Webinar on Informal Economy Work and the Right to Work in Africa

Date: Tuesday May 30, 2023
Time: 12:00hrs – 14:00hrs (GMT); 15:00hrs – 17:00hrs (EAT); 14:00hrs – 16:00hrs (SAT)
Duration: 2 hours
Languages: Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese

Register to attend!

This webinar is organized by the Solidarity Center, the ILAW Network, and the Working Group on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ECOSOC) of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). The webinar will explore the consequences of the widespread non-recognition of worker rights for the majority of workers in the African context, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups such as women and children, who remain excluded from collective labor rights, the right to non-discrimination at work, the right to work in just and favorable conditions, and the right to social protection.

The overall objective of the webinar is to investigate the causes and consequences of informal economic work in relation to the respect, protection, and realization of human and peoples’ rights on the African continent. The aim is to suggest solutions that will integrate these considerations into the work of the African Commission. The webinar will also consider recent advances in legislation and case law at the national and regional levels regarding workers in the informal economy, and discuss a way forward within the African Human Rights instruments and institutions.

The expected outcome of the webinar will be recommendations for actions aimed at protecting and promoting human and peoples’ rights in the context of the right to work under equitable and satisfactory conditions, receiving equal pay for equal work, and ensuring social protection. The webinar will also explore the role of the African Commission in addressing these issues.

The webinar seeks to provide the Commission and its stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of the wide-ranging implications of informal economy work on the realization of human rights. It aims to identify the best course of action and serve as a tool to integrate concerns related to informal economy work into the Commission’s efforts to promote and protect human rights.

Speakers

• Hon. Commissioner Mudford Zachariah Mwandenga, Chairperson, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Ms. Ziona Tanzer, Solidarity Center
• Hon. Commissioner Remy Lumbu, Chairperson, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Member of the Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Prof. Frans Viljoen, Expert Member of the Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Aminta Ossom, International Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School
• Teresa Marchiori, Women in the Informal Economy Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO)
• Pamihdzai Bamu, Law Programme, Women in the Informal Economy Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO)
• Ziona Tanzer, Solidarity Center
• Jeff Vogt, Solidarity Center

Participants

• Members of Special Mechanisms dealing with thematic issues most affected by informal economy work
• Representatives of States parties to the African Charter
• Representatives of National Human Rights Institutions