The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) conference was held in the Cypriot city of Larnaca, with the participation of a delegation from Syria headed by Fawaz al-Ahmad, President of the General Federation of Syrian Trade Unions (GFTU).
The conference was attended by 66 Arab labor organizations during which the participants discussed the status of the WFTU in the Arab region. They also discussed the ongoing Israeli aggression against countries in the region, as well as the coordination and activation of the Arab and international trade unions stance to confront it.
Moving Forward Post-Assad
During his speech at the conference, Ahmad conveyed the greetings and love of the working class in Syria, emphasizing that it achieved its freedom thanks to its revolution after a nearly 15-year war. He added that Syria, nine months after the fall of the Assad regime, is returning to its pivotal and historic role on the Arab and international scene and is confidently moving toward the future.
Ahmad reviewed the GFTU’s achievements after liberation, calling for the revocation of the decision to suspend the operations of the WFTU’s regional office in Damascus post-Assad. He emphasized the federation has always advocated human rights, calling for all those involved in terrorist acts to be brought to justice while defending the unity of the Syrian people, with all their sects and components.
Ahmad added that the GFTU made strenuous efforts to preserve the WFTU, not only in the Arab region but also globally, providing all forms of financial and moral support. He called on the international community, and free trade union forces in particular, to take a clear and explicit stance against the Israeli occupation, which persists in its genocide in Gaza and continues its attacks on Syrian territory, disregarding international laws and humanitarian conventions.
It is worth noting that the WFTU, founded after the end of World War II and comprising 134 countries, has stood with the Palestinian cause, and all its members have condemned the escalating Israeli attacks on Palestine and Arab countries.
