REPORT on work carried out to combat human trafficking and forced labor in 2019

Recent years, just like in many other areas, extensive work has been
implemented to prevent and eliminate human trafficking and forced labor,
to protect the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.

In particular, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh.M. Mirziyoyev in his speech at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on 19 September 2017 noted that effective measures to eliminate child and forced labor had been
undertaken in cooperation with the International Labor Organization. As a result of these efforts, child labor and the practice of systematic use of adult forced labor in agriculture, during refurbishment and landscaping works have been eliminated. I. Improving National Legislation and law enforcement practices Over the past three years, 15 normative and legal acts, including 2 Laws, 2 Decrees and 3 Resolutions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2 Resolutions of the Government have been published targeting systematization of activities in these areas and elimination of
existing challenges. Morover, 6 Conventions and Protocols of the
International Labor Organization and the International Organization for
Migration have been ratified as well. In particular, the adoption of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PF-5775 "On additional measures to further improve the system of combating human trafficking and forced labor"
created a new coordination system of Government agencies in the fight
against human trafficking and forced labor to enhance the image of our
country at the international level. In accordance with this Decree, a National Commission was created to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor consisting of subcommittees on combating trafficking in persons and forced labor.
The Regulations governing the National Commission and
subcommissions were endorsed, and Regional Commissions were established
and necessary legal grounds for their activities were created.
Measures have also been identified and are being implemented to
systematize the activity of the National Commission and its
subcommissions, regional commissions to further strengthen cooperation
between state and public organizations in this area, including:
— Priority Action Plan for 2019-2020 on increasing efficiency of
Government agencies in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor;
— Media Plan to raise awareness of general public and international
community about the work being undertaken in the field on combating
human trafficking and forced labor;
— Roadmap aimed at improving Uzbekistan’s position in
international rankings in the field of human trafficking and forced labor,
taking into account the recommendations of the International Labor
Organization, the US State Department, the Cotton Campaign and Human
Rights Watch;
— Program of practical actions to ensure the protection of the rights
and freedoms of our citizens abroad.
The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On introducing amendments
and modifications to some legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan"
(No. ZRU-558 dated August 28, 2019) was published in order to strengthen
responsibility of persons engaged in using forced labor.
The Law provides for fines of up to 30 times the basic estimated
amount for forced labor, and up to 100 times the basic estimated amount
for the same offense if committed repeatedly within a year after the
imposition of an administrative penalty.
Also, in order to strengthen the responsibility for child labor and
forced labor offences, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On
introducing amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of
Uzbekistan" had been adopted to determine
the measure of liability for criminal offences.
In 2019, the following 4 documents of the International Labor
Organization were ratified:
— Convention No. 144 "On Tripartite Consultations to Promote the
Application of International Labor Standards";
— Convention No. 81 “On Labour Inspection in Industry and
Commerce”;
— Convention No. 129 “On Labor Inspection in Agriculture”;
— Protocol to the Convention on Forced Labor No. 29 (1930).
For information: To date, 17 conventions and 1 pro to co l of the International
Labor Organization have been ratified in order to implement international norms in our
national legislation.
Taking into account international experience and in order to further
improve national legislation in the field of combating human trafficking draft
Law “On amendments and modifications to the Law of the Republic of
Uzbekistan11 On Combating Trafficking in Human Beings” was developed and
submitted to the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis in accordance with the
established procedure.
II. Organizational and practical
measures taken in the field of
combating human trafficking and
forced labor
1. Activities aimed at combating human trafficking
A public website www.ht.gov.uz and “hotline” (99) 311-01-01 of the
the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been launched to identify victims of
trafficking in persons, providing them with social and legal assistance.
The site regularly publishes information on the latest changes in
legislation in the field of combating trafficking in persons, the results of
ongoing organizational, awareness raising, operational-search activities.
In 2019, a total of 710 complaints related to human trafficking had been
received including 422 through the “hotline” and 288 from other sources of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs.
On complaints related to human trafficking 13% 28% 59%
* Hot communication network * Post office Mobile and individual reception *
443 applications received qualified legal explanations, 189 were
satisfied, 57 were rejected based on legal grounds, and 21 were left
without consideration.
The analisis of complaints received 57 21 Qualified legal
consultations
— Satisfied

In 2019, 94 crimes related to human trafficking were registered,
showing a decrease to 26 or 21.6% compared with 2018. According to the
criminal classification, the offenses related to:
— 50 for the purpose of sexual exploitation;
— 3 of them with the intent to use forced labor;
— 41 were crimes related to infant trafficking.

