ITUC mourns the passing of Janek Kuczkiewicz

The ITUC is profoundly saddened at the sudden and untimely death of our Human and Trade Union Rights Director, Janek Kuczkiewicz, at his home in Brussels on 7 April.

The ITUC is profoundly saddened at the sudden and untimely death of our Human and Trade Union Rights Director, Janek Kuczkiewicz, at his home in Brussels on 7 April.

Everyone who knew Janek could not fail to have been impressed by his deep and abiding commitment to democracy, human rights and the rights of working people in particular. He pursued this cause with a singular determination and dedication which inspired those around him and which will secure his unique place in the history of the international trade union movement.

No challenge was too great for him, and no obstacle insurmountable. He refused to allow any adversity or risk to his own safety to deter him from his quest for justice and human dignity across the globe.

Janek Kuczkiewicz was born in Wilrijk, Belgium on 23 June 1956 and attended school in Antwerp, Brussels and Tucson, Arizona. He graduated cum laude in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium in 1981. He was active in journalism and politics whilst at university, and closely involved with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) throughout his adult life.

He joined the international trade union movement in 1982, working in the Economic and Social Policy Department of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), where he was a central figure in the international movement in support of the independent trade union Solidarnosć in the country of his forebearers, Poland. He was also active in the campaign to end apartheid in South Africa.

As his knowledge and expertise on international human and trade union rights issues grew, he took on an ever increasing range of responsibilities and built an unparalleled network of international contacts in the trade union movement, with human rights organisations and within the United Nations system, in particular the International Labour Organisation (ILO). He used this network with tremendous impact in campaigns to promote and defend trade union rights in countries from every corner of the world, and to advance the trade union cause in international law and practice. His proficiency in six different languages, his openness to the thoughts and ideas of others and his expert knowledge of international politics and law were attributes that he used to great effect.

In 2003 he was appointed ICFTU Director of Human and Trade Union Rights, and continued in that position at the ITUC from its Founding Congress in November 2006. He served as Advisor to the Workers’ Group in the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards at the annual International Labour Conferences from 2002 through 2007, and made an enormous contribution to the development of ILO jurisprudence through the preparation and submission of cases to its Committee on Freedom of Association and its Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations.

He was also chief editor of the Annual Survey on Violations of Trade Union Rights, the authoritative worldwide compendium of national law and practice, with detailed documentation of individual cases of anti-union repression including imprisonment, murder, torture and other forms of violence by unscrupulous governments and employers.

A salient feature of his work was his willingness, at any time and often in difficult and even dangerous circumstances, to bring direct solidarity and support to trade unionists facing murder, repression, violence or imprisonment, most recently in countries such as Colombia, Guinea, Guatemala, Haiti, Korea and Nepal. He was a tireless campaigner for democracy and workers’ rights in Burma, and is widely acknowledged as having been a leading force in building and sustaining international pressure against that country’s military junta and its systematic use of forced labour. He was instrumental in the decisions by the ILO to undertake Commissions of Inquiry into Belarus (on trade union rights) and Burma (on forced labour), and the historic ILO decision following the Burma Commission of Inquiry to invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution in respect of that country. In a similar vein, he was a cornerstone of international trade union solidarity with workers in Cambodia, China, Iran and Zimbabwe and many other places. At the same time, he used his talents and contacts to help solve the problems of dozens of individuals from many different walks of life.

Janek will also be remembered for his warmth, friendship, humour and personal engagement. He set the highest of standards, and through his example managed to bring out the best of those he worked with. He was a champion fencer, a classical cellist and, notwithstanding the loss of his legs in an accident in his early 20’s, an accomplished sailor. The international trade union movement is fortunate that he chose it as the place where he could bring to full fruition his intelligence, irresistible energy and indomitable commitment.

- Janek Kuczkiewicz Condolence Book

- Obituary of Janek Kuczkiewicz

- Website Janek Kuczkiewicz (www.metaljanek.be)