Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Uzbekistan (Ratification: 1992)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Uzbekistan (Ratification: 2019)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously noted that sections 135 and 138 of the Criminal Code prohibit “the recruitment of persons for sexual or other exploitation and the forcible illegal deprivation of a person’s freedom”, including trafficking. It also noted the adoption of the Act on the Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2008. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application of the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code and Act on Trafficking in Persons, 2008 in practice.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that according to the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2018, 43 cases concerning trafficking of children and six cases related to forced labour was recorded. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the cases related to trafficking in persons and forced labour have decreased significantly. The Committee further notes the Government’s information on the various measures taken to prevent trafficking in persons and protect victims of trafficking, including:

• -the reorganization of the National Interdepartmental Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons through Presidential Resolution No. PP-2833 of 2017 with the Ministry of Internal Affairs as its executive body;
• -adoption of Presidential Resolution No. PP-3839 in July 2018 to improve the external migration system and protect labour migration rights and to identify, protect and socially rehabilitate victims of trafficking;
• -setting up of a Fund for Support and Protection of the Rights and Interests of citizens working abroad, including for providing legal and social protection and healthcare to migrant workers and protection and social rehabilitation to victims of trafficking;
• -adoption of Law No. ZRU-517 on the Approval of the Consular Regulations of the Republic of Uzbekistan to help and protect Uzbek nationals who have fallen victims to trafficking and assist them to return home; and
• -setting up of 29 border posts to carry out awareness-raising on trafficking and forced labour among those migrant workers traveling abroad.

The Government further indicates that Uzbekistan has acceded to a number of international instruments on trafficking in persons and signed 29 agreements with other countries on combating organized crime, including trafficking in persons. The Committee further notes the Government’s reference to the 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report of the US State Department which moved Uzbekistan from Tier 3 to Tier 2. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to provide protection and assistance to victims of trafficking as well as the impact of these measures, including the number of persons benefiting from services for victims of trafficking. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of relevant provisions of the Criminal Code and Act on Trafficking in Persons, 2008, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and the specific penalties applied.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). Mobilization and use of labour for purposes of economic development in agriculture (cotton production). The Committee refers to its detailed comments addressed to the Government under Convention No. 105.