WHAT IS ICTUR?
ICTUR is an independent forum for discussion and debate between trade unionists, labour lawyers and academics worldwide. ICTUR also carries out campaigning activities in accordance with the principles described below.

President:
Sharan Burrow, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions

Vice-Presidents:
Mordy Bromberg SC, Australian lawyer
Professor Keith Ewing, British lawyer
Dr Fathi El-Fadl, Sudan TU Alliance
John Hendy QC, British lawyer
Jeffrey Sack QC, Canadian lawyer
Jitendra Sharma , Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Hassan Sunmonu, General Secretary, Organisation for African Trade Union Unity

ICTUR staff:
Daniel Blackburn, Director
Elizabeth Molinari, Deputy Editor, IUR journal
Miguel Puerto, Colombia / Latin America Coordinator.

Administrative Council meetings, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR TRADE UNION RIGHTS
ICTUR is an organising and campaigning body with the fundamental purpose of defending and improving the rights of trade unions and trade unionists throughout the world. In 1993 ICTUR was recognised as an important international organisation and granted accredited status with both the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation.

The fundamental right of workers to organise is under global threat. From Britain to Bulgaria, from North America to New Zealand, from the Philippines to Saudi Arabia anti-union laws undermine the right to organise.

But union rights are not only under legal threat. In Africa and Latin America, and elsewhere, trade unionists face assassination, assault, kidnapping and detention. Much violence is state-sponsored and carried out by employers.

Sometimes it is carried out by the military or law enforcement agencies, sometimes by secret or special forces, or by employers' own security forces with state approval.

Trade union rights are vital for workers facing the global power of employers. With economic integration, uncontrolled capital flows and new technology, labour everywhere depends on its right to organise.

ICTUR was established in 1987. It aims:

· To defend and extend the rights of trade unions and trade unionists throughout the world
· To collect information and increase awareness of trade union rights and their violations
· To carry out its activities in the spirit of the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation Conventions and appropriate international treaties.

FUNDING
ICTUR is primarily funded by affiliation fees from member unions, NGOs and individuals, together with the incomes generated from subscriptions, sales and other revenues generated by the journal, International Union Rights. The international office also undertakes research projects and consultancies for trade unions and NGOs which campaign for trade unions and workers' rights. Donations, largely generated from the subscriber base of IUR journal, are invited to fund individual projects. ICTUR operates on a very small budget and relies heavily upon the goodwill of its networks of contributors and supporters worldwide, many of whom donate their time and energies to support the activities of the Centre. A financial record is presented each year to the open meeting of the Administrative Council of ICTUR.