Human trafficking in Uzbekistan

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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. [1] Men are trafficked to Kazakhstan and Russia for purposes of forced labor in the construction, cotton and tobacco industries. [2] 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. [3]

Contents

The Government of Uzbekistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, though it is making significant efforts to do so. Uzbekistan is 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. [4] 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. [5] [6]

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. [7] U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 3" in 2017. [8]

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. [4]

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. [7]

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. [9]

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. [10]

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. [11] [12] 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. [13]

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. [7]

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. [9]

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. [10]

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. [14]

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. [15]

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. [9]

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. [7] 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. [14] [16]

In 2014, mobile providers began sending out text messages across Uzbekistan warning the public against human trafficking. [9]

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. [10]

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). [6] 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. [14]

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. [17]

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. [18]

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. [19]

Related Research Articles

Chilean law does specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, and there were isolated reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 1" in 2017. The law criminalizes promoting the entry into or exit from the country of persons for the purpose of facilitating prostitution, with penalties of up to three years in prison and a fine of $827. Sanctions are increased in a number of circumstances, including cases in which the victim is a minor, violence or intimidation is used, deception or abuse of authority is involved, the victim is related or under the tutelage of the perpetrator, or advantage is taken of a victim's circumstances or handicap. The law criminalizes the prostitution of children and corruption of minors, and the age of consent for sexual relations is 14. The law criminalizes obtaining sexual services from a minor in exchange for money or other considerations.

Serbia is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls trafficked transnationally and internally for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Foreign victims are trafficked to Serbia from Macedonia, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Albania, and the People's Republic of China. Serbia is a transit country for victims trafficked from Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia and destined for Italy and other countries. Internal sex trafficking of Serbian women and girls continued to increase as of 2007, comprising more than three-fourths of trafficking cases in 2007. Some children continue to be trafficked into forced labor or forced street begging. According to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and law enforcement, efforts to shut down known brothels continue to prompt traffickers to better conceal victims of trafficking.

Tanzania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Boys are trafficked within the country for forced labor on farms, in mines, and in the informal business sector. Tanzanian girls from rural areas are trafficked to urban centers and the island of Zanzibar for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; some domestic workers fleeing abusive employers fall prey to forced prostitution. In some regions, unregistered employment agencies are involved in recruiting minors from rural areas to work as domestic helpers in the capital, where they are subject to exploitation. Tanzanian children and adults are reportedly trafficked to other countries including Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy and China. Trafficked children from Burundi and Kenya, as well as adults from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Yemen, are trafficked for forced labor in Tanzania's mining, agricultural and domestic service sectors, and are sometimes also subjected to sex trafficking. The Government of Tanzania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.

Togo is 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 is more prevalent than transnational trafficking and the majority of victims are children. Togolese girls are trafficked primarily within the country for domestic servitude, as market vendors, produce porters, and for commercial sexual exploitation. To a lesser extent, girls are also trafficked to other African countries, primarily Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, and Niger for the same purposes listed above. Togolese boys are 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 be trafficked to Europe, primarily to France and Germany, for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. In the last year, 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 is making 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.

Human trafficking in Israel includes the trafficking of men and women into the country for forced labor and sex slavery. The country has made serious efforts to reduce the problem in recent years and now ranks 90th out of 167 countries who provide data. Identification of victims, criminal justice work and efforts to co-ordinate with business and government agencies has been concerted in reducing this problem in the last decade.

Italy is a destination and transit country for women, children, and men trafficked transnationally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children are trafficked mainly from Nigeria, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Albania, and Ukraine but also from Russia, South America, North and East Africa, the Middle East, China, and Uzbekistan. Chinese men and women are trafficked to Italy for the purpose of forced labor. Roma children continue to be trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced begging. Reportedly, an increasing number of victims are trafficked for labor, mostly in the agricultural sector. According to one NGO, 90 percent of foreign seasonal workers are unregistered and two-thirds are in Italy illegally, rendering them vulnerable to trafficking. The top five source countries for agricultural workers are Romania, Pakistan, Albania, and Ivory Coast. Traffickers reportedly are moving victims more frequently within Italy, often keeping victims in major cities for only a few months at a time, in an attempt to evade police detection.

