Please note we are collecting only organizational signatures and that all signatures will be made public. We are planning to release this joint statement on Thursday April 3, but it will remain open for new signatures even after the release.
Full statement here.
JOINT STATEMENT
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, call on the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to take urgent and concrete action to remedy the severe harms inflicted on workers and communities by Indorama Agro, a cotton producing company in Uzbekistan that received $130 million financing from both institutions.
Third party labour assessments and independent monitoring findings confirm systemic labor rights violations by Indorama Agro, including unpaid wages, contract violations, union-busting tactics, retaliations against workers and rights monitors, and the lack of an effective grievance redress mechanism.
Indorama Agro has systematically eroded workers’ rights by exploiting their vulnerability created by insecure working conditions whereby employees have been misclassified as “service providers”, depriving some 400 workers of trade union membership and safeguards and benefits under employment law. Public monitors have documented multiple cases of workers being coerced to work without pay under the threat of non-renewal of their contracts—an indicator of forced labor.
Furthermore, government officials and Indorama Agro representatives have intimidated and harassed workers to silence those who speak out. Civil society organisations have documented over 80 incidents in which workers were subjected to threatening calls and visits from local authorities, police, security services, and company representatives in retaliation for reporting rights violations and engaging with civil society organisations.
Alongside labor violations, the project also resulted in the economic displacement of some 10,000 farmers and farm workers through land seizures obtained without free, prior and informed consent. Indorama Agro failed to implement required livelihood restoration measures, leaving thousands without access to land and income.
In January 2025, the IFC informed civil society organisations that Indorama Agro had exited the project early by prepaying its loans to both lenders while serious labor rights abuses remain unaddressed.
The EBRD and the IFC project documents acknowledged the risks associated with the project prior to loan approval, yet failed to mitigate them effectively. Despite repeated reports of rights violations at Indoram Agro to the EBRD and the IFC by civil society organizations over a period of four years, lenders continued to disburse loan payments without ensuring their client complied with environmental and social safeguards.
Without a functioning grievance mechanism, independent trade union representation, or public monitoring, thousands of affected workers and farmers are now isolated, voiceless, and unprotected without justice or restitution.
We, therefore, call on the IFC and the EBRD to take the following urgent actions:
Establish a remediation program to restore the livelihoods of displaced farmers.
Ensure the payment of unpaid wages and bonuses to workers by leveraging Indorama’s global partnerships and/or creating a worker compensation fund if Indorama refuses to comply.
Engage with the Uzbek government to ensure full compliance with labor assessment corrective actions.
Ensure accountability for retaliatory actions against workers and public monitors.
Support capacity-building initiatives for workers affected by the project, equipping them with the necessary skills to actively participate in decision-making on labor rights and working conditions.
Conduct and disclose an independent evaluation of the project’s environmental and social impacts.
The EBRD and the IFC must take responsibility for the harm by leveraging their influence with Indorama globally and with the Uzbek government to ensure that remedy is achieved, further loss of livelihood is prevented and an environment is created where farmers and workers can improve their working conditions without fear of reprisal.
Failure to do so will not only deny thousands of people justice but will also expose both institutions as enablers of labor exploitation and embolden abusive actors to exit projects early with impunity. This will convey the message that development finance institutions prioritize corporate interests over human rights—a message that must not stand.
According to one worker, “This news [the IFC and the EBRD exit] has affected me very badly. It is very painful. We were hoping for something to change. Unfortunately, they fired us. The company is paying its loans with the money they stole from us."
We stand in solidarity with the affected people seeking justice and will continue to hold the IFC and the EBRD accountable for those harmed by their investments.
