The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has urged global leaders to ensure that justice, grounded in fairness, is achieved through dialogue and diplomacy in Palestine and across the entire Middle East.

The General Secretary of the continental trade body, Joel Odigie, stated that ITUC-Africa aligns with the spirit of international trade union solidarity reflected in recent global actions and appeals, which underscore the urgency of humanitarian response and global worker solidarity.

ITUC-Africa, which represents more than 18 million workers across 52 African countries, also expressed unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis and the devastating war.

It also echoed earlier statements from the ITUC global and the recent statement from HAK-İŞ Turkey that “the blockade of Gaza has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, disproportionately affecting workers, women, and children” and reaffirmed the urgent need to amplify global demand for an immediate end to the siege.

It recognised that the current crisis is not confined to Palestine but is part of a broader and deeply concerning escalation across the Middle East, including Lebanon and Iran.

“These developments, especially those beyond and around the Strait of Hormuz, are already affecting Africa, spiking inflation, driving up the cost of living, and burdening almost all Africans. There are also cases of growing suffering among African migrant workers caught in the crossfire of avoidable wars.”

It added that, as an African trade union, ITUC-Africa speaks not only in solidarity but also from lived historical experience.

“African workers and peoples have endured systems of exclusion, dispossession, and inequality. We understand the pain of marginalisation, the denial of rights, and the long struggle for dignity and self-determination. From this shared history, we stand firmly with the people of Palestine and with all those affected by conflict and injustice in the region,” it added.

It therefore reaffirmed its support for a just and lasting solution based on the two-state framework, with Israel and Palestine coexisting in peace and security and with full respect for the Palestinian people’s rights, sovereignty, and self-determination.

ITUC-Africa called on the international community to uphold international law consistently and without double standards, to ensure accountability for violations and the protection of all civilians, to reject selective diplomacy, which undermines trust, fuels resentment, and protracts conflict, and to guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access and the protection of humanitarian corridors, including protection for African and other migrant workers trapped in these conflict zones.

It also urged the global community to promote immediate de-escalation across the region, including in Lebanon and Iran, to prevent further loss of life and regional instability, and to support inclusive, honest dialogue and diplomacy as pathways to sustainable peace, engaging workers’ organisations, civil society, and all relevant stakeholders.

As trade unions, it stated that labour bodies insist that peace cannot be achieved without justice, and that justice cannot be sustained without dialogue, diplomacy and consensus. It added that social dialogue and diplomacy are critical instruments for reconciliation, nation-building and rebuilding trust between peoples.