European Parliament Supports Forced Child Labor

Last September, hundreds of thousands of children in Uzbekistan were pulled out of school and forced to work long hours picking cotton by hand. This September, it will happen again. After all, the compulsory cotton harvest in Uzbekistan is government policy. But despite well-documented evidence of government mandated forced child labor in the cotton industry, the European Parliament continues to give Uzbekistan reduced trading tariffs for cotton imports to the EU. When will the European Parliament stop supporting forced child labor?

Each year, children as young as nine are removed from Uzbek schools -- and some rural schools closed down all together -- and forced to pick cotton for three months. Each child is given a daily quota, in some cases up to 100 pounds a day. Failure to meet this quota can result in beatings, detention, or failing grades. Children who run away or refuse to work are threatened with expulsion from school, which would almost ensure them a job picking cotton for the rest of their lives. Working conditions in the fields are often dangerous, including insufficient food and unclean water. In 2008 alone, five children died as a result of the cotton harvest.

These horrific conditions are why leading U.K.-based anti-trafficking organization Anti-Slavery International has launched their Cotton Crimes Campaign, urging European lawmakers to deny Uzbekistan favorable trade treatment for their cotton until they cease forcing children to work the fields. Uzbek cotton ends up in garments sold all over the world, but the European market is by far the biggest buyer. And buy continuing to offer Uzbekistan reduced trading tariffs, the European Parliament is practically giving their seal of approval to forced child labor. Removing these reduced tariffs shouldn't be a tough call -- by the European Parliament's own rules, they should have been ended already.

The Cotton Crimes Campaign asks Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, to implement the EU's rules and immediately remove Uzbekistan’s preferential trade tariffs for cotton. They're also calling on European retailers to make a commitment to refuse to buy Uzbek cotton until the child labor stops. It's a campaign complimentary to one launched by the International Labor Rights Forum, asking children's clothing company Gymboree -- one of the few major U.S. brands that hasn't yet boycotted Uzbek cotton -- to do so.

You can support Anti-Slavery International's efforts to urge the European Parliament to stop supporting forced child labor by signing their petition, sharing it on social media, and checking out the other great Cotton Crimes Campaign tools on their website. Let's make sure the European Parliament knows the world is watching them support forced child labor in the cotton industry, and waiting for them to stop.

Photo credit: Zameenorganic