Leanid Sudalenka: We Should Convey Situation With Forcible Labour In Belarus To UN

Belarusian human rights defenders intend to stop summoning of minors for potato harvesting.

The parents of 13-year-old schoolgirl Viktoryja Papchenia from Maladzechna, who died last year on a kolkhoz field during potato harvesting, sued the state. Legal inspector of the Trade Union of the Radio-Electronic Industry Workers in Homel Leanid Sudalenka, who represents the interests of the parents against the state in this case, believes that the state, represented by the officials, violated the girl's right to life, Radio Racyja reports.

The vicious practice of bringing children to forcible labour at agricultural enterprises should be stopped, Leanid Sudalenka says:

- We are starting this complaint as a strategic claim, forwarded to the United Nations Human Rights Committee,where we raise the issue that, through the forcible labour of schoolchildren, the state violated a child's right to life in this particular situation, when the girl died. This should be the last death of a child on a kolkhoz field.

Due to the death of schoolgirl Viktoryja Papchenia, the head of the department of education and the school principal were reprimanded, two vice-principals were lowered in position to ordinary teachers.

Leanid Sudalenka believes that the head of the department of education and the school administration should bear not only disciplinary responsibility, but also be subjected to criminal liability.