April 19 marked two years since the collective arrest of the leaders of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions and the ban on independent trade unions in the country. Since then, despite repeated appeals and efforts of the UN, the situation has not improved. On the contrary, mass repression continues with more than 40 trade union leaders still imprisoned, including Aliaksandr Yarashuk, a member of the ILO Governing Body and former member of the IUF Executive Committee.
- Belarus continues to be the most repressive country in Europe, where human rights are blatantly violated and mass arrests and torture of dissidents continue; this has led to an unprecedented decision by the ILO to apply Article 33 of the ILO Constitution, which calls on all member countries to collectively exert pressure on Belarus to stop violations of fundamental rights and freedoms
- In advance of the International Labour Conference in June 2024, the IUF calls on its affiliates to seek active support from union delegates and from their governments for the application of measures under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution including a review by their countries of all economic, political and cultural relations with the Republic of Belarus
IUF General Secretary Sue Longley stated, “While union activists in Belarus are imprisoned, we are all not free. It is imperative for the international labour movement to maintain and escalate our support for democracy and workers’ rights in Belarus.”
