MINSK, 24 December (BelTA) – The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) has sent a complaint about the European Union's actions to the United Nations Organization. The complaint was prompted by the European Union's economic sanctions against a number of Belarusian enterprises and was sent to the UN Human Rights Council, the FTUB press service told BelTA.
According to FTUB, the European Union has repeatedly made decisions in favor of introducing unjustified discriminatory measures of economic nature against Belarus. Such actions run contrary to fundamental principles of international law, FTUB believes. Resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council have stressed more than once that unilateral coercive measures contradict international law, the UN Charter as well as the norms and principles that regulate peaceful relations between countries.
According to the source, such measures fail to take into account the United Nations Organization's view that such actions nearly always have a serious impact on economic and social rights of people, infringe upon the right to labor and have far-reaching negative consequences for the entire population of the countries the measures target.
FTUB Secretary for International Work Anna Varfolomeyeva stressed: “International law obliges all countries to respect the human right to work. Among other things countries are required to abstain from actions that directly or indirectly hinder this right. The European Union's decisions to enforce sanctions directly contradict this requirement and infringe upon the right to work of the people employed by the sanctioned enterprises. Because restrictions on the operation of the enterprises may lead to lower salaries and staff layoffs.”
The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus insists that the European Union's actions must be recognized as illegal and urges the UN Human Rights Council to assist with the abolishment of these measures.
