Trade Union Guide on the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria

PSI developed this guide to raise the understanding and the capacity of its members in the health and social care sector on the human rights of IDPs to quality public services and on the rights of workers delivering public services to IDPs and host communities.

In June 2018, Public Services International (PSI) launched the Project on Building Trade Union Capacity to Defend the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons to Quality Public Services in Nigeria. The objective of the project is to ensure that internally displaced persons (IDPs) are able to fully exercise their human rights through access to quality public services delivered in decent working conditions, and that trade union members in health and social services have increased capacity to represent the interests of workers affected by internal displacement by organizing and campaigning on issues related to internal displacement.

However, there is limited source of information accessible to trade unions to help them better understand the nexus between IDP issues, post conflict management, decent work, social protection and quality public services. Thus, PSI developed this guide to raise the understanding and the capacity of its members in the health and social care sector on the human rights of IDPs to quality public services and on the rights of workers delivering public services to IDPs and host communities.

Likewise it is the expectation that through this guide, there will be better engagement by public service trade unions on IDP issues, and that IDP-related interventions will be dealt with not only through the humanitarian perspective but likewise linked to employment, labour rights, human rights, socio-economic and sustainable development policy concerns.

This guide is designed for trade union members for the purpose of building their capacities to defend the human rights of IDPs to quality public services in Nigeria and on the rights of all workers involved in the delivery of public services to IDPs and host communities. It provides trade union members with basic knowledge of the human rights of IDPs and to defend non-discriminatory access to quality public services. The aim of the envisaged training sessions is to increase the capacity of trade union members to engage and participate actively as a major stakeholder in advocacy, campaigns, policy development and social dialogue on issues pertaining to internal displacement and access to quality public services at all levels.