers. In both regions, Information Officer observed children attending school as normal. ¶9. (C) Biking past agricultural regions in Tashkent province on September 13, econoff saw children attending school as normal and no evidence of children picking cotton (Note: Schools are open on Saturday in Uzbekistan. End note.) During a trip to the border of Tashkent and Syrdarya provinces on September 15, econoff saw many individuals - mostly adults, but also a few college-age students - collecting cotton. Econoff was told by the head of an environmental non-governmental organization that only college-age students had been mobilized for cotton picking this year. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) The government's adoption of the National Action Plan on implementing the ILO anti-child labor conventions is good news and a sign that it is becoming more serious about combating child labor. We also applaud the Prime Minister's reported verbal warning and the Labor Ministry's letter explaining the illegality of mobilizing children to pick cotton. Based on observations by Emboffs and reports on independent websites, these warnings appear to have had some effect, as there appear to be fewer children picking cotton than in previous years, at least so far (see para 11.) Nevertheless, it appears that a significant number of college and university students, some of whom are under 18 years of age, are still being mobilized for the harvest, along with their teachers. We will continue to urge the Uzbek government to work closely with UNICEF and the ILO on eventually ending all forms of child and forced adult labor in Uzbekistan. ¶11. (C) It remains to be seen whether the government will still resort to mobilizing younger students later in the cotton harvesting season. As reported previously, cotton in Uzbekistan is harvested in approximately three phases. During the first phase, which occurs in September, cotton is most plentiful in the fields and farmers are largely able to hire adult laborers, who are paid by the kilo for the cotton they collect. However, during the second and third harvests - which generally occur in late September and October - much of the cotton has already been picked, and local authorities have difficulty finding adult laborers willing to pick the cotton (many adults, we are told, go to Kazakhstan to pick cotton because wages there are higher). In a last ditch effort to fulfill their cotton quotas, governors therefore mobilize schoolchildren to gather the remaining cotton scraps. We will continue to monitor the child labor situation throughout the cotton harvest. UNICEF also plans to conduct its own informal survey of child labor during the cotton season (ref D),and we will report back their results as soon as they are available. NORLAND