Minister: West is trying to justify its economic blockade of Belarus

MINSK, 12 June (BelTA) - The West is trying to justify its illegal actions on the economic blockade of Belarus, Belarusian Labor and Social Security Minister Irina Kostevich said at the 111th session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva, BelTA has learned.

"Western countries and individual trade unions do not need the truth. Their task is to justify their illegal and unjust actions aimed at the political isolation and economic blockade of Belarus. It is unfortunate that the ILO [International Labor Organization] has been drawn into this political game," Irina Kostevich said.

At the same time, more and more countries begin to understand the essence of the anti-Belarusian agenda promoted by the West in international organizations and to support Belarus, she noted.

Belarus successfully cooperated with the ILO a few years ago, Irina Kostevich said. The measures taken by the Belarusian government have been repeatedly acknowledged by the organization. The dialogue between the parties developed in a positive manner. "So some speakers lied when they said that the government systematically failed to take action. Only after the 2020 presidential election campaign, the ILO bodies, as if by order, changed their assessments, sharply notching up criticism," Irina Kostevich emphasized.

The key argument for putting pressure on Belarus is that “some trade union activists have been prosecuted, and their organizations have stopped working." "Trade unions are a significant part of the civil society in Belarus. Trade union rights are enshrined in laws and respected in practice. Yet, trade unions should perform the functions of trade unions,” the minister said. “Some citizens have indeed received jail terms. But this has nothing to do with trade union work. They used the status of a trade union organization to cover up their destructive activities aimed at toppling the legitimate government, which does not correlate with the tasks that a true trade union is called upon to solve.

According to Irina Kostevich, the opponents of Belarus are trying to use the ILO to realize their goal - to discredit Belarus in the international arena, to increase political pressure on the authorities, and to launch another wave of sanctions based on ILO decisions.

"I have two questions for the lobbyists of the resolution. First, does a trade union status give a carte blanche to break laws? Secondly, is the ILO going to achieve its lofty goals by isolating Belarus and infringing on the interests of its citizens. I am sure that there is not a single person in the room who does not understand that this runs contrary to the philosophy of the ILO and its objectives. That this will have a negative impact on the economic and social rights of all Belarusians, especially the vulnerable groups: children, the disabled and the elderly," the minister stressed.

The annual session of the International Labor Conference is running in Geneva these days. Representatives of workers, employers and governments from 187 ILO member states are set to analyze the situation with working conditions, employment, and the level of social guarantees in each of the participating countries.

Some are trying to use the ILO to accuse Belarus of allegedly failing to present people with the opportunity to unite in trade unions and conclude collective agreements. Under the onslaught of Western countries, the International Labor Organization is actually proposing to introduce new restrictive measures against workers of Belarus. At the same time, a large number of countries support Belarus.

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