Total Sexual exploitation Infant trafficking Forced labor
137 (145) members of organized crime groups including 119 (124)
women and 18 (21) men were prosecuted for the crimes committed.
The gender of persons charged with
human trafficking
Total Female Male
137 people were victims of these crimes, including 96 victims (90
women and 5 men, 1 minor) of sexual and labor exploitation, and 41
victims of child trafficking.
The number of crimes of trafficking in persons
the purpose of sexual exploitation decreased by 27.5% (from 69 to 50),
and the majority of these crimes were related to the smuggling of women
abroad for sexual use.
Analyzed 50 cases related to the smuggling of
women for sexual use
Of the 50 crimes committed, 22 cases were related to the exploatation
of our citizens in foreign countries, 4 cases were related to forced labor within
the republic while 24 cases were related to the trafficking in persons abroad.
Two of the victims of this category of crimes (in Khorezm and Navoi regions)
are underage female.
In turn, the share of infant trafficking in human trafficking-related
crimes made up 43.6% (41) with 23 boys and 18 girls being victims of
infant trafficking.
When the causes of infant trafficking crimes were investigated, the
majority of perpetrators were young women between the ages of 18 and 30
including 5 young unmarried women who tried to hide pregnancy from
relatives and family members.
In 2019, the courts examined 109 criminal cases related to human
trafficking against 149 people, where 144 people were convicted in 104
crimanial cases, the criminal prosecutions against 3 people were dismissed
and 2 people were sentenced to measures of compulsory medical
treatment.
Courts sentenced 37 persons to life imprisonment, 54 to non-custodial
sanctions, and 50 to conditional sentences for the crimes related to human
trafficking. 15 victims were paid 75.7 Million soums in financial compensation.
In order to eliminate the causes of the criminal act and the conditions
that led to its commission, the Republican Criminal Courts considered 20
cases of crimes related to human trafficking in mobile courts. 97 special
rulings on the revealed violations were issued to the relevant state body,
citizens’ self-government body, public association.
Systematic work is being carried out to improve the professional skills
of related specialists in cooperation with government agencies, nongovernmental
and public organizations and international organizations
working to combat human trafficking. In particular, from October 31 to November 1 of 2019, trainings on "Effective media coverage of anti-trafficking issues" were carried out in Fergana, Andijan and Namangan regions in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration in order to improve the professional training of antitrafficking
media representatives and government officials. On November 10, 2019, a training webinar aimed at improving the skills of members of the regional commission on combating trafficking in persons and forced labor and ensuring the proper organization of work in the places was held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The training module “International and national mechanisms for
combating trafficking in persons and forced labor” was included in the
program for retraining judges for senior positions in order to improve the
professional qualifications of judges in the fight against trafficking in
persons and forced labor. On November 26, 2019, a roundtable
discussion on "Improving organizational and legal mechanisms to combat
human trafficking: national experience and international practice" with the participation of international experts, the Subcommittee on
Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and law enforcement agencies
was held in close cooperation with the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan.
2. In the field of combating forced labor A number of organizational and practical measures have been taken in the field of combating forced labor.
Are you forced to pick cotton or another job?
Contact by In particular, in order to accelerate the consideration of citizens’
complaints and to eliminate forced labor, the Ministry of
Employment and Labor Relations, together with the
State Labor Inspectorate and human rights activists, has launched a hotline "1176", the site www.dmi.mehnat.uz, telegram messenger "mehnathuquqbot" and the
Telegram Group. j ^mehnathuquqbot dmi.mehnat.u? V1176 © In 2019, a total of 1,282 applications related to forced labor including 403 via the hotline, 454 in writing, 250 via the Internet and 175 through social networks were received. Of the applications received, 609 were related to cotton harvesting and other agricultural activities, 384 to landscaping, 228 to construction and repair work, and 61 to other labor intensive activities. All appeals were investigated, the violated labor rights of citizens
were restored and appropriate explanations and recommendations were
provided on this issue. Monitoring of cases of use of forced labor had been carried out in 2,779 organizations, enterprises, institutions and farms.
As a result, administrative penalties under Articles 51 and 49 of the
Code of Administrative Responsibility of the Republic of Uzbekistan were
imposed on 259 (including 118 cases related to the cotton harvest season)
people who used forced labor and 56 officials who delayed salary
payments and failed to create the necessary working conditions, including:
— 18 district and city governors and their deputies;
— 82 principals of public education institutions and heads of district
public education departments;
— 10 heads of preschool educational institutions;
— 5 heads of health care institutions;
— 20 heads of banks and financial institutions;
— 122 officials of other business associations;
— 2 dismissed district governors who failed to create adequate
working and living conditions.
