Yara and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya today held a meeting in Oslo towards its common goal of supporting human rights, democracy, and the situation for workers of Yara’s potash supplier in Belarus.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said:
“Yara is an important long-term partner for Belarus. However, considering the ongoing mass terror conducted by the regime, we believe it is time for Yara to freeze its activity in Belarus until rule of law and democracy are reestablished, and all political prisoners are unconditionally released and rehabilitated. At today’s meeting with Yara's management, I stressed our willingness to see Yara as a partner for a free and democratic Belarus in the future”.
Yara President & CEO Svein Tore Holsether said:
“We are all strongly impacted by the repressions and human rights violations we are witnessing in Belarus, and we are constantly trying to use our presence in Belarus in order to promote workplace safety and human rights, with the support of several human rights organizations and the independent trade unions. The meeting today has provided me with deeper insights into the position of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and we agreed that we could have a stronger voice and take further action. We as Yara have decided to reevaluate the situation and will make a decision on our further presence in Belarus by December. Meanwhile, we will continue to use our position to further drive the workers’ safety and human rights agenda”.
