List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

There are reports that adults are forced to cultivate silk cocoons in Uzbekistan. A silk cocoon is the protective casing a silkworm spins around itself before metamorphosing into a moth. Silk cocoons can be processed and unwound to produce silk thread. Forced labor in cocoon production predominantly occurs among farmers in the south of the country, although evidence suggests that other rural families are also subjected to forced labor in this sector. Based on estimates from the Uzbek-German Forum, a majority of the over 45,000 farmers in Uzbekistan who produce silk cocoons each year do not have the freedom to refuse this work; they are compelled to perform it by government officials. Regional- and district-level officials assign each farmer a quota for the production of silk cocoons, and threaten farmers with fines, the loss of their leased farmland, or physical violence if they fail to meet the quota. Farmers are required to sell their silk cocoons back to the government at an official procurement price, which can be too low to offset the cost of cultivating the cocoons, and often experience underpayment, delayed payment, or receive no payment at all. Regional- and district-level governments also impose quotas on neighborhood councils called mahallas, which use their authority over distribution of social benefit payments to force neighborhood residents to cultivate silk cocoons. Because silkworms require constant attention and the maintenance of a carefully controlled environment in order to survive, farmers and rural families often cultivate cocoons in several rooms of their own homes and many work more than 20 hours a day during the approximately month-long cultivation period.

Uzbek Translation

ILAB has reason to believe that cigarettes containing tobacco produced in Ukraine are made with an input produced with child labor and forced labor, specifically tobacco from Malawi. Tobacco from Malawi produced with child labor and forced labor was added to ILAB’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in 2009 and added to ILAB’s List of Products Produced with Forced or Indentured Child Labor that same year for forced child labor. Thousands of children and adults work on tobacco farms in Malawi, with many hired through deceptive recruitment practices and working in debt bondage, and many facing withholding of wages and the inability to leave employment due to threats of reprisals. Tobacco from different sources is often mixed at the point of sale and at leaf buying facilities. Ninety percent of Malawi’s tobacco is exported abroad. In 2023, Ukraine imported $15.75 million in unmanufactured tobacco from Malawi, often for use in cigarette production.

Ukrainian Translation

There are reports that children as young as 7 engage in illegal amber extraction in Ukraine. Children from low-income families in the Polesia region of western Ukraine, including in Rivne, Volyn, and Zhytomyr Oblasts, are particularly vulnerable to involvement in amber extraction. For example, one human rights organization reports that thousands of school children extract amber, and that their labor is essential to the amber industry. According to media reports and local government officials, child labor is systemic in the illegal amber extraction industry and is a growing problem. The amber extraction process creates large pits and exposes children to risk of injuries when extraction pits collapse. Children engaged in illegal amber extraction are also at risk of violence at the mining site. 

Ukranian Translation

There are reports that children as young as age 7 work in stone quarries in Uganda. Children, primarily boys, quarry and break stone in 3 of the 4 regions of Uganda. Areas of particular concern for children working in quarries include the northeastern Karamoja region and Central Uganda. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics estimates that 2,124 workers are involved in formal employment in stone quarrying; the majority of these work in quarries in Central Uganda. However, many workers are also known to quarry stone in informal, artisanal quarries, including many children. According to international organizations, media sources, and the U.S. Department of State, numerous incidents of children quarrying and breaking stone have been reported across the country and most notably in the northeastern Karamoja region. This work prevents children from attending school. In addition, children are exposed to loud noises, dust, long hours in extreme heat, and injury from flying stone fragments. Accidents from quarrying stone have resulted in loss of limbs, broken spinal cords, and loss of sight. 

Swahili Translation

There are reports that children as young as age 7 mine gold in Uganda. This practice is especially common in eastern Uganda and in the northeastern Karamoja region, where children typically work alongside family members. According to international organizations and the media, thousands of children abandon school to work in ASGM. One research study found approximately 1,000 children working in gold mines in central Uganda. Boys work in dangerous conditions in the mines, collecting soil from deep, open pits. Children mine gold in riverbeds, use toxic mercury to process gold ore, and carry water from long distances to sift and wash sediment.

Swahili Translation