The Cotton Campaign, a global coalition of human rights and labor organizations, recently submitted a letter to the World Bank urging the institution to incentivize the Uzbekistan government to end its use of forced labor in the agriculture sector. During the cotton harvest season, the government of Uzbekistan systematically uses the forced labor of more than one million people to pick cotton. One of the persons subjected to forced labor together with labor monitors subjected to abuse filed a complaint against the World bank’s private lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to investigate the forced labor issues linked with a $40 million loan to Indorama Kokand Textile operating in Uzbekistan. Read more here.
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We are excited to announce that, w/ our member @WRIEquity, we are developing a new initiative to protect Grassroots Environmental #Defenders!
The Standing Together for Environmental Defenders (#STAND) will offer training, financial support and collaborative partnerships 🧵(1/4)
📢 Save the Date! 📅 16:00CET, 9 April
Join BHRRC’s @ChristenDobson as she speaks at the online launch of new Indicators on Business & Human Rights, spearheaded by @ISHRglobal.
Register here👉: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5m9V1XgyQ0mN83ltukcjFg#/registration
🚨Today, as their hearing takes place, we urge authorities in #ElSalvador to drop all charges against 5 environmental rights defenders from @ades_sm.
The criminalization of HRDs for peacefully protecting their territory must end❗️
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/upcoming-hearing-five-community-leaders-and-environmental-rights-defenders-facing-2
Very worrying news from #Kyrgyzstan, where the president has signed the controversial law on "foreign representatives", that risks stigmatizing and silencing critical voices.
https://cpj.org/2024/04/kyrgyzstan-president-signs-russian-style-foreign-agents-law/
In a recent letter, local & intl CSOs had called on development banks to take a stance to protect #civicspace and use their leverage to push the Kyrgyz govt to stop the law.
https://rightsindevelopment.org/news/kyrgyzstan-foreign-representative-law/
Standing in solidarity with our Kyrgyz partners, we hope the govt will now withdraw the other proposed law on NGOs and will not use the new bill on foreign repr to target critics & silence dissent.
Read more in this analysis by @ICNLAlliance 👇
https://www.icnl.org/post/analysis/analysis-of-the-kyrgyz-republic-draft-law-on-non-governmental-organizations