Uazbekistan, Tashkent, Sept 8 /Trend D.Azizov/
In Uzbekistan, any breach in the illegal use of child labor, including the collection of cotton, will be severely prosecuted, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection told Trend on Saturday.
"The use of forced child labor in the agricultural sector, including in cotton is not allowed," the Ministry said.
The Ministry of Labor drew attention to the fact that the cotton in the country is produced by private sector, that is by family farms and the harvesting is based on the participation of mostly families of the farmers, for whom it is economically inexpedient to use additional labor, including children labor.
Only students in colleges and high schools, at least 16 years, may be voluntarily and in their free time be involved in cotton harvesting in accordance with the international obligations of Uzbekistan in the field of protection of children's rights within the framework of national legislation.
The ministry recalled that Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyayev prohibited the use of child labor in cotton harvesting by his order in August. Control over fulfillment of this order was assigned to the country's Prosecutor General's Office.
the various agencies and departments, including the Ombudsman and its units in the region, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, representatives of such international organizations as UNICEF and various NGOs working on protection of the rights of children and youth controls the fulfillment of the law.