§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will discuss with the Government of Belarus the maintenance of academic freedom and fair employment and recruitment practices.[HL4710]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)The Government, together with our EU partners, continue to raise issues of academic freedom in Belarus. Most recently we raised the closure of the European Humanities University in Minsk. I refer the noble Lord to the EU declaration of 30 July.
The Government fully supported the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) decision in November 2003 to launch an inquiry into persistent and serious violations of labour rights in Belarus. The inquiry recently concluded that many of the basic civil liberties of trade union members and leaders have been seriously infringed. Serious and systematic violations of the principles referred to in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work can result in the temporary withdrawal of trade preferences under the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme. The European Commission, with the backing of EU member states, is currently investigating trade union rights in Belarus and may recommend withdrawal of preferences.
The full text of the EU declaration is available on the Presidency's website: http://www.eu2004.nl.