Realizing Rights leads on 'Right to Decent Work'

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22 Aug 08, 11:28 PM | Joshua Wiese, EHHR Campaign Team
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September is quickly approaching, and with it, the Every Human Has Rights campaign will turn its focus toward the theme 'Right to Decent Work', led by campaign partner Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative. Realizing Rights considers work on "fostering equitable trade and decent work" critical to greater human development and security.

Decent work opportunities are too often overlooked in national development policies and are still a distant dream for many in rich and poor countries alike. Focusing on the right to Decent Work is particularly important as we mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

What is 'Decent Work'? Here is an excerpt from the recently launched 'Right to Decent Work' theme page, provided by the team at Realizing Rights:

As the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) set about their task in 1947 led by the visionary Eleanor Roosevelt, they drew upon a host of sources - from philosophers to revolutionaries to religious leaders and from every part of the world. They also drew upon a document that had already been in existence for almost thirty years – the Constitution of the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted as part of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I. The ILO was born out of the great labor struggles of the late nineteenth century, and based upon the belief that for true progress to occur, societies must build consensus among workers, employers and their political leaders.

That conviction can be seen in the UDHR’s affirmation that “everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment…everyone has the right to equal pay for equal work… the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity… and the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.”

The contemporary call for “Decent Work” is shorthand for these standards to be respected for women and men across the world... (read more)

You can stay up to date on 'right to decent work' campaign events via the news section of this website throughout September (and beyond). As Heather Grady alluded to in her recent Dispatch from Liberia, it's going to be a busy month. Here is a teaser of what is to come:

  • Decent Work Conference - organized by the Financial Times and the Norwegian Government, in cooperation with the Norwegian Trade Union Confederation and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise. The conference will bring together a wide range of stakeholders and featured speakers including Realizing Rights President Mary Robinson, ILO Director General Juan Somavia and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy. (5 September, Oslo, Norway, website).

  • Working Out of Poverty: A Decent Work Approach to Development and Growth in Africa - co-convened by the Government of Liberia, Realizing Rights and the ILO, this event will encourage specific commitments on decent work from senior representatives of governments, donors, companies and civil society organizations (5-7 September, Monrovia Liberia, website).

  • Decent Work and the MDGs - co-convened by the ILO and Realizing Rights during the week of the UN high level event on the MDGs, this meeting will explore how decent work can contribute to, and feature more prominently in efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (22 September, New York, website).

Learn more on the Right to Decent Work theme page.

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