Human trafficking in Uzbekistan

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Uzbekistan ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in August 2008. [1]

Contents

Uzbekistan is a source country for women and girls who are trafficked to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Kazakhstan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Costa Rica for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. [2] Men are trafficked to Kazakhstan and Russia for purposes of forced labor in the construction, cotton and tobacco industries. [3] Men and women are also trafficked internally for the purposes of domestic servitude, forced labor in the agricultural and construction industries, and for commercial sexual exploitation. Many school-age children are forced to work in the cotton harvest each year. [4]

In 2008 the government did not take steps to end forced child labor, during the annual cotton harvest. However, in March 2008 Uzbekistan adopted ILO Conventions 138 (on minimum age of employment) and 182 (on elimination of the worst forms of child labor) and is working with ILO on implementation. The Government of Uzbekistan also demonstrated its increasing commitment to combat trafficking in March 2008, by adopting a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. The law establishes a coordination mechanism for government ministries, responsible for various anti-trafficking efforts. The law promises that state funding will be used to provide victim protection and assistance, ensuring that victims will not be punished for acts committed as a result of being trafficked. [5]

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 3" in 2017. [6]

In 2020, the Government of Uzbekistan did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, though it made significant efforts to do so. Uzbekistan was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking over the previous year. [7] Specifically, the government did not amend its criminal code to increase penalties for convicted traffickers, and did not provide financial or in-kind assistance to NGOs, providing assistance to victims during the reporting period. [8] [9]

The country was placed on Tier 2 in 2023. [10]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave the country a score of 7.5 out of 10 for human trafficking, noting that the government has made progress in protecting people. [11]

Prosecution

Uzbekistan reported that improved law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking were effective, but many traffickers served no time in prison during the reporting period. Uzbekistan's current laws do not criminalize all forms of trafficking in persons. Some articles of the government's criminal code are used to prosecute sex trafficking cases and some labor trafficking cases, though current laws do not adequately criminalize all forms of forced labor. Penalties prescribed under the trafficking-related statutes of the criminal code range from five to eight years. However, convicted persons who are given sentences of less than 10 years are often amnestied, and may not serve time in prison. This practice is commensurate with punishments prescribed for others grave crimes, such as rape. Also, first-time female traffickers are more likely to be amnestied than male traffickers due to Uzbek cultural beliefs. Many trafficking offenders are therefore not adequately punished. [7]

In 2007, the police reported 273 trafficking investigations involving 303 suspects, compared with 250 investigations involving 268 suspects reported in 2005, the most recent year available for trafficking data. Authorities prosecuted and convicted 185 suspects for trafficking in 2007, compared to 148 convictions in 2005. As of January 2008, at least 66 traffickers were serving sentences of six months’ to three years’ imprisonment. There were 272 police officers dedicated to combat trafficking in persons, including 118 who worked exclusively on the issue. Anti-trafficking training was added to the curriculum for young officers at the Ministry of Interior training academy in 2007. There were unconfirmed reports of government officials who were involved in trafficking-related bribery and fraud. In March 2008, a member of the lower house of parliament resigned over sex trafficking allegations. There was no government investigation into the allegations at the time of this report. [5]

The Uzbekistan authorities stated that in 2015 they processed 696 investigations, 372 criminal cases and 460 individuals for human trafficking. In 2016, security services in Uzbekistan shut down a criminal group that was engaged in trafficking girls into Turkey, as well as freeing 17 Uzbekistan born girls from sex slavery in Malaysia. [12]

During the 2018 reporting period, the government made significant improvements, but still did not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. During the 2017 year, 336,000 workers of the 2.6 million cotton pickers were forced laborers. The country reported a decrease in the identification of victims, and the investigation and prosecution of suspected traffickers. 405 people were convicted for related trafficking crimes, compared to the 451 in 2016. [13]

2019 showed a decrease in the number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions although the government had provided a more detailed law enforcement report than in previous reporting years. [14] [15] The ILO reported in its 2019 third-party monitoring of child labour and forced labour in the cotton harvest that the numbers of forced pickers had declined by 40% from the previous year. [16]

Protection

The government demonstrated modest improvement in its victim assistance and protection efforts during the reporting period. NGOs reported that growing trafficking awareness and sensitivity towards victims among law enforcement officials. Police, consular officials, and border guards referred women returning from abroad who appeared to be trafficking victims to IOM for assistance. NGOs reported a need for additional victims’ shelters in two other regions of the country. The two existing trafficking shelters in Uzbekistan were funded by foreign donors, but the shelters received no financial or in-kind assistance from the government during the reporting period.

