Write to your MEP

The European Union is continuing to allow Uzbekistan to benefit from preferential import duties for its cotton exports to the EU. We are calling on the President of the European Union to remove these trade preferences for Uzbekistan to help end child slavery in the fields.

If you live in an European Union country, please write to your MEP to raise your concerns. Each EU country is divided into regions that are represented by a number of MEPs. You can contact any or all of the MEPs for your region.

See the sample letter below which you can personalise and add to. You can find out who your MEPs are and how to contact them at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/search.html or you can write to your MEPs directly through the website: http://www.writetothem.com

 

sample letter

Subject: Please remove EU Trade Preferences for Uzbekistan to Stop Child Slavery

Dear ____________ MEP

I am writing to you because I am concerned about state-sponsored forced child labour in Uzbekistan's cotton industry.

Schools are closed down for the duration of the cotton harvest and children, some as young as nine years old, are forced to pick cotton by hand for little, if any, pay. Students who fail to meet their targets or refuse to work are beaten or can face expulsion from school. Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of thousands of children are involved each year.

Despite assurances from the Uzbekistan government that forced child labour was outlawed in 2008, further evidence has been obtained of forced child labour continuing to be used during Uzbekistan’s 2010 cotton harvest, organised by Government agencies and public employees.

The single biggest destination for Uzbek cotton is the European market. I would like to know why the European Unioin is continuing to allow Uzbekistan to benefit from preferential import duties for its cotton exports to the EU.

I ask that steps will be taken to remove these benefits and ensure independent monitoring of the cotton harvest. I would also like to know what other action the European Union will take to ensure forced child labour is eradicated from Uzbek cotton production.

Yours sincerely
(your name)
 

Thank you for your help. Please forward copies of any replies that you receive to i.hasnain@antislavery.org