Read the joint final statement issued by the German NCP and parties concluding the specific instance - 1 November 2011

In October 2010 the German NCP received a request for review from the NGO the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) alleging that a German multinational enterprise, had breached the general policies, and employment and industrial relations provisions of the Guidelines in Uzbekistan. Specifically the NGO asserted that the company, by purchasing Uzbek cotton from state-owned companies in Uzbekistan, was supporting/profiting from child labour. They also asserted that the company was able, as a result of its business links, directly to exert influence on those responsible for cotton production in the Uzbek government and had failed to use that influence to pursue a critical dialogue on the issue of child labour or contribute in any other way to the improvement of the situation.

Despite the absence of an investment nexus, the German NCP found the request, in principle, to be sufficiently relevant to merit an in-depth assessment.

Both parties co-operated in discussions and information sharing and, as a result, a joint statement containing the parties' agreement on a solution was mediated by the NCP and issued in November 2011. The NCP duly concluded the specific instance.

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