BELARUS — An open letter – signed by 14 MEPs from 9 EU member states and 33 international NGOs from 14 countries – calls for an independent investigation of the Forest Stewardship Council regarding its certification of forests and timber and furniture trade linked to torture, repression and destruction of nature in Belarus. The open letter was initiated by British NGO Earthsight and Libereco. …At the end of 2022, Earthsight uncovered that the well-known international non-profit organisation FSC, was certifying Belarusian penal colonies and wood products and furniture made by political prisoners with its green label. Until early 2022 this furniture from Belarus was sold by Ikea and XXXLutz, and while Ikea withdrew from Belarus, many well known stores continue to sell furniture made in Belarusian prison camps. …NGOs are now accusing the FSC of failing to investigate the events after its eventual withdrawal from Belarus in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.