The State Labor Inspectorate issued a total of 225 written instructions, 16
warnings and 25 recommendations to the heads of local authorities, republican
and regional organizations and educational institutions regarding the causes of
forced labor and eliminating conditions that support forced labor.
Also, as a result of the investigation conducted by the prosecutor’s office, 7
officials were imposed administrative penalties, while 2690 heads of local
executive authorities, enterprises, organizations and institutions, farms received
warning. In addition, as a result of inspections on the issues related to the creation
of decent working conditions for employees and compliance with labor
protection regulations conducted by labor law inspectors, 6,569 violations of
labor regulations were identified which led to the legal actions against
employers. 2,480 seminars dedicated to the issues of compliance with the
employment law during the recruitment process and creation of decent
working conditions for employees were held for employers and their
representatives including heads of governmental and non-governmental
organizations, farms. At the same time, 32 non-governmental non-profit organizations
received 1 billion 74 million soums in public grants allocated by the Public
Fund under the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other state
funds with the intent to enhance the role of civil society institutions in the
prevention of human trafficking and forced labor.
4 international experts and 16 civil society activists partcipated in a thirdparty
monitoring on the issues of the use of child labor and forced labor during
the 2019 cotton harvest conducted in cooperation with the International Labor
Organization.
The results of third-party monitoring were announced at an international
roundtable on "Decent Work in Support of Reforms" held on February 5, 2020
in Tashkent.
According to them, the child labor and forced labor have been completely
and systematically eliminated in the cotton industry of Uzbekistan and the
number of cases of forced labor during the the cotton harvest campain
decreased by 40% compared to 2018 and 94.1% of cotton pickers worked
voluntarily.
In addition, national monitoring on the use of child labor and forced
labor during the cotton harvesting capmain in 2019 was mainly conducted
by representatives of civil society institutions, with the participation of 65
activists.
The head of the Legal Department of the Federation of Independent
Trade Unions of Russia Yu. Peleshenko, representatives of the
International Labor Organization A. Dubova, D. Urunova and A.
Khankhadjaev participated in the national monitoring as international
experts.
In the process of national monitoring, specialists paid 399 visits to
districts and cities where they interviewed 3,159 respondents from 731 farms,
146 educational institutions, 106 health care facilities, 77 business entities, 56
khokimiyats, 35 mahallas.
According to the results of the monitoring, no cases of involvement of the
staff of the budget-funded organizations, in particular, medical staff and
teachers in the forced labor during the cotton harvest campaign were identified.
Therefore, as a result of monitoring conducted by labor inspectors in
2019, 21 cases (landscaping works of school zone) of use of child labor
were revealed (Bukhara, Samarkand, Namangan, Kashkadarya, Navoi,
Khorezm and Tashkent regions) and inspectors imposed fines against 21
officials (49.3 million soums). A number of measures have been taken to raise public awareness on the
fight against forced labor, to establish mechanisms for feedback and rapid
communication with the communities.
In particular, during the 2019 cotton harvest season 281 appeals
were received through the "hotline" and the telegram channel kasaba_bot,
launched within the framework of the project "Feedback Mechanism" of the
Federation of Trade Unions.
Of these, 82 were related to the forced labor during the cotton harvest
campaign, 119 - non-payment of wages for the collected cotton, 44 -
insufficient working and living conditions for the cotton pickers, and 34
related to the money collection for the organization of the cotton harvesting
works.
All appeals were considered in the places with the participation of
experts and 130 (46%) of them were confirmed and immediate measures
were taken to eliminate the identified problems.
III. On the protection and assistance to victims of trafficking in
persons and forced labor
Today, the Republican rehabilitation center for assistance to the victims of human trafficking operates in Tashkent to provide comprehensive assistance and social rehabilitation to victims of human trafficking. At the same time, An estimated 24 million UZS in grant funds were
awarded to over 16 victims of human trafficking to facilitate their selfemployment
(4 heads of cattle, 8 sewing machines, 3 welding machines, 3.5
mln. UZS per person).
Monitoring to analyze the further activities of the victims supported by
the Center was carried out in cooperation with the regional departments of
the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations.
