STATEMENT BY THE GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITUATION AROUND THE GAZA STRIP
The trade union movement of the Commonwealth of Independent States is deeply alarmed by reports about the recent sharp escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. As a result of bombing and shelling, many innocent civilians have been killed there, among them women and children, and a number of civilian facilities, including social institutions, have been destroyed.
The efforts to help achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict made by the United Nations, particularly by its Secretary-General and Security Council, as well as by several interested states have so far produced no desired results.
The General Confederation of Trade Unions affiliating 10 national trade union centres and 28 industrial Trade Union Internationals, calls on the parties to the conflict around the Gaza Strip, to cease hostilities immediately and start peace negotiations based on the UN proposals in order to prevent a dangerous escalation of the conflict, restore, as soon as possible, a peaceful environment in the region, and help resolve the issues related to the Palestinian-Israeli settlement as a whole.
General Confederation of Trade Unions
Moscow, November 20, 2012