International nongovernmental organizations and foreign media outlets are prevented from operating in Uzbekistan, making it difficult to report on forced and child labor or other human rights abuses. For years the Uzbek government has refused to allow the ILO to send independent experts to the country to monitor forced and child labor during the fall cotton harvest.

“We are concerned that with quotas set so high for this fall, according to all reports, the Uzbek government will demand even more from the children and adults forced to grow and harvest cotton,” said Brian Campbell, policy director at the International Labor Rights Forum. “Only the ILO has the technical expertise and experience to properly monitor this practice, and it should have unfettered access throughout the cotton harvest and the ability to fully engage Uzbek civil society.”

This appeal follows a letter from the coalition to Clinton in April, urging the US government to downgrade Uzbekistan in the 2012 Trafficking in Persons report.

“The practice of forced labor in Uzbekistan has persisted for far too long and should be urgently ended,” said Nate Herman, vice president of international trade for the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), which said it will continue speaking out about Uzbekistan until forced and child labor are eradicated. “This year’s report missed a crucial opportunity to end this abominable practice sooner.”

American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA)