Joint Declaration on the Promotion of the Rights of Assembly and Association for Workers in the Informal Economy

April 30, 2024

Washington D.C. ,Banjul and Geneva – This International Workers Day, the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) of the OAS, Chairperson of the Working Group of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (the Working Group of the ACHPR) and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association (UN Special Rapporteur) urge all States to take meaningful and effective action to protect and ensure the fulfilment of the human rights of informal economy workers, with a particular attention to their assembly and association rights.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has estimated that more than 60% of the worlds works, more than 2 billion persons, were working in the informal economy in 2023. This share is not expected to decrease in the near future. In Latin America as a whole, approximately 48% of workers are estimated to be working in the informal economy. In some countries, however the rate is 70% or more. For its part, in Africa, eight of ten workers are in informal employment.

REDESCA, the Working Group of the ACHPR, and the UN Special Rapporteur emphasize that the informal economy workers face increased social and economic insecurity. In his recent report on advancing the rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association of workers in the informal economy, the UN Special Rapporteur points out that among others challenges, informal work is often characterized by poor employment conditions, low wages and lack of protection against non-payment of wages, layoffs without notice or compensation, compulsory overtime, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions as well as limited options for the enjoyment of the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Furthermore, it is worthy to highlight that these harms, human rights violations and vulnerabilities have a discriminatory impact, including on women who are overrepresented in the informal economy, as well as other marginalized communities, including people of African descent, indigenous peoples, people living in poverty, migrants, domestic workers and other ethnic minorities.

In this regard, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights Advisory Opinion OC-27/21 should be recalled. The Opinion observes the difficulties informal economy workers, including women in particular, face in fully enjoying their rights to freedom of assembly and of association, and in employing those rights in support of better conditions of work and more equal societies.

Taking the above into account, the experts welcomed the adoption by the ACHPR on 20^th March of resolution 579 (LXXVII) 2024, mandating its Working Group on Economic and Cultural Rights to develop Guidelines on the Protection of the Rights of workers in informal economy sector in Africa together with model law(s) to regulate occupations in the informal economy. This landmark resolution will contribute to better protection of the right to association and assembly for workers in the informal economy.

The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are guaranteed by, among other sources of law, by ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No.87), and the ILO Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No.98), Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 8 of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Within the framework of the Organization of American States (OAS), the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are guaranteed by the Charter of the OAS, the American Convention on Human Rights and the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San Salvador). The right to free association and freedom of assembly are guaranteed in Articles 10 and 11 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights. Notwithstanding these provisions, REDESCA, the Working Group of the ACHPR and the UN Special Rapporteur note that these rights are neither properly respected, protected or fulfilled in the world as a whole nor in the Americas and Africa in particular today.

In light of these circumstances, the REDESCA, the Working Group of the ACHPR and the UN Special Rapporteur call on all States to broaden labor protections to encompass all informal workers, addressing both direct and indirect discriminatory effects of informality, especially those impacting women and intersecting with race, age, religion, disability, migration status, economic status, national or social origin or any other social condition. They further call for the adoption of effective strategies to facilitate the transition from informal to formal employment, in accordance with ILO Recommendation No. 204, to enhance working conditions and lessen worker vulnerability. In this regard the States must ensure that all laws, including labor laws, do not discriminate or restrict the right to associate to formal economy workers, by any means. They also must ensure that workers in the informal economy are able to take part in institutions designed to promote workers' participation.

Ultimately, REDESCA, the Working Group of the ACHPR and UN Special Rapporteur emphasize that States must recognize individuals in the informal economy as workers entitled to all human and workers' rights, which are fundamental human rights. In this line, States are urged to ratify all relevant human rights treaties, at both the universal and Inter-American and African levels, to actively prevent and reverse any limitations on workers' rights, and to ensure complete respect for their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

The Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to strengthen the promotion and protection of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights in the Americas, leading the Commission's efforts in this area.

The Working Group on Economic and Cultural Rights is a special mechanism of the ACHPR that was established to promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights in Africa.

The mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association was established by the resolution 15/21 adopted by the Human Rights Council in October 2010 and extended by resolutions 24/5 in September 2013, 32/32 in June 2016, and 41/12 in July 2019.

No. RD084/24

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