TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (ILO News) – The round table was attended by Tanzila Narbaeva, Chairperson of the Uzbek Senate, Heinz Koller, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, a representative group of specialists from the ILO Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, led by the Director  Olga Koulaeva, Philippe Vanhuynegem, Chief of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch (ILO Geneva), senior officials of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, employers' and workers' organizations as well as representatives of international organizations, expert community, civil society organizations and the media.

In her welcome speech, Tanzila Narbaeva, Chairperson of the Uzbek Senate highlighted that the round table “has become an annual event and a good tradition. We would like to express special appreciation to the International Labour Organization for the support and close cooperation with us. The extensive reforms that are being implemented in Uzbekistan have  the decision by the Cotton Campaign to lift the global boycott of Uzbekistan cotton products. This achievement became possible thanks to strong political will of the Uzbekistan President and through the work of the National commission on combatting human trafficking and the eradication of forced labour together with ILO, its tripartite constituents, and the civil society”.

The past year was marked by signing a new Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for Uzbekistan for 2021-2025. The new DWCP results from the tripartite consultations on ILO support and is fully aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) in Uzbekistan signed in September 2020. It considers the key provisions of the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work. It is aimed to support the implementation of the ILC 2021 Resolution on a "Global Call to Action for a Human-Centred Recovery" to ensure the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis is fully inclusive, sustainable and resilient.

According to Guy Ryder, Director General of the ILO, “as the ILO, we are happy to continue support and facilitate this process under a new expanded Decent Work Country Programme - the first one in this region that is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. We are determined to fully contribute to achieve such ambitious objectives and continue to provide full support to all our Constituents, including in Uzbekistan. We are determined to pursue our excellent cooperation with Uzbekistan”.

Heinz Koller, ILO Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, noted that “this new DWCP is the result of successful tripartite cooperation that marks a new stage in our relationship. Today, Uzbekistan has achieved its goal of eradicating both systemic child and forced labour in the cotton sector and we all agree that forced and child labour have been left in the past”.

Nozim Khusanov, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan, is satisfied with the fact that “today, besides the issue of child and forced labour, we are discussing other areas of cooperation with the ILO, including social protection, employment, skills development, occupational health and safety, compliance with fundamental principles and rights at work, among others..”

The new Decent Work Country Programme for 2021-2025 is structured around the following key areas: improving the regulatory framework governing labour relations; enhancing decent work and better employment opportunities for youth, women and vulnerable groups, generated by inclusive and equitable economic growth; extending the access of the most vulnerable groups and workers to equitable, inclusive and quality education and social protection; and  strengthening social dialogue and the institutional capacities of the social partners.