The Belarusian Authorities to Be Liable for Child Labour Before the UN

The UN Human Rights Committee has taken for consideration the communication of parents of passed away schoolgirl.

Now the Belarusians government has to seek an answer the national legal system failed to deliver - why the country practices child labour, which put the child to death, Homelskaya Viasna informs.

The communication was registered as №3265/2018 on November 19 and submitted to the state to give a substantive response.

It will be recalled that the death of the 13-year-old schoolgirl on the kolkhoz field resulted in criminal cases against teachers and the driver of the unfortunate truck. Leanid Sudalenka representing parents of the girl took it a step further.

He initiated a strategic litigation to prove the state guilty, not the driver and teachers. He wants to reach an absolute prohibition of child labour in Belarus both at the legislative level and the practical level.

Leanid Sudalenka says that the Popchenyas' case has precedents - the state violates the child’s right to life.

"Our objective is to record the case in the history. So that the decision on Vika Popchenya's case could be in every school and made officials be more realistic, if they suddenly decide to send schoolchildren to kolkhoz fields. As soon as the UN HRC delivers its decision, we will aim at its implementation at the legislative level - so that Belarus banned the child labour," the human rights defender said.

Leanid Sudalenka claims that this case is winning:

- Unfortunately, we failed to prove labour relations in court, the state insists that its not labour, but education with work! Nevertheless, within two years after the tragedy in Maladzechna, no more episodes with involvement of schoolchildren in agricultural labour has been fixed. As of today, the decision of the primary court on compensation for moral injury is completely met. The litigation of the Popchenyas continues. I believe that it will end with changes both to the national legislation and its practice.