The World Bank is accused of funding agricultural projects in Uzbekistan that are linked to state-sponsored child labour and forced labour in the cotton industry. In a report out on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch and the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights said they documented systematic forced labour and cases of child labour in an area where the Uzbek government is implementing a World Bank-funded irrigation project.The human rights groups claimed their investigations pointed to the continued systematic use of forced labour throughout the country’s cotton sector, and said it is “highly likely” other World Bank-funded projects are affected...In recent years, following bans on Uzbek cotton by international retailers and fashion brands alarmed by reports of widespread mobilisation of children into the fields, the country has embarked on reforms to eradicate child labour from its cotton industry...The World Bank and the ILO both disputed the report’s findings. “The World Bank Group does not condone forced labour in any form and takes seriously reports of incidents in the cotton sector of Uzbekistan,” said a World Bank spokesperson. “We continue to voice our strong concerns on labour issues to the government of Uzbekistan and we have been working with the International Labour Organisation to put in place a robust monitoring programme.”...