Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai is the recipient of the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ (AFL–CIO) 2016 human rights award.
According to freeassembly.net, Kiai who is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, will on Wednesday be in Washington, DC, to accept the honour.
"Kiai, will receive the honour “in recognition of his dedication to and effectiveness in highlighting the widespread denial of fundamental human rights at work and in society,” added freeassembly.net.
“It is a singular honor to receive the 2016 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award – not only because of its stature, but also because it comes from the labor rights community,” Kiai said.
“For far too long we have pigeonholed labor rights and human rights as separate issues, but in this era of closing space to exercise rights, it is essential that we think bigger. Labor rights are human rights, and we are stronger when we forge alliances and work together to achieve our goals,” he added.
The former Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) chair has made the issue of assembly and association rights in the workplace a central theme of his mandate, focusing on the subject in his 2016 report to the General Assembly and addressing labour issues extensively during his official visits to UN member States.
Earlier this week, AFL-CIO’s global advocacy and research coordinator Charlie Fanning said Kiai was chosen for the award because he “has raised the profile of worker organising as essential to defending human rights in a corporate-led, globalised economy.”
“Kiai’s 2016 report to the United Nations makes clear the failure of many industrialised and developing countries to protect and respect human rights at work, often stifling organizing to attract investment from global brands,” Fanning added in a blog post.
“Kiai’s work as special rapporteur makes clear that only a rights-based approach to the challenges of poverty, inequality and injustice will lead to lasting solutions.”
--freeassembly.net