A/HRC/4/16 page 11 32. In October, parishioners of the New Life church rallied to protest its possible closure by authorities who ordered the congregation to vacate the building it had bought and sell it to the Government at a nominal price. The parishioners started a hunger strike. 33. The same month, the Baranovichi Municipal Court sentenced the Pentecostal Church to pay fines for conducting religious activities without State permission. 34. On 1 December 2006, Catholic parishioners of Our Lady of Vostraja Brama started a hunger strike demanding that the Executive Committee of Grodno overturn the decade-long refusal to allow them to build a new church. On 6 December, their demand was agreed to by the City Council. B. Economic and social rights 35. Owing to the continuing refusal of the Government to allow the Special Rapporteur to visit Belarus, this part of the report is based on documentary sources. The last (fourth) periodic report submitted to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CCPR/C/84/Add.4) dates back to 1996, the Government of Belarus having failed to submit its fifth periodic report, due in November 2001. The UNDP Human Development Report 2006 ranks Belarus 67th out of 177 countries, with a Human Development Index of 0.794 (2004). Right to work and workers’ rights 36. Trade unions’ freedoms are severely restricted in Belarus. At its 297th session, in November 2006, the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization discussed the type of measures that could be taken to implement the recommendations of the 2004 Commission of Inquiry regarding trade union rights in Belarus. The Government of Belarus has recently engaged in discussions with the Governing Body of the ILO. It was also requested to cooperate with the ILO to ensure that the planned legislative changes are in line with the ILO conventions on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. 37. In October 2006, the leader of the Belarusian Trade Union of the Radio-electronic Trade was detained by border guards for two hours on his way to a Lithuanian health centre. He was not charged with any wrongdoing, but by the time he was released he had missed the bus. 38. On 21 November, the directorate of bus park No. 1 of Homel did not extend the contract of the head of the independent trade union. The deputy director of the bus depot stated that this person could not work for the company because he was a member of an independent trade union. 39. Trade unions, like some NGOs and independent newspapers, face difficulties in finding premises and therefore cannot secure the legal address required for registration. In October 2006, the administration of the Belnaftakhim company refused to provide an office to the main branch of the Free Trade Union of Belarus. As a result, the trade union could not register.