Country Watch
in July 2008. His trial commenced in November 2010, and Bemba pled not guilty to two charges of crimes against humanity for rape and murder and three charges of war crimes for rape, murder, and pillaging.
Relying on the theory of command responsibility, ICC prosecutors claim that Bemba is liable for the crimes the Movement of the Liberation of the Con- go (MLC) troops committed in the Central African Republic. Bemba was president and commander- in-chief of the MLC, and in that capacity exercised authority and control over MLC troops. Addition- ally, prosecutors allege that Bemba is liable for the aforementioned crimes since he had knowledge his troops were committing these crimes, and failed to take reasonable and needed measures to prevent or stop the commission of these crimes.
The MLC, a rebel group turned political party in the DRC, approved Bemba as their presidential candi- date in late July 2011 after he requested the ap- pointment. The election date is set for November 28, 2011, but it is uncertain whether Bemba will be on the ballot. According to Richard Bondo Tshim- bombo Bontshi, a former head of Advocates With- out Borders in Congo and an attorney in Kinshasa, the law of the DRC allows defendants to stand in national elections, but prohibits citizens abroad from running for office. Furthermore, Congolese electoral law requires presidential candidates to register their intent to run in-person.
An exceptional release request on behalf of Bemba was sought in order to allow him to regis- ter for the election in the DRC. However, the ICC Trial Chamber III decided that electoral registration is not an extraordinary circumstance that would warrant provisional release. The ICC decision may be appealed, but some are doubtful the appeal would be decided in time since candidate registra- tion for the presidential election began on August 18. Only time will tell whether Bemba will be on the ballot.
* Submitted by Justina LaSalle
International Labour Organization Adopts Convention 189 to Protect Rights of Domestic Workers
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency that establishes and over- sees international labor standards. On June 16, 2011, at its 100th annual meeting, the ILO adopt- ed Convention 189 with the aim of protecting the rights of domestic workers around the world.
Domestic work, generally described as care around the household, engages between 50 and 100 million workers worldwide, most of whom are immigrants working in developed countries. Domestic work is generally considered a task for the unskilled, and as a result is undervalued and poorly regulated. Statistics reveal that domestic workers receive the lowest wages of any workers in any market. In addition, domestic workers are poorly organized. Associations or unions of do- mestic workers are not common, in fact are very rare. The relationship between employer and em- ployee is often informal and undocumented, and the domestic employment relationship is not ad- dressed by most country’s labor laws. As a result of these and other factors, the domestic worker is vulnerable to unequal, unfair and often abusive treatment.
The ILO Convention aims to change this. The Con- vention requires signatories “take measures to ensure the effective promotion and protection of human rights of all domestic workers”, including fair terms of employment, decent working condi- tions and living conditions, normal hours of work, overtime compensation, periods of daily and weekly rest, and paid annual leave in accordance with national laws.
Article 3 of the Convention gives domestic work- ers important rights, such as: freedom of associa- tion; the effective recognition of the right to col- lective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor; the effective abolition of child labor; and the elimination of discrimina-
ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 1 » October 2011
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