In 2007, NGOs reported assisting 497 victims trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation, compared to 681 reported victims in 2006. While 40 victims assisted law enforcement in trafficking investigations in 2007, many victims remain afraid to provide testimony or information for fear of retribution by their traffickers, and the government provided no victim-witness protection. The new comprehensive anti-trafficking law requires increased protection for victims who are cooperating with investigations. Repatriated victims are asked to sign documentation confessing to their illegal departure from Uzbekistan; however, NGOs reported that identified victims of trafficking were not punished for acts committed as a result of being trafficked. [5]

The government provides funds to the Tashkent Rehabilitation Center for men, women and children that have an official victim status. In the 2015 reporting year the Center assisted 503 victims, more than the 369 reported the previous year. [12]

In 2017, the government identified 440 victims, which was a decrease from the previous years. NGO's and an international organization also had identified and assisted 676 trafficking victims. The number of identified victims fell again in 2018, reporting only 208 victims. [13]

In 2019, the number of identified victims declined once again, but the government increase the funding for victim protection. Approximately 1.2 billion  soum (US$126,320) was invested into the operation of the Tashkent-based rehabilitation center, an increase of 475 million soum (US$50,000) compared to 2018. [17]

Prevention

The government continued its prevention efforts during the reporting period. In 2007, the government provided free office space to an anti-trafficking NGO in Jizzakh. More than 200 Uzbek law enforcement officials in all 12 provinces received anti-trafficking training conducted by NGOs in 2007, increasing awareness about the issue among lower-level officers. The government's inter-agency working group on trafficking met five times in 2007 and drafted comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, which was adopted by Parliament in March 2008 and signed into law by President Islam Karimov. [18]

In order to inform the public about the consequences of human trafficking, the government implemented information boards, presented films and supported theatrical plays, as well as demanding all women under 35 to have an official permission from their parents of husband when traveling abroad. [12]

In 2007, the government reported that there were 360 anti-trafficking articles printed in newspapers and magazines, police officers participated in 184 radio speeches, and 793 television segments on trafficking were aired throughout the country. Most items in the media addressed trafficking for sexual exploitation, although there was limited coverage of labor trafficking as well. The government gave extra scrutiny to unaccompanied young women traveling to recognized trafficking destination countries. Uzbekistan has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol. [5] Various international campaigns were launched against the Uzbek cotton in 2013, which forced the Uzbekistan government to put a ban on children working that are under the age of 16, although many school children between the ages of 15 and 17 are still forced to leave school to work the cotton harvest. [17] [19]

In 2014, mobile providers began sending out text messages across Uzbekistan warning the public against human trafficking. [12]

Prevention efforts were increased in 2017, and it was also the fourth consecutive year that the government continued to conduct a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about child labour in the cotton harvest. 2017 was also the third year in a row that the government agreed to allow the International Labour Office (ILO) to monitor the cotton harvest. [13]

In April 2018, the government allocated 714 billion soum (US$85.92 million) to a special fund under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to assist in the employment of individuals for public works and put an end to forced labour in those projects. And in September of that same year, the Cabinet of Ministers passed a resolution which was to allow additional support to labour migrants abroad with a budget of 200 billion soum (US$24.07 million). [9] The President of Uzbekistan created the National Commission on Trafficking Persons and Forced Labor (the Commission) in July 2019. It was composed of two high-level sub-committees, one for trafficking in persons chaired by the Minister of Internal Affairs, and one for forced labor chaired by the Minister of Employment and Labor Relations. [17]

