Belarus draws attention to labor, sex slavery victims in European Union

MINSK, 13 September (BelTA) – A Belarusian delegation led by Resident Representative in the UN Office in Geneva Mikhail Khvostov took part in the 24th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 12 September. The Belarusian delegation called upon Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Gulnara Shahinian to direct close attention to the problem of detecting and rehabilitating victims of labor and sex slavery in countries that welcome migrants, particularly in countries of the European Union due to their refusal to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry told BelTA.

The Belarusian diplomats also urged the Special Rapporteur to visit the most troubled countries of the European Union.

The delegation reminded about the official invitation for the Special Rapporteur to visit Belarus for the sake of getting familiar with cutting-edge national practices, including the legislation to regulate the operation of employment agencies and modeling agencies. The legislation is believed to be an effective tool to combat slave trade today.

The Belarusian diplomats recommended that the Special Rapporteur should use her authority to track global initiatives aimed at fighting slave trade and pay more attention to the promotion of technical cooperation with nations.