Uzbekistan has phased out organized child labor, The International Labor Organization said in a status report prepared for the World Bank.
It also said that Uzbekistan is making progress in reforms to address risks of forced labor in its cotton industry.
“The unacceptability of child labor is recognized by all sections of society: authorities, teachers, specialists, farmers, parents and children themselves,” the ILO report said.
Human Rights watchdog groups and the US State Department have long called out Uzbekistan for its use of child labor and many apparel and textile companies have declined to use Uzbek cotton in their supply chain.
In September, the International Labor Rights Forum released a report accusing the World Bank of potentially violating international labor law by providing loans to the Uzbek government even though these labor practices still existed.
The ILO report said Uzbekistan continues to implement action plans to reduce the risks of forced labor that are influencing the context of the annual large-scale.
