Every year for their entire history, the governments of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have systematically coerced their own citizens to cultivate and pick cotton, with the profits benefiting the government elite rather than the people. To harvest cotton last year, the Uzbek government forced over a million citizens to the fields, and the Turkmen government forced tens of thousands. Since neither government has changed its cotton production system it is inevitable that government-orchestrated forced labor will continue this harvest season, in violation of national and international law. In Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the world’s fifth and seventh-largest cotton exporters, the annual harvests began this week. Here are five key issues to monitor:

The US Government releases the TIP Report June 20. “The Government of Uzbekistan remains one of only a handful of governments around the world that subjects its citizens to forced labor through implementation of state policy,” reported the US Government in the 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report. This tragic reality has not changed.

When PRAYAS finally reached the police by phone early Thursday morning, they were informed that Patel had already been released on bail and that he had returned home, where Anil was still being held.  When pressed on whether they had attempted to rescue Anil when they arrested Patel, police washed their hands of any responsibility for the child laborer denying that they had any duty to secure his safety. They instead informed PRAYAS that this was an issue for child services or the labor inspectors, not the police.  When PRAYAS reached officials at the local labor commission, they too denied any responsibility, and in a dangerous game of bureaucratic hot potato, PRAYAS was instead given the names and numbers of three other government agencies to contact.

The rally yesterday, in combination with the pressure for New York Fashion Week to cancel Karimova's show, was incredibly successful in increasing awareness about forced child labor in Uzbekistan. It's important to remember that beyond Karimova and her fashion show, there continues to be forced child labor in the production of cotton from Uzbekistan. This is a critical human rights issue that affects apparel brands around the world as the cotton ends up in the clothing we buy. All garment companies must step up to prohibit the use of cotton from Uzbekistan as long as the government relies on forced child labor and ensure that a ban on Uzbek cotton is being fully implemented.