‘International community must protect Palestinian people, stop war on Gaza’

In his address at the opening session of the 50th Arab Labour Conference in Baghdad, Iraq, organised by the Arab Labour Organization from April 27 to May 4, Minister of Labour and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Labour Organization HE Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, stressed the continued support for the Palestinian cause until the Arab people in Palestine obtain their freedom and establish their independent state on their land

MINISTER of Labour and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Labour Organization HE Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri has called on the international community and all peace-loving people to provide the necessary protection for the unarmed Palestinian people, stop the unjust war on Gaza immediately, and hold the perpetrators of these brutal crimes accountable before international courts.

In his address at the opening session of the 50th Arab Labour Conference in Baghdad, Iraq, organised by the Arab Labour Organization from April 27 to May 4, the minister stressed the continued support for the Palestinian cause until the Arab people in Palestine obtain their freedom and establish their independent state on their land.

He said that the 50th session of the Arab Labour Conference comes under exceptional circumstances that the Arab nation is going through, pointing out that the situation in the Gaza Strip is still burning and the economic crisis continues to cast its shadow on labour markets and employment issues in the Arab countries.

He expressed hope that the conference will come out with decisions and recommendations that contribute to achieving the aspirations of peoples in securing decent work opportunities and achieving a balance between creating more job opportunities, preserving the rights of workers to decent working conditions and reaching more secure, stable and just labour markets.

Dr Marri said that during the past year, the Board of Directors of the Arab Labour Organization discussed many important statutory, financial, administrative and technical issues, in addition to reviewing in its report the situation of workers and the people of Palestine in the occupied territories, where it condemned the crimes committed by the occupation authorities against workers and the people of Palestine as war crimes and genocide.

He pointed out that the Board of Directors reviewed the financial position of the organisation in terms of contributions and arrears to Member States and the reports of the Financial and Administrative Supervisory Authority and auditors on the final accounts of the Arab Labour Office in Cairo and the institutes and centres affiliated to the organisation for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2023, noting that the Board adopted the ambitious plan presented by the Arab Labour Organization for the years (2025-2026), which we hope for your cooperation and support for its implementation.

The opening was attended by Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shi’a Al Sudani, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Iraq Ahmed Al Asadi, who is also the chairman of the Conference, Director-General of the Arab Labour Organization Fayez Ali Al Mutairi and representatives of the three production parties in the Arab countries (governments, employers and workers) according to the principle of tripartite representation and a number of relevant Arab and regional organisations.

The 50th session of the Arab Labour Conference addresses vital issues that directly impact labour markets in the Arab region, labour issues in the Arab world, the Director-General’s report on the future of human resources in light of the technological revolution, and the challenges facing human resources in Arab countries in light of technological progress.