Sentencing of Côte d’Ivoire union leader sparks international condemnation – JURIST
Amnesty International called for the release of Côte d’Ivoire unionist Ghislain Duggary Assy on Thursday, urging authorities to respect the right to strike.
Amnesty International’s Interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa Marceau Sivieude stated:
Teachers cannot be treated as criminals for exercising their fundamental rights. The authorities must respect and guarantee the human rights of everyone in the country, including the right to freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right to a fair trial.
The rights group also urged the government to guarantee the right to strike for everyone in the country as per the Côte d’Ivoire Constitution and the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention of 1948, which was ratified by Côte d’Ivoire in 1960.
Ghislain Duggary Assy is the communications secretary of the teachers’ union Mouvement des Enseignants pour la Dynamique de la Dignité. He was charged with organizing the collective action of civil servants outside the prescribed legal framework and “obstructing the operation of the public service,” and he was sentenced to two years imprisonment on April 8. A coalition of teachers’ unions submitted a strike notice to begin on April 3 and 4, 2025, due to issues around working conditions, quarterly bonuses, and bad faith from the government in negotiation processes. Amnesty International noted that the strike notice was sent “in compliance with legal procedure.”
Following this submission, dozens of union organizers, including Assy, were arrested when a group of “hooded men” showed up at his home. Assy had previously been under house arrest when teacher unions protested earlier in October 2024. During the 2024 strike, the Côte d’Ivoire government promised to establish a committee to oversee these issues, but union members said this committee has not convened once since its inception.
Article 18 of the country’s constitution allows for workers in the public and private sectors to organize and strike within the limits of the law. Local news sources have highlighted how this case could set a precedent in how Côte d’Ivoire deals with unions and its constitution within a climate marked by protest movements in several sectors.
The trial is expected to begin within the next two weeks.
