Objectives, Means & Organisation

Social work is founded on democracy and solidarity and its values are based on respect for the worth, equal and inalienable rights and inherent dignity of all people.

Believing that every person has a unique value and the right to hold and express their convictions, the IFSW resolves to promote observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all other relevant UN Human Rights instruments by

seeking, collecting and disseminating information about social workers, social service workers, social work educators and students (hereinafter social workers) who are disappeared, persecuted or killed or otherwise victims of human rights violations, demanding the release of those social workers imprisoned, detained or otherwise restricted by virtue of their beliefs, ethnic origin, indigenous group, gender, sexual orientation, trade union activities, political views, language or similar reason, appealing globally for investigation and information about their cases, demanding fair and transparent legal process and humane conditions including medical treatment for social workers detained or imprisoned and immediate release when not proven guilty of a crime, opposing capital punishment, torture or cruel and inhuman punishment of any social workers detained, raising awareness within the profession about the profession’s commitment to its Human Rights heritage.

In order to achieve this objective, the General Meeting has established a Human Rights Commission

to co-ordinate the work of member organisations in relation to human rights issues, to work in conjunction with International Association of Schools of Social Work, Amnesty International and appropriate agencies and programs of the UN system and/or other relevant organisations including trade union related organisations to secure the protection of social workers´ human rights, to provide support to individual social workers suffering a denial or violation of their human rights, to make representations to Governments where the rights of individuals or groups of social workers have been violated or are threatened, to publicise with member organisations cases of social workers whose rights have been violated or are threatened, to disseminate information and literature regarding Human Rights and Social Work and to work towards the inclusion of Human Rights as a major subject in Social Work training in all schools of social work world wide.

The IFSW Human Rights Commission shall be composed of not less than four representatives including the Secretary and with the President, the Secretary General and the IFSW Representatives to UNHRC and to Amnesty International serving as ex-officio members of the Commission.

The General Meeting shall appoint the Secretary of the Human Rights Commission. Members of the Commission shall be approved by their member organisations, elected among social workers holding authority in the profession and in human rights matters and shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall serve for a four year period. No member shall serve for more than eight consecutive years.
Each region shall have a Regional Focal Point for Human Rights issues to support the work of the Human Rights Commission and to establish links to membership of each region. The focal point may be the Vice President, the Member at large in the IFSW Executive Committee or another person appointed by them.
The Secretary shall represent IFSW in the joint committee with IASSW in the role of co-chairing the same committee.

The business of the Commission shall be conducted by electronic communication (e-mail, fax) or mail. In view of the urgency of the business, the Secretary shall be authorised to act on behalf of the Federation unless members indicate to the contrary within 15 days of the despatch of letters by the Secretary.

The Secretary of the Commission will be required to furnish a report to annual Executive Committee meetings and to the biennial General Meeting.