Consular offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided necessary
consular and legal assistance to 40 citizens of Uzbekistan who became
victims of human trafficking and provided practical assistance in their return
to Uzbekistan.
For information: among the victims received assistance 16 were in Kazakhstan,
15 in Russia, 5 in Thailand, 2 in the UAE and 2 in India.
3,938 citizens of Uzbekistan were employed abroad through the
Agency for External Labor Migration and private employment agencies,
while 213,371 citizens were provided with legal advice.
For information: Citizens were employed Korea (1470 people or 37.3%), Russia
(1334 people or 33.8%), Turkey (535 people or 13.6%), Lithuania (342 people or 8.7%),
Latvia (80 people or 2 people) %), Bulgaria (38 people or 1%), Poland (38 people or
1%) and other countries (101 people or 2.6%) in an organized manner.
Agency Representations in the Russian Federation (100 thousand
US dollars) and in the Republic of Korea ($ 430,000) collected a total of $
530,000 in uncollected wages of the migrant workers from foreign
employers, and provided advice and legal assistance to 21,764 citizens.
IV. Raising public awareness of the negative factors of human
trafficking and forced labor
1. Actions on combating forced labor
More than 5,000 workshops, over 2,000 roundtables and 15
conferences on International regulations and national legislation in the field
of forced labor were held in 2019.
Also, 309 tv and 548 radio programs, 492 newspaper and magazine
articles were dedicated to the awareness raising on the forced labor.
A legal-methodological manual "Beware of forced labor!" was
developped for employers and employees, as well as representatives and
activists of citizens’ self-government bodies and delivered to places. In cooperation with the International Labor Organization, 600 banners
were placed in densely populated areas and 200,000 flyers were
distributed among citizens in order to raise public awareness of the
negative factors of forced labor during the cotton harvest campaign.
On September 13, 2019, the Agency for Information and Mass
Communications in cooperation with the International Labor Organization’s
"Third Party Monitoring" project held a press conference on "Measures to
eliminate and prevent forced labor in Uzbekistan”.
2. Combating human trafficking
In 2019, a number of advocacy activities were carried out within the
framework of the program "Human trafficking is a problem of our time" in
order to raise awareness of the population about the tragic consequences
of human trafficking, to prevent citizens, especially women and youth from
falling into the trap of this scourge. Advocacy activities on prevention of human trafficking and illegal
migration were carried out in districts and cities, as well as at airports, railway
stations and border checkpoints, about 235,000 brochures, booklets,
recommendations, posters and other materials were distributed and over 5,100
banners were installed.
In addition, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights invited ministries and departments, the diplomatic corps, civil society
and the media representatives to the presentation of the "Guiding principles for
the provision of Human Rights in the Return of the victims of human trafficking
to their country of origin" published in Uzbek language and the film about
human trafficking "With Love from Sonya".
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the "Istiqbolli Avlod" Center held a
media briefing in Tashkent on the results of the “Fight against human
trafficking” project in Central Asia and the "16 days against violence"
campaign.
On November 13-14, 2019, Tashkent hosted an international
conference on "The role of the courts in combating human trafficking." It was
attended by a total of 35 experts and representatives of international
organizations from more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom,
Russia, France, Austria, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Spain,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia and Portugal.
A number of international events have been held in Uzbekistan to
bring to the attention of the international community the large-scale
measures taken in Uzbekistan to prevent child labor and forced labor,
complete elimination of any of its manifestations. In particular, on February 4-8, 2019, the Uzbek delegation visited the
United States and a number of international organizations to raise
awareness of the work being done in Uzbekistan to ensure human rights,
as well as labor rights.
As a result of efforts to combat forced labor in our country, in March
2019, the US State Department removed Uzbek cotton from the list of
products prohibited from public procurement in the United States due to the
use of forced labor and child labor.
On April 1-3, 2019, the Uzbek delegation took part in a discussion
forum on "How Uzbekistan combats on child labor and forced labor in the
cotton harvest" held in Brussels. The forum was attended by representatives
of the European Union, the International Labor Organization, the World Bank,
the diplomatic corps, labor and human rights organizations and foreign media
experts.
Ministries and agencies involved in the fight against forced labor have
also carried out some work to study the experience of foreign countries and to
ensure the participation of their employees in international trainings.
2. Combating human trafficking
Close cooperation has been established with the relevant law
enforcement agencies of Central Asia in order to fully protect the rights and
interests of victims of human trafficking and provide assistance to the
individuals who suffered from this crime in repatriation.
