Improvement of the legal regulation of the prohibition of forced labor in the Republic of Uzbekistan

In this article the author examines the current state of the prohibition of forced labor in the Republic of Uzbekistan, in particular, measures taken by the state to prohibit forced labor and to eradicate the worst forms of child labor. The article shows the relationship between forced labor and the principles of the prohibition of discrimination in employment and occupation and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, and draws attention to the need to harmonize the definition of forced labor, contained in the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with ILO Convention № 29. The circumstances contributing to the risk of the use of forced labor are defined, including imperfect legislation, in particular the absence in the Labor Code of Uzbekistan of a closed list of jobs that do not constitute forced labor. The article notes that unreasonable narrowing of the term “forced labor” in the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on administrative responsibility often limits the possibility of bringing to justice those guilty of using forced labor. On the basis of the analysis of administrative and criminal responsibility for forced labor according to the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan the need to extend the scope of the articles on responsibility for forced labor to legal entities was substantiated. Despite the positive dynamics of development in the sphere of prohibition of forced labor in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the author concludes that an integral part of this process should be the solution of a range of economic, organizational and social measures, the implementation of which is impossible without improving national legislation, bringing it into conformity with international labor standards.