Uzbekistan: Cotton, Wheat Farmers Exploited, Abused

85-page report: Farmers Have no Freedom: Abuse and Exploitation of Cotton and Wheat Farmers in Uzbekistan— PDF.

• The Uzbek government is violating the human and labor rights of cotton and wheat farmers through a coercive state production system, including penalties such as land seizure for not meeting quotas.
• Though the government has ended state-imposed forced labor of cotton pickers in the cotton harvest and has committed to broader reforms, the remaining system of strategic crop cultivation and production in Uzbekistan still creates a risk of forced labor for cotton and wheat farmers.
• The government should ensure compliance with recent laws and decrees that offer farmers better rights protections, end the quota system, and engage farmers in policy discussions around agricultural reforms.