Uzbek Students Expelled for Not Picking Cotton

Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) has reported that Uzbek students are being expelled from university and school for refusing to work in the cotton fields during the harvest season.

Those students who do not participate are threatened with expulsions unless they pay $130-$600 to university officials, according to Bobur Rashidov, a university teacher speaking to RFE/RL. He said that between five and ten students annually are expelled from his university for failing to attend or complete the compulsory work. One student with a broken hand had to pay in order to get an exemption.

Last year there were calls for Western firms to boycott Uzbek cotton and the government enacted a child labour ban. Uzbekistan is a signatory of the Convention of the Rights of the Child as well as International Labour Organisation conventions against child labour and two ILO conventions on forced labour.

NEAR continues to monitor the situation closely.

URGENT

NEAR cannot continue without your support.

NEAR depends on the generosity of people like you. To make a contribution, please:

• Send us a cheque payable to 'NEAR'
• Or make a donation by visiting www.paypal.com. Please make your payments payable to:

NEAR
London South Bank University
Technopark
90 London Road
SE1 9LN, London, UK

Email address: jonathan.travis@nearinternational.org  

-END-

Alert - Uzbekistan

Related Links