BUILDING AND WOOD WORKERS INTERNATIONAL (BWI)
Two trade unionists were arrested on 11 March 2006. The General Secretary of the Djibouti Workers Union (UDT) and UDT International Relations Secretary were both driven to the premises of the Criminal Brigade without being presented with any form of warrant.
The two trade union leaders were brought before an examining magistrate for questioning, charged with supplying information to a foreign power and then committed to the civil prison of Gabode. They have not had access to a lawyer or a doctor.
These imprisonments come on top of a long list of trade union violations in Djibouti including repression of collective action, unfair dismissals, legal prosecution and arbitrary detentions. The Government continues to restrict freedom of association, the right to strike and collective bargaining both in law and in practice. Trade unionists are subjected to constant harassment and protests are met with police brutality.
In its protest message to the President of Djibouti, BWI strongly condemns these arrests and charges and calls on the authorities of Djibouti to ensure their immediate and unconditional release; to guarantee the detainees access to a lawyer and doctor, as provided for in the Penal Procedure Code; and to comply with ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and the right to organise and bargain collectively. For Anita Normark, BWI General Secretary, "As arrests and arbitrary detentions of independent trade unionists have been multiplying since September 2005, we must continue to call on Djibouti to respect the rule of law and freedom of association".