With the purpose of the fight against human trafficking and illegal
migration, a draft project on "bilateral agreements" to combat all forms of
human trafficking developed in cooperation with law enforcement agencies
of the United States, India, UAE, Turkey, Thailand and Malaysia has been
submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The law enforcement agencies of Central Asian countries have
launched joint programs like "Stop Human Trafficking" and "Illegal". For information: During the joint operation, a total o f 43 crimes related to human
trafficking were disclosed in 4 countries (21 in Uzbekistan, 19 in Kazakhstan and 3 in
Kyrgyzstan).
Among the detected cases in Uzbekistan, 3 were related to the sexual
exploitation and 18 to the prostitution pimping and pandering cases.
2,861 raids were carried out in nightclubs, saunas and hotels, 258 women
engaged in prostitution were listed in the preventive register, 87 cases of administrative
offenses were detected and administrative measures were imposed against the
perpetrators.
For information: As a result of the operation, 3 fugitives on the international wanted
list were detained for committing the human trafficking crime. 56 citizens of Kazakhstan
(employers) who used forced labor against the citizens of Uzbekistan were brought to
administrative responsibility, while 6 people who violated the migration legislation were
prosecuted.
In addition, the court ordered 186 Uzbek citizens to leave the country for violation
of the rules of stay in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the period of stay of 427
individuals in Kazakhstan was reduced.
According to the “Re-admission” Agreement, it was agreed to deport 83 (23 of
them were brought back) citizens of Uzbekistan detained in temporary detention
centers, who reportedly used for forced labour and unable to return to their homeland
for various reasons without any legal measures. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan and
diplomatic missions and consulates abroad regularly take wide-range
systematic measures to combat human trafficking and forced labor, as well
as to provide assistance to our compatriots who suffered from such crimes.
In particular, new consulates general wide opened their doors for the
citiizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan permanently residing abroad in the
Russian cities like St. Petersburg, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg
and Vladivostok as well as in Kazakhstan including the cities of Almaty and
Aktau, in Guangzhou city of China, to provide them necessary legal
assistance.
In addition, additional staff units for the representatives of the Ministry
of Employment and Labor Relations were introduced at the Embassies of
the Republic of Uzbekistan in Russia (2 staff units) and in the Republic of
Korea (2 staff units), at the Consulate Generals in Istanbul (2 staff units)
and in Novosibirsk (1 staff unit). In addition, the specialists of the state and public organizations
dealing with the issues of human trafficking and forced labor visited Russia,
Norway, Italy, Austria, Turkey and Kazakhstan to improve their skills as
well as to study the best experiences of foreign countries.
In order to further develop international cooperation in the fight
against human trafficking and forced labor, a program of joint projects to be
implemented by ministries and agencies in cooperation with international
organizations in 2020 has been developed and implemented.
The program outlines measures aimed at the further development of
cooperation among the relevant ministries and agencies of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, the International Labor Organization, the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Organization for
Migration, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to prevent human trafficking
and forced labor.
VI. Existing problems in the fight against human trafficking and
forced labor and recommendations for their solution
1. Even today, some local executive officials, heads of ministries,
departments and their subdivisions still practice the forced labor methods.
In 2019, cases of involvement of employees of the Ministries of
Defense, Interior Affairs, Emergency Situations and cadets of military
schools forced labor in the cotton harvest were revealed. This has led to
protests from various human rights organizations.
According to the results of monitoring conducted by the International
Labor Organization, 5.9% (102 thousand people) of workers were involved
in forced labor during the cotton harvest in 2019.
Besides, the national monitoring conducted by the Federation of
Trade Unions of Uzbekistan in cooperation with representatives of nongovernmental
organizations revealed 47 cases where 3,895 individuals
(including 700 servicemen) were forced to participate in the cotton harvest.
2. While human trafficking-related crimes decreased in 2019
compared to 2018, infant trafficking-related crimes remain high among the
total crimes committed in this area.
In particular, 38% (46) of the 120 human trafficking-related crimes
committed in 2018 were infant trafficking crimes, and 43% (41) of the 94
crimes of this nature committed in 2019 were infant trafficking-related
crimes. 3. Analysis of crimes related to human trafficking shows that criminals
using new methods and means to recruit people for this type of crime.
The mechanism for ensuring the legal grounds to consider the
complaints on human trafficking and the detection and prosecution of such
crimes, as well as the principle of inevitability of punishment for such
crimes has not been effectively worked out.
