According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan, in the new report, our country remained in the second category (Tier 2), based on the results of an assessment by experts from the US State Department, indicating significant efforts in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor.

In particular, the document states that the Government is making significant efforts to comply with minimum standards for the eradication of human trafficking. Uzbekistan as a whole during the reporting period showed increased efforts compared to the previous reporting period, given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its ability to combat human trafficking.

According to the US, these efforts included the prosecution, conviction, and sentencing of more traffickers, the prosecution of officials allegedly involved in forced labor in the cotton harvest, and the identification of new trafficking victims.

The report also acknowledges Uzbekistan’s targeted efforts to increase funding for trafficking shelters, support the Public Works Fund, and significantly reduce forced labor in the annual cotton harvest.

However, according to the document, “local authorities in some areas continued to impose quotas on cotton production in violation of the national ban on this practice”.

The report also reflects some recommendations to further improve Uzbekistan’s position in this report.

It should be noted that over the past few years, Uzbekistan, thanks to wide-ranging reforms in the field of labor relations and the fight against human trafficking, has completely eradicated child and forced labor and has risen from the worst third category to the second in the US State Department report. At the same time, the Government continues to take measures to further combat human trafficking and forced labor by improving national legislation, introducing international principles of decent work, improving institutional mechanisms for combating human trafficking, and supporting civil society institutions in this matter.

For information, countries are evaluated according to the minimum standards of the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and are divided into three categories.