Demand the European Plenary Reject the Uzbek Forced-Labor Trade Deal

In early November, the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) passed a resolution in favor of an Uzbekistan textile treaty in spite of serious, widespread forced labor concerns and other human rights violations.

These concerns had led Human Rights Watch, Anti-Slavery International and other human rights advocates to call for a halt on the deal, but The Trade Committee voted for it even after ASI released a short film further documenting the ongoing human rights violations.

One cotton picker interviewed told of “the awful conditions in the fields," with many having to sleep on floors in buildings with no running water, "and having to work for hours in sweltering heat."

Activists opposing the forced-labor system have suffered even worse abuse, including being detained and beaten, heavily fined and locked up in psychiatric wards, according to ASI.

Although the Uzbek government claims the people volunteer to pick the cotton, human rights groups have confirmed that it is forced labor where pickers have to leave their regular jobs and toil in the fields for weeks or else face being fired or worse. Although international pressure has cut down on the use of child labor, some sources say children are still used when quotas need to be met.

Uzbek’s tainted cotton should not be allowed on the European Market. Sign this petition to demand that the European Plenary reject the Uzbek forced-labor trade deal.