ILC114 - EU Statement - Committee on Application of Standards - Turkmenistan C.105
International Labour Conference
114th session
Geneva, 10 June 2026
Committee on Application of Standards
Turkmenistan
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Republic of Moldova as well as the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.
The EU and its Member States are committed to the promotion, protection, respect and fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights and the abolition of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms, as enshrined in ILO Convention No. 105. We promote universal ratification and effective implementation of fundamental ILO Conventions and support the ILO in developing and promoting international labour standards and supervising their application.
The European Union is dedicated to supporting Turkmenistan's efforts to transition towards a more sustainable, green economy while simultaneously enhancing its business environment. This is one of the reasons why the European Union actively supports Turkmenistan's dialogue with the ILO and the Organisation's activities in monitoring the cotton harvest in the context of forced and child labour. We are also ready to support further the implementation of the Roadmap of Cooperation between ILO and Turkmenistan, extended until the end of 2026, which focuses on the strengthening of legal and policy frameworks, labour inspection, awareness-raising, and the promotion of an enabling environment for effective social dialogue.
Our support has taken a concrete form in the form of the ILO-EU project “Promoting Decent Work and the Prevention of Child and Forced Labour in Turkmenistan”. The 2 million Euro project until 2027 was launched on May 13. Implemented in partnership with the Government of Turkmenistan, the project will support ongoing efforts to strengthen the legislative framework, enhance institutional capacity, and advance the ratification and implementation of key ILO instruments, including the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention (P29), the Labour Inspection Conventions (Nos. 81 and 129), the Occupational Safety and Health Conventions (Nos. 155 and 187), and the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention (No. 102). We look forward to the project's contribution to the effective prevention and elimination of forced labour and child labour in line with international labour standards.
While the EU and its Member States recognise the commitment and cooperation of the Government of Turkmenistan in this important endeavour, we must also note with serious concern the ILO’s “2025 Observance of recruitment and working conditions in the cotton harvest in Turkmenistan” report published on 1 June 2026. Both the CEACR and this report illustrate how many major challenges in the elimination and further prevention of child labour and forced labour remain.
We note that the Committee of Experts has pointed to persistent forced labour in cotton production and called for its elimination in law and practice. We urge the Government, in cooperation with the ILO and social partners, to ensure the full elimination of forced and compulsory labour in the cotton sector.
We remain concerned by reports that public sector employees, including school, hospital and enterprise staff, were mobilised during the 2024 and 2025 harvest or pressured to pay for replacement pickers. We are also concerned that women were disproportionately affected, and by allegations concerning the mobilisation of prisoners and military conscripts. No person should face coercion or penalties linked to forced mobilisation in cotton production.
We recall the importance of eliminating the compulsory quota system and ensuring that no one is punished for failure to fulfil production quotas. We therefore urge the Government to issue, as a priority, the Presidential decree prohibiting coerced mobilisation for the cotton harvest and to ensure its implementation at all levels.
We are also concerned by interference during data collection affecting the ILO observance teams, while they were gathering information during the cotton harvest monitoring exercise.
We also note with concern the difficult and dangerous conditions faced by cotton pickers, including extreme temperatures, lack of food and water, poor sanitary conditions, limited access to protective equipment, insufficient written contracts, and remuneration that does not ensure a living wage. We call on the Government to improve recruitment and working conditions and to ensure that all labour in the cotton harvest is genuinely voluntary. We also urge the Government to strengthen labour inspection, law enforcement and complaints mechanisms, and to ensure effective remedies and protection against retaliation.
We further underline the importance of accountability. We urge the Government to investigate allegations of forced labour, to prosecute and sanction appropriately any public official involved, and to ensure that enforcement mechanisms operate effectively in practice. We also encourage continued awareness-raising and meaningful engagement with independent employers’ and workers’ organisations.
The EU and its Member States will continue to follow the situation closely and remain committed to supporting the effective application of fundamental labour standards. And in this context, we would like to recall the Forced Labour Regulation, which introduces a ban on products made with forced labour, ensuring they cannot be sold in the EU market, which will enter into full force in December 2027.
We take note of the additional written information provided by the Government of Turkmenistan and of its stated intention to cooperate with the ILO. We call on the Government to translate this cooperation into concrete progress. We urge the Government to intensify this engagement within a cooperation framework, extended to 2026 to implement the recommendations of the Committee of Experts and ensure compliance in law and practice with Convention No. 105.
Thank you, Chair.
- ^ North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.