Escalating international tension: Iran and Libya - Joint ETUC-ITUC Letter to EU leaders

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Escalating international tension: Iran and Libya

"We urge the European Union to do whatever you can to promote dialogue and negotiation, and the search for diplomatic solutions."

Joint ETUC-ITUC letter sent to EU leaders

Dear President,

Dear High Representative,

Dear Prime Minister

Dear Minister,

As the representatives of 45 million trade union members in Europe and 200 million around the world, we are seeking your urgent action at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Friday 10 January 2020 to address the escalating international tension over Iran and Libya. A statement on Iran from the International Trade Union Confederation issued earlier this week https://www.ituc-csi.org/the-ituc-calls-on-the-governments and we are jointly committed to urging the international community to take action to promote peace and justice, and to stop the slide towards violent conflict and war.

In both cases, we are opposed to external interference and the deployment of weapons, including the use of drones, the growing trade in arms and even the threat of nuclear escalation. We urge the European Union to do whatever you can to promote dialogue and negotiation, and the search for diplomatic solutions.

Working people are always among the first to suffer from the growth of nationalism and international tensions, whether as the victims of violence or as the first casualties of the restrictions on democratic freedoms that result. We look to our democratically elected governments to promote a dialogue for peace, including the renewal of the nuclear deal in Iran, and the prevention of foreign interference in Libya.

We are ready, as the representatives of working people in Europe and the world, to work with you in any way we can to prioritise people and peace over violence and war.

Yours sincerely,

Sharan Burrow

 

Luca Visentini