In February 2020, representatives of the Cotton Campaigns international coalition held a meeting at the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade to discuss and establish a cooperation to form sustainable mechanisms for the prevention of labor offenses in Uzbekistan. At the meeting a close cooperation agreement was reached in order to minimize and prevent specific case violations in the future and to establish a cooperation with the general public and international and non-international government organisations. [20]

On 18 August 2020, the President of Uzbekistan approved the new version of the "on combating human trafficking" law which forbids the disclosure of information on those victimized and the circumstances of the crimes. [21]

The International Organization for Migration, Istiqbolli Avlod organized the “30 Days in Partnership against Human Trafficking” in 2020, together with over 200 organizations to raise awareness across the Uzbekistan society. [22]

Related Research Articles

Serbia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2001.

Tanzania ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2006.

In 2008, Togo was a source, transit and, to a lesser extent, a destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking within Togo was more prevalent than transnational trafficking and the majority of victims are children. Togolese girls were trafficked primarily within the country for domestic servitude, as market vendors, produce porters, and for commercial sexual exploitation. To a lesser extent, girls were also trafficked to other African countries, primarily Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, and Niger for the same purposes listed above. Togolese boys were most commonly trafficked transnationally to work in agricultural labor in other African countries, primarily Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Benin, though some boys are also trafficked within the country for market labor. Beninese and Ghanaian children have also been trafficked to Togo. There have been reports of Togolese women and girls trafficked to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, likely for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Togolese women may have been trafficked to Europe, primarily to France and Germany, for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. In 2007, 19 Togolese girls and young women were trafficked to the United States for forced labor in a hair salon. The Government of Togo does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it made significant efforts to do so, despite limited resources. Togo demonstrated solid law enforcement efforts by increasing the number of traffickers convicted. However, sentences imposed on convicted traffickers were inadequate and protection efforts were diminished over last year.

In 2008 Zambia was a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Child prostitution existed in Zambia's urban centers, often encouraged or facilitated by relatives or acquaintances of the victim. Many Zambian child laborers, particularly those in the agriculture, domestic service, and fishing sectors, were also victims of human trafficking. Zambian women, lured by false employment or marriage offers, were trafficked to South Africa via Zimbabwe for sexual exploitation, and to Europe via Malawi. Zambia was a transit point for regional trafficking of women and children, particularly from Angola to Namibia for agricultural labor and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa. Malawian and Mozambican adults and children were occasionally trafficked to Zambia for forced agricultural labor.

In 2019 Zimbabwe was a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Large scale migration of Zimbabweans to surrounding countries - as they fled a progressively more desperate situation at home - increased, and NGOs, international organizations, and governments in neighboring countries reported an upsurge in these Zimbabweans facing conditions of exploitation, including human trafficking. Rural Zimbabwean men, women, and children were trafficked internally to farms for agricultural labor and domestic servitude and to cities for domestic labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children were trafficked for domestic labor and sexual exploitation, including in brothels, along both sides of the borders with Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. Young men and boys were trafficked to South Africa for farm work, often laboring for months in South Africa without pay before "employers" have them arrested and deported as illegal immigrants. Young women and girls were lured to South Africa, the People's Republic of China, Egypt, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada with false employment offers that result in involuntary domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation. Men, women, and children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia were trafficked through Zimbabwe en route to South Africa. Small numbers of South African girls were trafficked to Zimbabwe for domestic servitude. The government’s efforts to address trafficking at home have increased with the introduction of the National Action Plan (NAP) as well as the 2014 Trafficking in Persons Act. In addition, the trafficking situation in the country is worsening as more of the population is made vulnerable by declining socio-economic conditions.

The Kyrgyz Republic ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in October 2003.

Angola ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2014.

Austria is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.

Belgium is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Victims originate in Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, as well as Brazil and India. Some victims are smuggled through Belgium to other European countries, where they are subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution. Male victims are subjected to forced labor and exploitation in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture sites, fruit farms, construction sites, and retail shops. There were reportedly seven Belgian women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009. According to a 2009 ECPAT Report, the majority of girls and children subjected to forced prostitution in Belgium originate from Balkan and CIS countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and West Africa ; some young foreign boys are exploited in prostitution in major cities in the country. Local observers also report that a large portion of children trafficked in Belgium are unaccompanied, vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Criminal organizations from Thailand use Thai massage parlors in Belgium, which are run by Belgian managers, to sexually exploit young Thai women. These networks are involved in human smuggling and trafficking to exploit victims economically and sexually. Belgium is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for children to be transported to other European country destinations.

