12 December 2024

...As German companies increasingly look to Uzbekistan as a business destination, promoted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation and the German textile association, this report assesses the challenges for German companies to conduct effective human rights due diligence to ensure compliance with supply chain legislation... Companies are increasingly required under soft and hard law to conduct risk-based due diligence and identify and address human rights risks across their supply chains. However, they face significant challenges in high-risk contexts like Uzbekistan...

This report seeks to examine to what extent companies are fulfilling their due diligence obligations and what needs to change to ensure full compliance with German and EU legislation as well as internationally recognised responsible business conduct.

Key Findings:

[...]

• The risk of forced labour and other rights violations in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector therefore remains high.
• Company disclosures suggest that they no longer consider forced labour or other rights violations to be a risk when sourcing from Uzbekistan and lack information on efforts to identify, prevent, mitigate and remedy.
• Companies must adopt a human rights-based approach to due diligence which reflects the country context particularly with regard to restrictions on freedom of association, freedom of expression and civil society activity, including independent monitoring.
• Companies should further invest in mapping and disclosing their supply chains up to and including the raw material level to ensure full compliance throughout their supply chains and improve traceability.