Britain as a ‘force for good’ in Central Asia Working Group: Turkmenistan paper

Similarly, as recently as July 2020 the Minister for Europe was promoting the Turkmenistan United Kingdom Trade and Industry Council (TUKTIC), established by the British Embassy in Ashgabat and the Government of Turkmenistan in 2010, in bilateral discussions with the Turkmen Foreign Minister.15 One of the key ways in which the UK can assist with issues of governance in Turkmenistan is by getting i. [...] As of 2022, the Government continues to force public sector employees to pick cotton, despite some slight hopes that the new President Serdar Berdymuhamedov would take steps to acknowledge the problem and reform the system.20 In spite of global and persisting efforts by civil society organisations and international bodies, the Turkmen authorities continue to deny the use of state-imposed forced la. [...] With legislation banning the import of forced labour products in effect in the US and Canada, and developments underway in the EU and Australia, the UK is at risk of becoming a dumping ground for products made with forced labour Turkmen cotton. [...] For this reason, brands and retailers based in the UK or retailing in the UK should be required to establish a legally-binding policy that prohibits the use of cotton from Turkmenistan and prohibits business with companies that use it, and require all spinning and fabric mills in their supply chains to implement the same policy. [...] The World Bank has a project in the pipeline to “support agricultural diversification by facilitating private-sector investments in horticulture value chains, providing complementary public services, and facilitating adoption of a more supportive policy framework for the subsector”.25 The UK should exercise ‘voice and vote’ at the World Bank to prevent any investment that would benefit the Turkmen.