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