The 111th session of the International Labor Conference is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 5 to 16, with the participation of government representatives and social partners of the member countries of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The The session discusses important global social issues in the post-pandemic era.
The Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Sahil Babayev, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Trade Union Confederation (AHIK), Member of the Milli Majlis, Vice-President of the International Trade Union Confederation and the Pan-European Regional Council Sattar Mohbaliyev and the President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mammad Musayev attended the event. participates.session discusses important global social issues in the post-pandemic era.
On June 7, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation, Minister of labour and social protection of population Sahil Babayev spoke at the session about the high development indicators in Azerbaijan, the achievements of the friendly concept, the important benefits of the subsystem “Labor and employment” despite the negative effects of complex political and economic processes on a regional and global scale.
It was reported that the territory of Azerbaijan is among the countries most contaminated with mines. 302 Azerbaijani citizens lost their lives or were injured as a result of Armenia’s mine terrorism. Landmines hinder the reconstruction process in liberated areas and the return of former IDPs to their homes.
At the event on June 9, ATUC chairman Sattar Mohbaliyev gave a wide-ranging speech. He spoke about the continuous socio-economic development of Azerbaijan, successful economic indicators, steps taken by the government in the aspect of strengthening the social protection of the population, effective reforms covering all areas and implemented programs.
He said that the main goal of the document “Azerbaijan 2030: National priorities for socio-economic development” adopted in 2021 is to increase the level of well-being of the population on the basis of strengthening the country’s economy, reduce poverty to a minimum, return the population to the territories freed from occupation, and liberalize access to foreign markets: “As one of the important measures implemented in Azerbaijan in this direction, the “Smart Village” project was developed by the state and is being successfully implemented in order to stimulate the process of settlement of the population in our territories freed from occupation.
World experience shows that the technology of creating such villages makes it possible to reduce the current level of poverty by up to 50%. The implementation of this program guarantees the fulfillment of our obligations under the European Social Charter.
“Currently, there is a high level of cooperation between the International Labor Organization and us. I hope that technical support and effective mutual cooperation will be continued by the International Labor Organization in the field of educating trade union members about social protection”, said the chairman of the ATUC. He also responded to the baseless claims and slanders of Henrikh Yeritsyan, a member of the Armenian delegation, who participated in the event : “I regret to say that they are abusing this session and resorting to false political propaganda. Concretely speaking, the Armenian delegation repeatedly made inappropriate and groundless accusations against our country. The Armenian delegation claims that Azerbaijan does not fulfill the decision of the International Court of Justice and violates the movement of the civilian population through the Lachin road, thereby endangering the health and lives of individuals.
In order to refute these accusations, I would like to share the information about Azerbaijan’s establishment of a border checkpoint on the Lachin road in April 2023 as a measure to comply with the relevant order of the international court. The newly established checkpoint serves as a mechanism for transparency and rule of law over traffic along the Lachin road. This ensures the safety of movement, including movement for medical purposes. On the other hand, a border checkpoint was introduced to prevent systematic and large-scale abuse of the Lachin road by the Armenian side.
Armenia’s abuses include the rotation of personnel of the Armenian armed forces illegally stationed in the territory of Azerbaijan, the transfer of weapons and ammunition, the entry of terrorists and the implementation of other illegal acts, and other actions that endanger the health and lives of civilians living in this region.
Then Sattar Mohbaliyev brought to the attention of the delegation of Armenia and other participants what was said in the decision of the International Court of Justice: “The Republic of Azerbaijan must take all measures at its discretion to ensure the uncontrolled movement of people, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions.” I should note that the obligation to ensure movement and other human rights and freedoms does not include the illegal crossing of individual persons across state borders.
We call on the Armenian delegation not to use such international platforms for false propaganda purposes in the future, including to refrain from misinterpreting the decisions of the International Court of Justice.”
It should be noted that ATUC representatives will also participate in the 33rd General Assembly of the International Trade Union Confederation to be held on June 11.