Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 18
By Fakhri Vakilov – Trend:
An Uzbek government delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tanzilya Narbayeva, took part in the annual meeting of Cotton Campaign, an international coalition that initiated a "boycott" against the Uzbek textile products, Trend reports with reference to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry.
“The participation of representatives for the first time in Cotton Campaign’s history was regarded as evidence of the Uzbek government’s readiness to open dialogue and constructive interaction on the most sensitive human rights issues,” the Uzbek Foreign Ministry’s press service noted.
The founder of the Cotton Campaign, Bennett Freeman noted that Uzbekistan is in a historically significant reform process and there is considerable progress in eradicating forced labor in the country.
“We are encouraged by the commitment of the Uzbek government to put an end to decades of forced labor and we are currently focused on many aspects of this historic task, which has yet to be accomplished,” he stated during the meeting.
One of the key topics of the discussions was ending the so-called cotton boycott. In this context, representatives of the coalition noted the particular importance of achieving meaningful progress during the upcoming cotton harvest season in 2019.
In general, the representatives of Cotton Campaign described the consultations as constructive and expressed hope that the open dialogue and productive interaction would continue in the future.
Judy Gerhart, executive director of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), also welcoming the outcome of the meeting, said they are encouraged by the dialogue with the Uzbek government, “and we look forward to achieving success, which the coalition has been striving for since 2008.”
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