To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment he has made of child labour used in cotton picking in Uzbekistan. [115630]

Although DFID has not made an assessment of child labour used in cotton picking in Uzbekistan, the Department is committed to tackling child labour as part of its work on eliminating poverty and promote human rights and social justice. We are working towards long-lasting changes, tackling the underlying poverty and discrimination that force children into harmful work. In addition we are supporting the work of the International Labour Organisation and its International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). This includes addressing the problem of child labour through our basic education projects, through support to the programmes of civil society organisations such as Save the Children and by working with socially responsible business through the Ethical Trading Initiative.