Forced Labor In Central Asian Cotton Fields Disrupts Schools, Hospitals – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Forced Labor in Central Asian Cotton Harvests: A Conflict with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Systemic Violations of Decent Work and Human Rights

A report on the cotton harvesting season in Central Asia reveals systemic forced labor practices in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The mobilization of public sector workers and students into cotton fields represents a significant breach of international labor standards and directly undermines several key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This practice disrupts essential public services and perpetuates a cycle of exploitation, challenging the region’s commitment to sustainable and equitable development.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The conditions surrounding the cotton harvest are in direct opposition to the principles of SDG 8, which promotes sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

• Violation of Target 8.7 (End Forced Labour): Public employees and students are systematically coerced into participating in the cotton harvest.
  1. Health workers, teachers, and other civil servants face the threat of dismissal from their primary jobs if they refuse to participate.
  2. Students are threatened with disciplinary action or expulsion from educational institutions.
  3. In Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, individuals unable to work are required to pay for a replacement laborer.
• Failure to Ensure Decent Work: The labor conditions are exploitative and unsafe.
  1. Workers endure long hours, from early morning to sunset, with minimal breaks.
  2. Compensation is negligible, with costs for meals often deducted from their earnings, resulting in very low net pay.
  3. A nurse reported physical hardship, including back pain, highlighting the unsuitability of the work for many conscripted laborers.

SDG 3 & SDG 4: Compromised Access to Health and Education

The forced mobilization of essential service providers directly impedes progress on SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education).

• Impact on SDG 3: Healthcare services are severely weakened during the harvest season.
  1. A community nurse in Tajikistan was forced to leave her health post, abandoning the care of approximately 300 residents to pick cotton.
  2. Hospitals and rural health posts become critically understaffed, jeopardizing public health and well-being.
• Impact on SDG 4: The quality and continuity of education are disrupted.
  1. In Tajikistan’s Khatlon region, education authorities ordered schools to send teachers and students to the fields.
  2. University lecturers and school staff across the region are removed from their educational duties, compromising the learning environment for students.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

The persistence of forced labor highlights significant weaknesses in governance and the rule of law, conflicting with the aims of SDG 16.

• Erosion of Institutional Integrity: State authorities are complicit in perpetuating the system.
  1. Officials publicly insist that participation is “voluntary,” while private testimonies confirm coercion and threats are used.
  2. Despite Uzbekistan’s official declarations at the UN that forced labor has been “completely eliminated,” the practice continues under new labels like “voluntary participation.”
  3. The government of Turkmenistan openly supports mass labor mobilization, demonstrating a lack of commitment to international labor rights.
• Lack of Justice and Accountability: The system lacks effective recourse for workers.
  1. While minor fines have been issued to some local officials in Uzbekistan, these actions fail to address the deep-rooted, centralized structure of the problem.
  2. The practice of bribing officials to avoid labor indicates corruption within the system.

Economic Drivers and Pathways to Sustainable Reform

Analysts identify the unreformed, state-controlled structure of the cotton economy as the root cause of forced labor. The state’s setting of production quotas and prices creates immense pressure on local authorities to meet targets through coercive means. A transition toward a sustainable model is necessary.

• Current Unsustainable Model: The state captures most of the profit, leaving farmers and pickers underpaid and reliant on forced labor.
• Proposed Sustainable Solution: To achieve SDG 8, experts recommend fundamental economic reforms.
  1. Dismantle the centralized system of state quotas and fixed prices.
  2. Increase payments for cotton pickers and farmers to a fair wage that would attract a willing workforce. This would eliminate the need for coercion and create genuine economic opportunities.

SDGs Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article

• SDG 1: No Poverty – The article touches upon economic vulnerability and insufficient pay for forced labor, which can perpetuate poverty.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The mobilization of health workers compromises the availability and quality of healthcare services in rural communities.
• SDG 4: Quality Education – The forced participation of teachers and students in the cotton harvest disrupts the educational system and affects learning.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – This is the central SDG, as the article’s main focus is on forced labor, poor working conditions, and the violation of labor rights.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – The article highlights the failure of state institutions to uphold labor laws and protect citizens from coercion by authorities.

Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified Based on the Article’s Content

1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking.

     Explanation: The entire article is a testament to the continued existence of forced labor. Public sector workers like the nurse Hurmatoi, teachers, and students are “mobilized to cotton fields” under “the threat of dismissal from their normal jobs” or “expulsion from school.” Despite official claims that participation is “voluntary,” testimonies confirm it is coercive, directly contravening the goal of eradicating forced labor.

   • Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers.

     Explanation: The working environment described is neither safe nor secure. Workers face threats, work long hours (“from early morning until sunset”), and endure physically demanding tasks (“It’s hard work… I have back pain”). The threat of losing one’s primary job for refusing to participate demonstrates a complete lack of labor rights protection.

   • Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men… and equal pay for work of equal value.

     Explanation: The work described is the opposite of “decent work.” The pay is minimal, as Hurmatoi notes, “in the end, we get a very small amount of money” after deductions for meals. In Turkmenistan, the situation is worse, with public employees being “told to work for free.” This is a severe violation of the principle of fair and equal pay for work performed.

2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including… access to quality essential health-care services.

     Explanation: The article clearly states that mobilizing health workers leaves facilities “understaffed during the harvest season.” Hurmatoi, a community nurse responsible for 300 residents, is forced to be “well away” from them, picking cotton instead of giving “injections, checks blood pressure, and visits bedridden patients.” This directly reduces the community’s access to essential healthcare.

3. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education.

     Explanation: The quality of education is compromised when “education authorities have ordered schools and colleges to send teachers and students to the fields.” With teachers absent and students threatened with expulsion if they do not participate, the educational environment is disrupted, hindering effective learning and progress towards quality education for all.

4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

     Explanation: The article shows a failure of the rule of law, as authorities are the ones perpetrating the illegal act of forced labor. Although Uzbekistan’s Employment Ministry identified “more than 70 cases of labor law violations” and fined some officials, the practice continues under labels like “voluntary participation,” indicating that institutions are weak in enforcing laws and protecting citizens’ rights.

5. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all.

     Explanation: The system described in the article undermines social protection. Instead of protecting workers, the state coerces them into labor that pays very little or nothing, increasing their economic vulnerability. The requirement to “hire a replacement” for those who cannot participate acts as a tax on already low-paid public sector workers, further weakening their financial security.

Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

1. For Target 8.7 (Eradicate forced labour):

   Implied Indicator: Prevalence of forced labor among the adult population.
   
   Explanation: The article provides qualitative evidence of this indicator through the testimonies of numerous public employees (nurses, teachers, lecturers) and students across three countries who are forced to work in cotton fields. The mention of “thousands of health workers, teachers, and other public employees” being mobilized points to the scale of the issue.

2. For Target 8.8 (Protect labour rights):

   Mentioned Indicator: Number of identified labor law violations.
   
   Explanation: The article explicitly states that in Uzbekistan, “the Employment Ministry said more than 70 cases of labor law violations had been identified.” This serves as a direct, quantifiable indicator of the failure to protect labor rights, even if it only represents a fraction of the actual occurrences.

3. For Target 8.5 (Decent work and equal pay):

   Implied Indicator: Average hourly earnings of cotton pickers, particularly those in forced labor schemes.
   
   Explanation: While no specific wage figures are given, the article strongly implies that the pay is far below a decent wage. Descriptions like “we get a very small amount of money” after deductions and being forced to “work for free” in Turkmenistan indicate that remuneration is grossly inadequate for the labor performed.

4. For Target 3.8 (Access to essential health-care):

   Implied Indicator: Health worker density and distribution, particularly during harvest season.
   
   Explanation: The story of Hurmatoi, a nurse for 300 residents, being absent from her post for a week to pick cotton is a direct measure of reduced health worker availability. This implies that an indicator tracking the staffing levels of rural health posts during the harvest season would show a significant decline, impacting healthcare access.

Table of Findings

Source: rferl.org