GCTU GREETINGS TO 12TH CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF ARAB TRADE UNIONS
12th Congress
of the International Confederation
of Arab Trade Unions
Khartoum, Sudan
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On behalf of its member-organisations, the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU) extends its fraternal greetings to the delegates and all participants of the 12th Congress of the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, and wishes them a fruitful congress.
Since its foundation in 1956, the ICATU has made an invaluable contribution to the strengthening of the unity and mutual assistance of Arab trade unions, to the creation and development of the Arab workers’ movement based on the principles of cohesion in the struggle for peace, democracy, and social progress.
The International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions has won deep respect in the world trade union movement for its resolute struggles against imperialism and the dominance of international monopolies, in support of national liberation movements, for stronger diversified cooperation and closer cooperation with the world’s progressive trade union movement, including trade unions of our region with which the ICATU has always maintained fraternal relations.
Trade unions in the CIS countries appreciate highly the ICATU’s struggle for a just Middle East settlement on the basis of the well-known UN resolutions demanding an end to the occupation of Arab territories by Israeli troops, in support of the legitimate national rights and interests of the Palestinian people, against external military intervention in the affairs of the region, for immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Arab countries, first of all from Iraq, and for the right of the Arab peoples to solve their inner problems independently.
Today the ICATU, together with the entire trade union movement of the world, is faced up with serious challenges. They include the poverty of a huge part of the planet’s population, the growing unemployment, the pollution of the natural environment, the aggressive wars and armed conflicts, the persisting terrorism, and the spread of AIDS and other dangerous diseases. It is only through joint solidarity efforts, through resolute actions that we can successfully rise up to the challenges.
The General Confederation of Trade Unions, once again, wishes the ICATU a successful congress, and wants to assure its participants that it will further promote the development of traditional fraternal ties between trade unions in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the ICATU and its affiliates.
Fraternal greetings,
General Confederation of Trade Unions