Kazakhstan is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Ukraine to Kazakhstan and on to Russia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) for purposes of sex slavery and forced labor in the construction and agricultural industries. Kazakhstani men and women are trafficked internally and to the U.A.E., Azerbaijan, Turkey, Israel, Greece, Russia, and Germany and the United States for purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation.

The Government of Kenya does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. In 2008 it was reported that Kenya's anti-trafficking efforts improved markedly over the reporting period, particularly through greater investigations of suspected trafficking cases. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017. Their efforts remain uncoordinated and lack strong oversight, creating an environment conducive to trafficking.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a source, transit, and to a lesser extent a destination country for men and women trafficked from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women are trafficked to Kazakhstan for forced agricultural labor—mainly in tobacco fields—to Russia for forced construction work, and to China for bonded labor. Kyrgyz and foreign women are trafficked to the U.A.E., China, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, Germany, and Syria for sexual exploitation.

Afghanistan is one of the source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Trafficking within Afghanistan is more prevalent than transnational trafficking, and the majority of victims are children. In 2005 the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reported 150 child trafficking cases to other states. Afghan boys and girls are trafficked within the country and into Iran, Pakistan and India as well as Persian gulf Arab states, where they live as slaves and are forced to prostitution and forced labor in brick kilns, carpet-making factories, and domestic service. In some cases the boys and girls were used for organ trafficking. Forced begging is a growing problem in Afghanistan; Mafia groups organize professional begging rings. Afghan boys are subjected to forced prostitution and forced labor in the drug smuggling industry in Pakistan and Iran. Afghan women and girls are subjected to forced prostitution, arranged and forced marriages—including those in which husbands force their wives into prostitution—and involuntary domestic servitude in Pakistan and Iran, and possibly India. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) report that over the past year, increasing numbers of boys were trafficked internally. Some families knowingly sell their children for forced prostitution, including for bacha bazi - a practice combining sexual slavery and child prostitution, through which wealthy men use harems of young boys for social and sexual entertainment. Other families send their children with brokers to gain employment. Many of these children end up in forced labor, particularly in Pakistani carpet factories. NGOs indicate that families sometimes make cost-benefit analyses regarding how much debt they can incur based on their tradable family members.

Algeria is a transit and, to a lesser extent, destination country for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Most commonly, sub-Saharan African men and women enter Algeria voluntarily but illegally, often with the assistance of smugglers, for the purpose of traveling to Europe. Some become victims of trafficking: men may be forced into unskilled labor and women into prostitution to repay smuggling debts. Criminal networks of sub-Saharan nationals in southern Algeria facilitate this irregular migration by arranging transportation, forged documents, and promises of employment. Reliable statistics on the number of potential victims are not available from the government or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). One NGO estimates that the populations most vulnerable to trafficking include between 10,000 and 15,000 illegal sub-Saharan African migrants.

Angola is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor. Internally, trafficking victims are forced to labor in agriculture, construction, domestic servitude, and reportedly in artisanal diamond mines. Angolan women and children more often become victims of internal rather than transnational sex trafficking. Women and children are trafficked to South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Namibia, and European nations, primarily Portugal. Traffickers take boys to Namibia for forced labor in cattle herding. Children are also forced to act as couriers in illegal cross-border trade between Namibia and Angola as part of a scheme to skirt import fees. Illegal migrants from the DRC voluntarily enter Angola's diamond-mining districts, where some are later reportedly subjected to forced labor or prostitution in the mining camps.

Bangladesh is a source and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. A significant share of Bangladesh's trafficking victims are men recruited for work overseas with fraudulent employment offers who are subsequently exploited under conditions of forced labor or debt bondage. It also includes the trafficking of children – both boys and girls – within Bangladesh for commercial sexual exploitation, bonded labor, and forced labor. Some children are sold into bondage by their parents, while others are induced into labor or commercial sexual exploitation through fraud and physical coercion. Women and children from Bangladesh are also trafficked to India for commercial sexual exploitation.

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.

Human trafficking in Nepal is a growing criminal industry affecting multiple other countries beyond Nepal, primarily across Asia and the Middle East. Nepal is mainly a source country for men, women and children subjected to the forced labor and sex trafficking. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.

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.

