Education International affiliates celebrate Human Rights Day with Nobel Prize
The importance of trade unions in achieving human rights is evident for all to see today as the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the Tunisian National Quartet, which includes five Education International affiliates.
Under the United Nations’ banner “Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always," Human Rights Day is being recognised today around the world with a strong sense of optimism and hope. This optimism for the future is on full display in Oslo, Norway where the Tunisian National Quartet is being awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its “decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.”
“The recognition of the key role of human rights, asserted through social dialogue, in building democracy in Tunisia is not only a win for human rights, but highlights the importance of trade unions in asserting those rights and building just and sustainable societies,” said Education International (EI) General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen in is Human Rights Day statement. “As we mark Human Rights Day, we pay tribute to those teachers around the world who have made the ultimate sacrifice to assert their rights and to those who continue to fight for their rights at work and for civil liberties.”
Included in the Quartet are five EI affiliate organisations. They are: the Fédération générale de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche scientifique (FGESRS), Syndicat général de l'enseignement de base (SGEB), Syndicat Général de l'Enseignement Secondaire (SGES), Syndicat Général des Inspecteurs de l'Enseignement Primaire (SGIEP), and the Syndicat National des Médecins, Dentistes et Pharmaciens Hospitalo Universitaires (SNMDPHU) are all members of the UGTT.
“This award is the culmination of the UGTT historical path since its founding in 1946, where it participated in the national movement for independence and sacrificed with martyrs, also elaborated an economic and social program that helped building a modern country, which led to the development of social and human rights and restored social relationships and played a key role in the revolution of 2011, and contributed to protect Tunisia from the civil war,” said Taher Dhaker, EI’s Arab Countries Cross Regional Structure (ACCRS) Committee chair and a member of the SGEB, from Beirut.
The Quartet is set to receive the Nobel Prize on behalf of four civil society organisations, the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT, Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail), the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA, Union Tunisienne de l'Industrie, du Commerce et de l'Artisanat), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH, La Ligue Tunisienne pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme), and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers (Ordre National des Avocats de Tunisie).
