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A group of UN human rights experts on Thursday urged the Belarusian government to stop targeting independent trade unions and comply with international labour standards.
The experts — a group of five Special Rapporteurs — called on Belarus to cooperate with the UN and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to protect the rights of trade union leaders and members:
The Rapporteurs referred to a 2024 UN report describing how nearly all independent civil society groups in Belarus have been dissolved since 2020. The only national trade union still operating is the state-aligned Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB), which, according to the report, lacks independence. The experts said Belarusian workers can no longer freely join or form unions or engage in real collective bargaining.
In response, the Belarusian government rejected the accusations. Officials told the ILO that actions against unionists were a response to criminal behavior, not peaceful organizing. They cited the 28,000 registered unions as evidence that labor rights remain strong in the country and decried international monitoring missions as interference in domestic affairs. They dismissed the ILO as politically motivated and claimed to have already addressed most of the organization’s concerns.
Belarus is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as ILO Convention No. 87 (freedom of association) and Convention No. 98 (right to organize and bargain collectively).
The ILO has been monitoring the situation in Belarus for years. In 2004, an ILO Commission of Inquiry found that Belarus was in breach of both core labour conventions. After nearly two decades of limited progress, the ILO in 2022 invoked Article 33 of its Constitution, which allows member states to act collectively when a country persistently fails to comply with ILO obligations.
The UN experts maintain that the crackdown on unions is part of a wider suppression of dissent in Belarus and violates its international legal obligations.
The post UN experts demand an end to Belarus trade union crackdown appeared first on JURIST - News.
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The experts — a group of five Special Rapporteurs — called on Belarus to cooperate with the UN and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to protect the rights of trade union leaders and members:
According to the experts, Belarus has shut down independent unions, labeled them “extremist organizations” and prosecuted members under national security laws. Some unionists have been jailed or forced into exile, while others face trial in their absence. The group also cited reports of mistreatment and lack of medical care in detention. They echoed ILO calls for Belarus to allow medical visits to imprisoned unionists and to accept a mission to meet detained labor rights defenders.
The Rapporteurs referred to a 2024 UN report describing how nearly all independent civil society groups in Belarus have been dissolved since 2020. The only national trade union still operating is the state-aligned Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB), which, according to the report, lacks independence. The experts said Belarusian workers can no longer freely join or form unions or engage in real collective bargaining.
In response, the Belarusian government rejected the accusations. Officials told the ILO that actions against unionists were a response to criminal behavior, not peaceful organizing. They cited the 28,000 registered unions as evidence that labor rights remain strong in the country and decried international monitoring missions as interference in domestic affairs. They dismissed the ILO as politically motivated and claimed to have already addressed most of the organization’s concerns.
Belarus is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as ILO Convention No. 87 (freedom of association) and Convention No. 98 (right to organize and bargain collectively).
The ILO has been monitoring the situation in Belarus for years. In 2004, an ILO Commission of Inquiry found that Belarus was in breach of both core labour conventions. After nearly two decades of limited progress, the ILO in 2022 invoked Article 33 of its Constitution, which allows member states to act collectively when a country persistently fails to comply with ILO obligations.
The UN experts maintain that the crackdown on unions is part of a wider suppression of dissent in Belarus and violates its international legal obligations.
The post UN experts demand an end to Belarus trade union crackdown appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.