The first meeting of the interagency Working Group on the organization of systemic interaction with the “Cotton Campaign” coalition, took place On 30 December 2019, under the leadership of the Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade - Sardor Umurzakov.
Representatives of the international Cotton Campaign coalition will be visiting Uzbekistan for assessing the results of the 2019 cotton harvest in the country, Trend reported via Uzbek media.
The Cotton Campaign is a global coalition of human rights, labor, investor and business organizations dedicated to eradicating child labor and forced labor in cotton production of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The delegation will stay in Uzbekistan from January 29 through February 6, 2020. Among its participants are members of Responsible Purchasers Network, Human Rights Watch, Uzbek-German Forum on Human Rights (UGF).
Representatives of the coalition will meet with the leadership of the Ministries of Labour, Agriculture, Justice, Investment and Foreign Trade, as well as Uztextilprom Association, Confederation of Employers and Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan.
A separate meeting is planned with National Commission for combating human trafficking and forced labor.
Human rights activists intend to discuss the results of last year's cotton harvest and the effectiveness of measures taken to eliminate forced labour, in particular the process of implementing road maps in this area, said the Uzbek Foreign Ministry.