Whereas, the International Alliance of Waste Pickers is a worldwide representative organization of recyclers and is made up of organizations of waste pickers that have been freely constituted by their waste picker members, and in accordance with the free right of association of persons.  

Whereas, with the adoption of the Universal Declaration and ILO Convention No. 87, workers’ rights should be considered human rights as well as the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association and organization 

Supporting the visibility of our work as waste pickers and being key players in the national, regional and global agendas on the environmental, social, economic and political landscape.

Therefore, it is resolved:

1. Ensure that the representatives of the International Alliance are and come from waste pickers’ organizations that understand the reality in which waste pickers live.
2. Promote the development of public policies to strengthen and protect associative schemes without discriminating against the informal sector or the removal of waste pickers.
3. Establish governance models with the participation of the regions and the decision-making in the International Alliance assembly.
4. Promote opportunities for the training of new leaders and for the construction of public policies so that organizations can actively participate in decision-making.
5. Provide training processes for organizational strengthening to build solid organizations and teamwork, and ensure capacity building of waste pickers for working in the recycling industry.
6. Promote spaces for political training and advocacy actions to build and strengthen the leadership capacities of the waste pickers’ movement.
7. Ensure that affiliates comply with evidenced democratic processes for their proper autonomous governance as an organization with their waste picker members, in elective processes, assemblies and other mechanisms that integrate the participation of their members.
8. Ensure that the information and records provided by the organizations to the International Alliance are duly documented and updated, such as the registry of directors and members, bylaws, regulations, etc.

Proposed by: ANR (Colombia), ANARCH (Chile), UNICATADORES (Brazil), RENAREC (Ecuador), MNRP (Panama), MNPRBCR (Costa Rica)

Seconded by: Members of Executive Council in their 1st in-person meeting in September 2024