First ever training workshop on labour rights coming up in Uganda

Violations of labour rights are among the most common and serious human rights violations overall. East Africa, where most of the legislation in this field was drawn in the colonial days, primarily to regulate collective bargaining and movement of labour, all to the benefit of the colonizers, makes no exception. However, due to the complexity of these rights, however, attempts to amend their violations and establish higher standards of observance tend not to be given sufficient priority. This goes for state authorities, NGOs and civil society initiatives and international organisations alike. The result is a deep discrepancy between on the one hand internationally agreed standards, on the other national legislation, including shortcomings in the implementation and enforcement of this. Furthermore, on-the-ground realities frequently leave much to be desired even in relation to insufficiently enforced legislation. Labour rights also interact with other rights, again, often to negative effect.

The workshop, to take place at Windsor Hotel, Entebbe, from 24th to 27th of February, also marks the inauguration of activity of the East Africa Human Rights Foundation (EAHRF). This forum aims to capacitate independent national NGOs and other relevant interest groups in order to adopt a regional approach to human rights promotion, protection and education. The Foundation targets the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania that have already adopted formal operative rationales and principles for integration and regionalization under the East Africa Community. Recognising that this is primarily a government based process and that civil society organisations within the block remain slow in harnessing the potential advantages of adopting regional strategies to their work, EAHRF will from now on seek to encourage human rights NGOs throughout the region to establish larger, regional alliances and thus enable themselves to exchange experience, co-ordinate activities and add weight to their approaches towards both national and international authorities. 

Approximately 60 delegates representing key human rights organisations from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will participate in the workshops and draw upon their large amounts of accumulated experience to shed light on the various areas of labour rights violations. While progress is clearly discernible in some areas, for instance the prohibition of child labour, in other areas, like assembly rights, collective bargaining and the right to strike, the national levels of observation in all three countries are still well below international standards.

Niels Jacob Harbitz, left, managing co-ordinator for HRH´s projects to establish Human Rights Houses in Kenya and Uganda, has accepted an invitation from HURINET and its co-host, the International Committee of Jurists, Kenya Section (ICJ-Kenya) to attend the workshop, acquire instant knowledge in a much neglected field of human rights violations and also make contact with a number of key human rights activists and organisations throughout East Africa.