The Minister of Labor, Dr. Enas Al-Attari, the International Labor Organization, in a speech during the Solidarity Forum with the Workers and People of Palestine, on the sidelines of the International Labor Conference (112th session) held in Geneva, stressed the necessity of working together to stop the death, killing, and war of extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip, which has been continuing since the seventh. From last October until the present day, in addition to the necessity of opening the crossings to bring in aid and humanitarian support for more than two million Palestinians, starting the reconstruction of Gaza, the return of the displaced, and opening horizons for a political process that ends the occupation and allows our people to exercise their right to self-determination on the land of our Palestinian state.

Attari also called on the countries participating in the conference to provide all forms of support and support to the workers and people of Palestine, in a way that ensures co
ntinued income for thousands of unemployed workers, calling for the widest participation in discussing the report of the Director-General of the International Labor Organization on the conditions of the workers and people of Palestine, which depicts the reality in which they live. Workers, employers and the Palestinian people, and clearly confirms that the occupation policies are stifling the Palestinian economy, making it unable to absorb thousands of Palestinian labor, demanding that it be transformed into executive mechanisms to stop violations against Palestinian workers, and provide emergency relief and assistance to them.

She added, “The position of the extremist Israeli government requires the United Nations and the countries of the free world and its living peoples to build a broad front that obliges Israel, which has ignored and defied international legitimacy, to implement its decisions,” referring to the daily Israeli violations against our Palestinian workers and people, from confiscating lands,
building settlements, and isolating the West Bank. Dismembering it with dozens of gates and barriers, controlling the movement of goods and individuals, preventing investment in areas classified as C, demolishing buildings and facilities, confiscating clearance funds, in addition to practicing collective punishment against approximately 200,000 Palestinian workers who were expelled from their workplaces within the Green Line, stealing their rights and arresting them. Large numbers of them, especially workers in the Gaza Strip.

Atari thanked the countries that recently took the initiative to recognize the State of Palestine, including: Norway, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia, calling on the rest of the countries that did not recognize the State of Palestine to take the initiative and recognize the State of Palestine.

In turn, the Director-General of the International Labor Organization, Gilbert Hongbo, called for stopping the aggression against the Palestinian people, and participating in support, relief and re
construction of what was destroyed by the Israeli war.

For his part, the Director-General of the Arab Labor Organization, Fayez Al-Mutairi, stressed during the forum the position of the Arab Labor Organization in support of the Palestinian demands, most notably the translation of the Director-General’s report into work mechanisms and programmes, calling for support for the Palestine Workers’ Assistance Fund.

The Iraqi Minister of Labor and Social Affairs/ Head of the Arab Group, Ahmed Al-Asadi, stressed that the International Labor Organization must adopt mechanisms to stop and hold the occupation accountable for its violations and crimes against Palestinian workers.

Representatives of employers and workers pointed to the need to translate the Director-General’s report into implementation programs and mechanisms.

For his part, the representative of the government of Slovenia, during his speech at the forum, supported the demands of Palestine after his country recognized the State of Palestine, indicating
that recognition of Palestine contributes to a just and comprehensive solution to their issue.

It is worth noting that the forum was organized on the sidelines of the 112th session of the International Labor Conference, in the presence of a large number of ministers and representatives of the three groups

Source: Maan News Agency