Botswana is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Parents in poor rural communities sometimes send their children to work for wealthier families as domestics in cities or as herders at remote cattle posts, where some of these children are vulnerable to forced labor. Batswana girls are exploited in prostitution within the country, including in bars and by truck drivers along major highways; it does not appear, however, that organized pimping of children occurs. In the past, women reported being forced into commercial sexual exploitation at some safari lodges, but there were no similar reports during this reporting period. Residents in Botswana most susceptible to trafficking are illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, unemployed men and women, those living in rural poverty, agricultural workers, and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Some women from Zimbabwe who voluntarily, but illegally, migrate to Botswana to seek employment are subsequently subjected by their employers to involuntary domestic servitude. Botswana families which employ Zimbabwean women as domestic workers at times do so without proper work permits, do not pay adequate wages, and restrict or control the movement of their employees by holding their passports or threatening to have them deported back to Zimbabwe.

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed Poland in Tier 1 in 2024. Below is the full copy of a webpage section relating to Poland in a report published by the Bureau of Public Affairs of the United States Department of State, entitled "Country Narratives: Countries N Through Z: Trafficking in Persons Report 2024",which is in the public domain.

Poland is a source and destination country for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and for women and children in forced prostitution. Men and women from Poland are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Italy and Sweden. Women and children from Poland are trafficked for forced prostitution within Poland and also in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Sweden. Women and children from Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, and Russia are trafficked to Poland for forced prostitution. Men and women from Bangladesh, China, and the Philippines are found in conditions of forced labor in Poland. Men and women from Thailand, Nigeria, Iraq, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Mongolia, Vietnam, Turkey, Djibouti, and Uganda are found in conditions of forced labor, including forced begging and debt bondage, and also forced prostitution in Poland.

Nicaragua ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in October 2004.

Guinea ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in November 2004.


Mali ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in April 2002.

Human trafficking in Brazil is an ongoing problem. Brazil is a source country for men, women, girls, and boys subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution within the country and abroad, as well as a source country for men and boys in forced labor within the country. The United States Department of Homeland Security, describes human trafficking as "the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act."

Human trafficking is a major and complex societal issue in Myanmar, which is both a source and destination for human trafficking. Both major forms of human trafficking, namely forced labor and forced prostitution, are common in the country, affecting men, women, and children. Myanmar's systemic political and economic problems have made the Burmese people particularly vulnerable to trafficking. Men, women, and children who migrate abroad to Thailand, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh, India, and South Korea for work are often trafficked into conditions of forced or bonded labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Economic conditions within Myanmar have led to the increased legal and illegal migration of citizens regionally and internationally, often to destinations as far from Myanmar as the Middle East. The border regions of Myanmar, including Shwe Kokko, are known human trafficking destinations.

Burundi is a source country for children and possibly women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution. Children and young adults may also be coerced into forced labor on plantations or small farms in southern Burundi, or to conduct informal commerce in the streets. Child labor is very common in agricultural fields where major exports, like tea and coffee, are harvested. Forced labour of children and adults is also very common in mines due to a large market for valuable stones and ores. Many trafficking victims can be found in mines in the northern area of Burundi, especially around Cibitoke. Some traffickers may be family or acquaintances of victims who, under the pretext of assisting underprivileged children with education or with false promises of lucrative jobs, subject them to forced labor, most commonly as domestic servants. While there is little evidence of large-scale child prostitution, “benevolent” older females offer vulnerable younger girls room and board within their homes, and in some cases eventually push them into prostitution to pay for living expenses; extended family members also financially profit from the commercial sexual exploitation of young relatives residing with them. It is most common for the trafficking of victims to remain internal within the country or to extend only to the surrounding countries. Male tourists from Oman and the United Arab Emirates exploit Burundian girls in prostitution. Businessmen recruit Burundian girls for commercial sexual exploitation in Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda, and recruit boys and girls for exploitation in various types of forced labor in Tanzania. Unlike in past years, there were no reports of forced or voluntary recruitment of children into government armed forces or rebel groups during the reporting period. If the trafficking of Burundians does extend externally, it is most common for them to be sent to locations in the Middle East and Western Europe.