In particular, in 2019, out of 710 complaints received related to
human trafficking, criminal proceedings were initiated in 94 (13%) cases
and legal action was taken against the perpetrators in 137 cases.
Specialists working in this field lack knowledge and experience to
initiate criminal proceedings against traffickers and bring the cases to the
courts.
International organizations also negatively assess the decline in the
number of judicial proceedings on such crimes in Uzbekistan.
4. No special law has been adopted that regulates labor migration;
the legal concepts related to labor migration have not been reflected in the
law and, as a result, the legal status of labor migrants, their rights and
obligations have not completely defined.
5. The Republican Rehabilitation Center for Assistance and
Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking in Tashkent is the only
organization involved in the social rehabilitation of victims of human
trafficking.
Currently, the material and technical base of the Center is outdated
and does not meet today’s requirements. Insufficient funds are allocated for
food (15,800 soums per day) and medicine (907 soums per day) supply for
the victims placed in the center.
Recommendations:
1. Continuation of the International Labor Organization’s third-party
monitoring and national monitoring on the prevention of forced labor, with
the involvement of representatives of civil society institutions and
international experts, with a view to conducting monitoring in other sectors
of the economy.
Hold training seminars for the managers of agricultural clusters and
farms, other employers on compliance with international labor standards,
creation of decent jobs and transition to a market economy management
mechanism, taking into account the cancelling of the state quotas for the
production and sale of cotton. Ensuring that the cotton harvest to be carried out only by cotton and
textile clusters and farms with the support of local public organizations, in
strict compliance with the requirements of national legislation and without
interference of local authorities in these activities.
Development of a draft national program on decent work in Uzbekistan for
2021-2023 in order to further develop cooperation with the International Labor
Organization.
Continuation of the implementation of international conventions on
forced labor in national legislation and consideration of the ratification
opportunities of the ILO Conventions "Workmen’s Compensation
(Accidents) Convention" No. 17, "Maternity Protection Convention" No.
183, "On occupational safety and health" in 2020.
2. Complete inventory of existing regulations related to child adoption
and development of proposals for amendments and additions to the national
legislation to further simplify this process, taking into account the best
international practices.
Develop and approve an action plan to further strengthen the fight
against infant trafficking, with an in-depth analysis of the causes.
3. Training of law enforcement officers in accordance with
international standards for the detection of crimes related to human
trafficking and the principle of inevitability of punishment, intensive
advanced training in developed countries.
Development of a draft law on the identification of victims of
trafficking in persons in accordance with international standards and the
implementation of a national referral mechanism.
4. Development of the draft law "On migration" in order to determine the
external labor migration, its mechanisms and forms, to strengthen the
employment of citizens abroad, to improve public policy in this area, to work
with migrant workers abroad and their social protection, as well as to develop
competition and market infrastructure for employment abroad.
Continue to establish offices of the Agency for External Labor Migration
in countries with a large number of Uzbek migrants in order to develop
cooperation with the competent authorities of foreign countries in the
comprehensive protection of the rights and interests of our citizens abroad.
For information: Representative offices of the Agency for External
Labor Migration are currently operating in Moscow, Russia, and Gwangju,
South Korea. 5. To reconsider the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the
Republic of Uzbekistan No. 240 of November 5, 2008 "About formation of
the Republican rehabilitation center for assistance to the victims of
human trafficking" and to develop a new draft resolution on amendments
and additions, taking into consideration the modern requirements.
The draft document envisages improving the activities of the center,
its transfer to the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the
establishment of its regional branches in the regions.
6. Further improvement of the draft Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan
"On Non-Governmental Organizations" with the broad involvement of experts
from international organizations, representatives of civil society in order to
increase the effectiveness of the activity of civil society institutions and nongovernmental
organizations in the fight against human trafficking and forced
labor as well as to create favorable conditions for the registration and
operation of non-governmental organizations operating in this direction.
7. Development of a draft National Strategy for Employment, taking
into considaration the issues of creation of decent jobs for the people, in
part for women aand young individuals, as well as reducing the level of
informal employment.
8. Ensuring the employment of the population, especially youth and
women, poverty alleviation, active participation of civil society in the
solution of these issues as well as the organization of training and
awareness raising of social workers in accordance with international
standards, taking measures to attract targeted grants of the UN, the
European Union, the World Bank and other international organizations.
9. Development of an unified reporting system for crimes and
offenses related to human trafficking and forced labor.
10. Ensuring the regular broadcasting of social videos on the fight
against human trafficking and forced labor in the media, in particular
through television, improving their quality and effectiveness.

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