Uzbekistan, ILO Advance Labor Reform Talks in Geneva

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan Pushes Labor Overhaul at Geneva Talks, Eyes Alliance 8.7 Membership

Uzbekistan signaled deepening commitment to international labor standards this week, as its minister held direct talks with the ILO's top rights enforcement body in Geneva.

Minister of Poverty Reduction and Employment Botir Zakhidov met with senior officials from the International Labour Organization's FUNDAMENTALS Department — the body responsible for upholding core labor principles and rights — on the sidelines of the International Labour Conference.

The discussions covered a broad reform agenda, centering on strengthening Uzbekistan's labor institutions, advancing social partnership frameworks, and embedding the ILO's Decent Work principles into national policy.

A focal point of the meeting was Uzbekistan's participation in Alliance 8.7, the global initiative named after Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7, which calls for the eradication of forced labor, modern slavery, human trafficking, and child labor by 2030. Uzbekistan's engagement with the alliance signals a shift from years of international scrutiny — including past concerns raised by the ILO itself — toward active, treaty-aligned reform.

Delegates also addressed safe migration governance, a pressing issue given the significant volume of Uzbek labor migrants working abroad, particularly in Russia and other CIS states. Officials discussed the development of a national roadmap to combat human trafficking, a policy instrument intended to systematize and accelerate legal and institutional changes already underway.

Both sides confirmed their commitment to sustaining bilateral cooperation and supporting the broader labor reform trajectory in Uzbekistan.

The talks reflect a wider pattern of Tashkent using multilateral platforms to signal reform credibility — an approach that has become increasingly central to Uzbekistan's foreign economic and diplomatic strategy under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.