In 2010, Human trafficking in the Ivory Coast referred to the practice of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation which used Côte d'Ivoire a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who were trafficked for these purposes. Trafficking within the country's borders was more prevalent, with victims primarily trafficked from the north of the country to the more economically prosperous south. Boys from Ghana, Mali, and Burkina Faso were subjected to forced labour in the agricultural sector, including on cocoa, coffee, pineapple, and rubber plantations; boys from Ghana were forced to labour in the mining sector; boys from Togo were forced to work in construction; and boys from Benin were forced to work in carpentry and construction. Girls recruited from Ghana, Togo, and Benin to work as domestic servants and street vendors often were subjected to conditions of forced labour. Women and girls were also recruited from Ghana and Nigeria to work as waitresses in restaurants and bars and were subsequently subjected to forced prostitution. Trafficked children often faced harsh treatment and extreme working conditions.

Croatia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in the Czech Republic</span>

The Czech Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for people subjected to human trafficking, both women in forced prostitution, and men and women working in forced labor. Women from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Brazil are subjected to forced prostitution in the Czech Republic and also travel through the Czech Republic en route to forced prostitution in other European countries, including Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Serbia. Many Roma women from the Czech Republic are subjected to forced prostitution domestically as well as abroad. Men and women from Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Romania, Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, and Belarus are subjected to forced labour in the construction, forestry, agricultural, and service sectors and are exploited within and transited through the Czech Republic to other countries in the European Union. Czech citizens are also subjected to forced labour in the United Kingdom.

References

  1. ↑ United Nations Treaty Collection website, Chapter XVIII Penal Matters section, Section 12a, retrieved August 19, 2024
  2. ↑ "What Does Uzbekistan's National Human Rights Strategy Mean For Women's Rights?". EqualityNow. 2020-07-09. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  3. ↑ "G20 Analysis". www.globalslaveryindex.org. 2018. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  4. ↑ Maki, Reid (2018-11-08). "Child labor, Forced Labor, and Cotton and How They All Converged at the UN October 1st". The Child Labor Coalition. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Uzbekistan". Trafficking in Persons Report 2008. U.S. Department of State (June 4, 2008). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  7. 1 2 "2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Uzbekistan". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  8. ↑ "Uzbekistan Trafficking in persons". www.indexmundi.com. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  9. 1 2 "2019 Trafficking in Persons Report: Uzbekistan". U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan. 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  10. ↑ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  11. ↑ Organised Crime Index website, Uzbekistan: 2023
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Zaynab Dost: Fighting Human Trafficking in Central Asia: Problems and Challenges". CABAR.asia. 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  13. 1 2 3 "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report - Uzbekistan". Refworld. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  14. ↑ "Unfinished work in the fight against forced labor in Uzbekistan's cotton harvest". Freedom Collaborative. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  15. ↑ "ILRF Responds to Thailand, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan's Rankings in 2020 US Trafficking in Persons Report". International Labor Rights Forum. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  16. ↑ "Third-party monitoring of child labour and forced labour during the 2019 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan" (PDF). International Labour Organization. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  17. 1 2 3 "2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Uzbekistan". U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan. 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  18. ↑ "Role of Uzbekistan in Curbing Regional Human Trafficking". Daily Times. 2019-09-15. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  19. ↑ "The Problem with Cotton: Child Labor in Uzbekistan". Human Trafficking Search. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  20. ↑ "MIFT, Cotton Campaign establish cooperation to form sustainable mechanisms for prevention of labor offenses in Uzbekistan". Kun.uz. 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  21. ↑ "Uzbekistan forbids disclosing information about victims of human trafficking". Kun.uz. 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  22. ↑ "Anti-Human Trafficking Campaign Reaches Nearly A Million People in Uzbekistan". www.usaid.gov. 2020-09-15. Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
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