On this Human Rights Day, the IUF urges governments to put human rights at the center of the COVID-19 recovery. We will not go back to normal because normal, with its daily massive human rights violations, was the problem. IUF affiliates are fighting for a world without violence against trade unionists, without gender based violence, without discrimination against LGBTI workers or discrimination based on the race, ethnicity, or citizenship status, a world where the right to food is secure through a gender just and sustainable food system, where food and agriculture workers are respected, where austerity policies are defeated, where people are put before profits, where public goods are brought under public control and where trade unions and democracy form the foundation of a just society.
- Patricia Alonso, IUF Vice President & Chair of the IUF Women’s Committee : “This could be our opportunity for a fundamental change in which the end of violence against women, discrimination, segregation and all human rights violations create the foundation for a more just society. This requires a political decision and conviction from the spheres of power in order to truly create a new normal where equality and equity for all human beings constitute a real revolution.”
- Michele Kessler, IUF Vice President & Chair of the IUF LGBTI Workers and Allies Committee : “Our mission is to insist on inclusive workplaces where homophobia and transphobia are not tolerated. Further we will stand up for LGBTI people and their families in our communities. Our voices united can have an impact across the globe.”
- Monica Bufon Augusto, IUF Vice President & Chair of the IUF Young Workers’ Committee: “Our movement fights against all types of violence in the Brazilian countryside, from murderers who steal land and rights to the violence of strenuous labor that sickens and depresses. We will never accept the passivity of the State, and we will always stand together to denounce these crimes and to fight for a dignified life for all workers.”
- Mark Lauritsen, IUF President: “All humans have rights, and on this Human Rights Day, regardless of who you are, where you come from, or who you love, we stand united as trade unionists and will fight together for our shared vision of social and economic justice.”
