UN committee urges Lithuania to reconsider ban on transit of Belarusian fertilizers

March 29, BPN. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has urged Lithuania to reconsider its ban on the transit of Belarusian fertilizers, BNS reported.

A lack of fertilizers had a negative impact on food security in Africa and Latin America, it said.

Belarusian potash giant Belaruskali, under Western sanctions since 2021, accounted for a large share of fertilizer exports, transported by rail to the Lithuanian Port of Klaipėda.

In February 2022, Lithuania halted shipments of Belarusian potash fertilizers through Klaipėda. Officials in Minsk argued that the sectoral sanctions, including on potash, should be lifted because of possible increases in the world’s famine levels.

In January, the European Commission reportedly started consultations in order to lift sanctions on fertilizers.