Uzbekistan has stopped systematic use of child labor in cotton harvest: ILO

GENEVA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Labor Organization (ILO) said Tuesday its monitors had found that the systematic use of child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton harvest had come to an end over the past few years.

ILO said in a statement that measures to completely end the use of forced labor were also being implemented in the Central Asian nation.

These conclusions were discussed at a roundtable in the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent on Nov. 30, attended by government representatives, employers and national trade unions, development partners, diplomatic representatives, the ILO and the World Bank.

The findings will be formally presented to the World Bank in a report to be released in early 2018.

The results confirm that there is a high level of awareness of the unacceptability of both child and forced labor, the ILO said.

"There is no systematic use of child labor, and instructions have been given and measures undertaken to ensure that all recruitment of cotton pickers is on a voluntary basis," the ILO statement said.

On Monday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Trade Center (ITC) said in a statement released in Geneva that they had launched an online platform for market intelligence for cotton products.

This will enable cotton producers, traders and policymakers to better harness and observe market opportunities in the sector.

ITC said The Cotton Portal, unveiled at the WTO's 11th ministerial conference in Buenos Aires this week, would contribute to a more efficient cotton trading system by providing improved transparency and accessibility of trade-related information for cotton products.

"Today's launch is an important addition to our efforts in helping the cotton community achieve their development goals," said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo in the statement.

He said that by gathering all the relevant information, the WTO and ITC can better monitor the implementation of the market access commitments made by its members. Enditem