The country of Colombia, South America, has a high prevalence of women and girls who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution. These women and girls work within Colombia, and are also sent to sex tourism destinations in other parts of Latin America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, Asia, and North America, including the United States. The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has worsened from 2010 to the present, with almost 1.5 million people fleeing from Venezuela to cities throughout Colombia in recent years. Immigrants in major Colombian cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali find work scarce, and some turn to prostitution as a last resort to feed their families. Within Colombia, some men are found in conditions of forced labor, but the forced prostitution of women and children from rural areas and urban areas remains a larger problem. Individual cases of forced marriage – a risk factor for trafficking – involuntary domestic servitude, and forced begging have been reported. Some children are subjected to forced labor in mines and quarries, in the agricultural sector or as domestic servants. Groups at high risk for internal trafficking include displaced persons, poor women in rural areas, and relatives of members of criminal organizations. Continued armed violence in Colombia has displaced many in rural communities, making them vulnerable to human trafficking. Guerillas and new illegal armed groups have been reported to forcibly recruit children to join their ranks; the government estimates thousands of children are exploited under such conditions. Members of gangs and organized criminal networks may force their relatives and acquaintances, and displaced persons – typically women and children – into conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor, including forced work in the illegal drug trade. Colombia is also a destination for foreign child sex tourists, particularly in coastal cities such as Cartagena and Barranquilla. Migrants from South America, Africa, and China transit Colombia en route to the United States and Europe; some may fall victim to traffickers.

Croatia is a destination, source, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor. Croatian women and girls fall victim to sex trafficking within the country, and women and girls from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other parts of Europe are subjected to forced prostitution in Croatia and in Europe. Men reportedly are subjected to forced labor in agricultural sectors, and children, including Roma, are subjected to conditions of forced begging and theft. In 2017, Taiwan women and men, as well as Croatian and Bosnian women, were subjected to forced labor and forced criminality in an illegal call center.

<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.

Human Trafficking or "trafficking in persons" is the recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for mainly the purposes of forced labor or prostitution. Other reasons for human trafficking are the removal of organs, forced marriage, and other exploitations. South America is one of the biggest source and destination locations in the world and has struggled with the issue for many years. The ILO estimates that of the 20.9 million victims of human trafficking in 2012, 1.8 million were from Latin America. There are many factors that cause human trafficking, like a high demand for domestic servants, sex laborers, and factory workers, the existence of already established trafficking networks that often take advantage of young women and children, corruption in the governments and local law enforcement agencies, a governmental disinterest in the issue and a lack of opportunity for women in South American regions where trafficking occurs. People exploited in human trafficking are often impoverished, members of indigenous peoples, unemployed, victims of abuse, illiterate, substance users, homeless, or involved in gang activity. Research by the United States Department of State has also found that LGBTQ+ and transgender people are vulnerable to human trafficking. By far, sex trafficking is the leading type of human trafficking, making up 79 percent of all human trafficking. This is then followed by forced labor at 18 percent. About 20 percent of trafficking victims are children. Primary destinations for trafficking and illegal immigration are the United States, Spain, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Canada. Globalization, capitalism and societal attitudes facilitate and reduce the barriers to human trafficking.

References

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  2. ↑ "G20 Analysis". www.globalslaveryindex.org. 2018. Retrieved 2021-12-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ↑ 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 1 2 "2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Uzbekistan". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2021-12-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ "Uzbekistan Trafficking in persons". www.indexmundi.com. Retrieved 2021-12-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 1 2 "2019 Trafficking in Persons Report: Uzbekistan". U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan. 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  7. 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.
  8. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Zaynab Dost: Fighting Human Trafficking in Central Asia: Problems and Challenges". CABAR.asia. 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  10. 1 2 3 "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report - Uzbekistan". Refworld. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2022-01-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ "Unfinished work in the fight against forced labor in Uzbekistan's cotton harvest". Freedom Collaborative. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2022-01-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ↑ "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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ↑ "Third-party monitoring of child labour and forced labour during the 2019 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan" (PDF). International Labour Organization. Retrieved 2022-01-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. 1 2 3 "2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Uzbekistan". U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan. 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  15. ↑ "Role of Uzbekistan in Curbing Regional Human Trafficking". Daily Times. 2019-09-15. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  16. ↑ "The Problem with Cotton: Child Labor in Uzbekistan". Human Trafficking Search. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. ↑ "Uzbekistan forbids disclosing information about victims of human trafficking". Kun.uz. 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  19. ↑ "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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