Cotton Campaign Roadmap of Reforms for Uzbekistan:
End Systemic Forced Labor, Enact Structural Reforms, and Empower Civil Society
This Roadmap sets forth a comprehensive vision to end forced labor in the cotton industry and ensure that reforms are fundamental and sustainable. Its purpose is to support the historic process of reform that is underway but incomplete to eliminate and prevent forced labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector.
To achieve this overarching goal, it lays out three core objectives as set forth in the Cotton Campaign’s Definition of Success, presented to the Uzbek Government in February 2019: end systemic forced labor; enact structural reforms; and empower civil society. The Roadmap is informed by wide-ranging consultations among our partners, and in our dialogue with the Government of Uzbekistan over the last year.
The Roadmap is the basis for further engagement with the Uzbek government to help drive systemic reforms and guide future consideration of evaluating improvement in Uzbekistan and determining when and how to lift the Uzbek Cotton Pledge.