GENEVA – Further to the Human Rights Council side event on freedoms of association and of peaceful assembly in the workplace which took place on Monday 6 March, and on the occasion of a key meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, is recalling that the right to strike is a fundamental one enshrined in international human rights and labour law, and that its protection is necessary in ensuring just, stable and democratic societies: “As the 329th session of the Governing Body of the ILO starts today, I wish to reiterate the utmost importance of the right to strike in democratic societies. As stated in my 2016 thematic report to the General Assembly (A/71/385), the right to strike has been established in international law for decades, in global and regional instruments, such as in the ILO Convention No. 87 (articles 3, 8 and 10), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (article 8), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (article 22), the European Convention on Human Rights (article 11), and the American Convention on Human Rights (article 16). The right is also enshrined in the constitutions of at least 90 countries. The right to strike... Continue reading →
Statement by Maina Kiai SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHTS TO FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND OF ASSOCIATION 71st session of the General Assembly, Third Committee, Agenda item 68 (b) 20 October 2016, New York Madam Chairperson, Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present to you my final report as the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. It has been an honour to appear before this august body for the past four years and to draw much-needed attention to the challenges facing those who exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association around the world. My mandate was created at a time when it was increasingly clear that individuals wanted and were demanding a larger say in public affairs and in decisions that affect them. The uprisings in different parts of the globe, most prominently the colour revolutions in the former Soviet Republics and the Arab awakening are testament to this. My time in the mandate also covered a period during which the world faced a series of severe crises: growing poverty and inequality, violent extremism, financial collapse, intolerance of “the other,” climate change, and failing states, just to name a few. It was – and still is – a time when assembly and association rights were... Continue reading →
NEW YORK – United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai will appear before the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly on October 20 to present his final report to the body – a study examining the exercise of assembly and association rights in the workplace. Kiai, who is has served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association since 2011, is scheduled to present at the General Assembly’s 71st Session on October 20, at 12 p.m. noon local (EST) time. The session will be broadcast live on http://webtv.un.org/. Kiai’s report – which is available here – scrutinizes the exercise and enjoyment of assembly and association rights in the context of labour, with a focus on the most marginalized workers, including global supply chain workers, informal workers, migrant workers, domestic workers and others. Although labour rights are sometimes seen as distinct from more general human rights, the Special Rapporteur emphasizes at the outset of the report that this thinking is false. The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are in fact the foundation for the exercise of all labour rights, since are the vehicle that protects workers’ ability to meet, organize and have a collective voice. “Labour rights are human rights, and the... Continue reading →
