Presentation of the International Staff Association of UNESCO (ISAU)
The establishment of ISAU was a turning point in union life at UNESCO.
It also enshrined the fundamental right to freedom of association, as defined by the international Convention No. 87 of the International Labour Office (ILO) adopted at its 31st session in San Francisco in July 1948.
Convention No. 87 stipulates in Article 2 that workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing.
Better still, Article 23, paragraph 4, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes freedom of association as a fundamental human right.
The establishment of ISAU was therefore both a response to the aspiration for justice and democracy within the Organization and a desire for unity in diversity.
ISAU also put an end to the monopoly of the UNESCO Staff Association (STA) which, for better or for worse, was the only body authorized to represent the staff before the Director-General.
As of 1976, an increasing number of staff members were disappointed with the functioning of STA which, in view of the many changes that had taken place at the Organization, was no longer able to meet the demands and needs of the staff. It therefore became necessary to mobilize to build an association that could adapt to the developments and meet the needs of the growing Organization, particularly because it was no longer conceivable that a single cultural group, by numerical strength alone, could dominate.
Around four hundred staff members signed a petition to the Director-General of the time, requesting authorization to establish the new Association.
The request was submitted to the General Conference at its 21st session, held in Belgrade. The authorization was granted.
The signatories acted as agents of a group representing more than 80 different nationalities and were guide by the principles and objectives of democracy and respect for minorities in all the decision-making bodies on the basis of consensus. The objective was also to ensure that joint activities were structured on a harmonious functioning in line with the Constitution and ideals of the Organization, namely, with the exclusion of any militant unionism of a national character, or participation in the management of the Organization in the form of co-management.
The aim was to establish:
- a staff Association allowing democratic expression, with discretion for all cultural differences, in the same vein as the Organization, in decision-making concerning its goals, its programme of action and its practices;
- a staff Association determined to develop a working atmosphere, based on respect for others and understanding of all cultural differences.
Facilities were thus granted to ISAU as an association representative of the staff, in accordance with Regulation 8.1 of the amended Staff Regulations and Staff Rules.
