PRESIDENT KARIMOV SIGNS LAW RATIFYING ILO

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000442 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP SHEREEN FARAJ AND MEGAN HALL; SCA FOR JESSICA MAZZONE; DRL/IL-TDANG DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB-TMCCARTER E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2018 TAGS: PHUM ELAB PGOV PREL SOCI UZ SUBJECT: PRESIDENT KARIMOV SIGNS LAW RATIFYING ILO CONVENTION ON CHILD LABOR REF: TASHKENT 365 Classified By: Political Officer Tim Buckley for reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) On April 8 President Karimov signed the law ratifying the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The information appeared in state-controlled press on April 14 and was also posted on official government websites. As reported in reftel, the lower house of the Parliament (Oliy Majlis) adopted Convention 182 on March 13, and the Senate quickly followed suit on March 27. The ILO must now formally recognize the Uzbek ratification, but it can continue working with the Government of Uzbekistan in the meantime on implementing reforms to achieve compliance with the convention. Uzbekistan's adoption of the convention comes nine years after it was adopted by the General Conference of the ILO in Geneva and represents a major step forward in establishing a framework for the protection of human rights. ILO's work with Uzbekistan has been very productive, and we will continue to monitor the implementation of the convention to ensure that there is real progress on the ground in the spirit of Convention 182. ¶2. (C) Comment: It is noteworthy that ILO Convention 138 on minimum age for employment (signed by Karimov on April 5) as well as a long-sought law to address trafficking in persons (TIP) also were passed in the lower and upper chambers of parliament, respectively, on the same day. We expect Karimov to sign the TIP law within the next few days. This flurry of legislative action seems to be part of a concerted effort by the Government of Uzbekistan to respond to longstanding criticism that it has been unresponsive on issues of forced labor and human trafficking. The proof will be in the pudding when the time comes to take stock of implementation efforts, but for the time being the Government of Uzbekistan is making legal moves that the international community has been urging for many years. NORLAND