http://www.sida.se/OmVarlden/Reportage/Resor/Hard-diktatur–varma-manniskor/

 http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/dasfeature/2033182/

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Sean Rudolph, Sean@ilrf.org or 202-347-4100 extension 113

Nike Called Out for Doing Business with Slave Cotton Company

While Competitors Take Action, Nike Shelters Supplier with Deep Ties to Brutal Uzbek Regime

(Washington, D.C) – Uzbek human rights activists, political leaders, and prominent dissidents released an open letter today calling on Nike (NYSE: NKE) to stop doing business with Daewoo International, the largest processor of forced labor cotton in Uzbekistan. The 141 signatories, many of whom have been harassed, threatened, tortured or imprisoned by the current Uzbek regime for speaking out against human rights abuses, are asking Nike to follow the lead of several major apparel companies that have taken action to remove Daewoo International from their supply chains.

The letter, unveiled at OregonLive.com and the International Labor Rights Forum’s website, describes the recent death of 18-year-old Navruz Muyzinov, who was beaten by police officers in Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan when he left his assigned cotton field before meeting his cotton picking quota. According to a letter to Radio Free Europe from an anonymous source, who said he witnessed the episode, the teenager went to pick cotton that day instead of his mother. Feeling sick, he left the fields early. On the road he was stopped by two police officers, who quarreled with Navruz and beat him. The teenager was later taken to a hospital, where he died that evening.

For decades, the government of Uzbekistan, under the dictator Islam Karimov, has forced millions of children, teachers, public servants and private sector employees to pick cotton under appalling conditions. Those who refuse are expelled from school, fired from their jobs, denied public benefits or worse. The government combines these penalties with threats, detains and tortures activists seeking to monitor the situation and continues to refuse the International Labor Organization’s efforts to monitor the cotton harvest.

Daewoo International, a South Korean-based company owned by the steel manufacturer POSCO (NYSE: PKX), is one of only a handful of companies that have defied an international call to stop using Uzbek cotton harvested using forced labor.

“Nike claims to be a champion of human rights,” said Ruslan Nurullayev, Human Rights Initiative Officer for AwarenessProjects.org. “But Nike’s decision to protect Daewoo sends a dangerous message to other companies and damages the efforts of Uzbek citizens who have risked their lives to bring justice to Uzbekistan’s cotton fields.”

Nike, which only sources synthetic material from Daewoo International, has refused to end its relationship with Daewoo in spite of the fact that several other companies, including H&M, The Limited, C&A, and Michael Kors, have made moves to cut ties with the South Korean company.

“Nike would apparently rather harbor companies in its supply chain that are profiting from human rights violations than help bring an end to Uzbekistan’s heinous forced labor system,” said Umida Niyazova, founder of the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights.

“We are calling on Nike to follow the lead of other apparel and footwear companies by cutting ties with Daewoo,” said Aziz Yuldashev, Executive Director of AwarenessProjects.org. “It is time for Nike to take a meaningful stand against modern day slavery and forced labor in Uzbekistan.”

View the full text of the letter by clicking here.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS:

INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM (ILRF) is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. www.LaborRights.org

AWARENESSPROJECTS.ORG is an advocacy group committed to raising awareness about human rights and democratic governance in Uzbekistan. www.AwarenessProjects.org

UZBEK-GERMAN FORUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS is a German based NGO aimed at improving the human rights situation in Uzbekistan and strengthening and promoting civil society. www.uzbekgermanforum.org

УЗБЕКИСТАН

Совместный доклад гражданского общества, предоставленный для

Универсального периодического обзора

2-й цикл

Ассоциация «Права человека в Центральной Азии» – AHRCA, Узбекско-германский  форум по правам человека – УГФ и Центр по гражданским и политическим правам – МПГПП-центр представляют вашему вниманию совместный альтернативный доклад. В декабре 2008 года, во время первого доклада правительства Узбекистана, государства-участники ООН вынесли этому государству рекомендации по выполнению международных соглашений в области прав человека. Авторы доклада проанализировали ход реализации этих рекомендаций правительством Узбекистана.

В октябре 2012 года в соответствии с установленной процедурой настоящий доклад был представлен для включения в документы второго Универсального периодического обзора по Узбекистану. В нем отмечено 6 главных проблем, обозначенных Комитетом ООН по правам человека при рассмотрении доклада Узбекистана о выполнении Международного пакта о гражданских и политических правах (МПГПП) в марте 2010 года. В каждом разделе доклада анализируется текущая ситуация, он завершается рекомендациями правозащитников. Разделы доклада озаглавлены:

I. Запрет пыток, бесчеловечного и унижающего достоинство обращения и наказания;

II. Принудительный труд детей и взрослых;

III. Независимость судебной власти, право на справедливое судебное разбирательство, произвольное содержание под стражей;

IV. Свобода выражения мнения: преследования правозащитников, неправительственных организаций и журналистов;

V. Свобода вероисповедания: нелегальные религиозные группы и «экстремисты»;

VI. Положение выживших в Андижане и репатриантов.

25-28 марта 2013 года в рамках процедуры УПО в Женеве состоятся предсессионные встречи между представителями гражданского общества и делегациями государств для обсуждения ситуации с правами человека в Узбекистане. Авторам доклада предоставлена возможность участвовать в этих встречах и в среду, 24 апреля 2013 года, выступить на совещании, в котором примет участие делегация правительства Узбекистана.

UZBEKISTAN

Joint report of the civil society submitted for

Universal Periodic Review

2^nd cycle

Association for Human Rights in Central Asia – AHRCA, Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights – UGF and Centre for Civil and Political Rights – CCPR Centre, would like to draw your attention to their joint NGO report on Uzbekistan. In December 2008, during the first review of Uzbekistan, UN member-states made recommendations to the government on the implementation of international treaties in the sphere of human rights. The authors of this report have analysed the implementation of these recommendations by the government of Uzbekistan.

In October 2012, in accordance with the established procedure, the present report was submitted for inclusion in the documents for the second UPR review of Uzbekistan. It focuses on 6 problem areas identified by the UN Human Rights Committee when it considered the report of Uzbekistan on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in March 2010. The report examines the current situation with regard to each of these areas and then provides a number of recommendations drafted by the human rights defenders under each heading. The parts of the Report are as follows:

I. Prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment;

II. Forced labour and child labour;

III. Independence of judicial power, the right to fair trial, arbitrary arrest and detention;

IV. Freedom of expression and freedom of opinion: persecution of human rights defenders, non-governmental organisations and journalists;

V. Freedom of conscience: illegal religious groups and “extremists”;

VI. The situation of Andijan survivors and repatriates.

On 25-28 March 2013 in Geneva, within the framework of the UPR process, pre-sessional meetings will take place between representatives of the civil society and government delegations to discuss the human rights situation in Uzbekistan. The authors of the present report have been given the opportunity to participate in these meetings and present their concerns and recommendations to the government delegations who will take part in the review of Uzbekistan on Wednesday 24 April.

In der globalisierten Weltwirtschaft werden immer wieder Menschenrechte missachtet, aber muss dass so sein? Das Seminar wirft anhand des Beispiels Baumwolle einen kritischen Blick auf Geschichte und Gegenwart und zeigt auf bestehende Alternativen und Initiativen.

Mit ExpertInnen wollen wir der Sache auf den Grund gehen. Warum gibt es weiterhin diese gravierenden Probleme, was sind Ursachen und Ansätze für Änderungen? Was tut sich bei den bisherigen Initiativen? Was ist Greenwashing? Was macht einen Unterschied? Und was wäre ein Ansatz für eine Verbesserung der Baumwollproduktion weltweit?

Wir entdecken die Chancen des Recyclings beim Nähworkshop und planen Aktionen und weitere Veranstaltungen. Und wie geht das eigentlich mit dem anders wirtschaften bei Genossenschaften…? Platz für all diese Fragen und viele Antworten findet ihr beim Wochenende. Ihr müsst nur dabei sein!

Seminarort: Berlin, Wannseeforum.

http://wannseeforum.de

Teilnahmebeitrag beträgt 10 Euro und ist nach

Anmeldung zu überweisen.

Fahrtkosten können nur in Einzelfällen erstattet werden, da hierfür leider keine Fördergelder zur Verfügung stehen.

Weitere Informationen bei:

Jochen Dallmer, BUNDjugend: jochen.dallmer@bundjugend.de

Berndt Hinzmann, INKOTA-netzwerk: Hinzmann@inkota.de

Anmeldung bei: Hinzmann@inkota.de

Für eine Vollständige Version des Programms, bitte diesem Link folgen.