The 1997 ICFTU Report noted that 299 trade unionists were killed, nearly 2,400 workers were arrested and detained for their union activities; 50,000 lost their jobs for the same reason; 290 trade unionists received death threats, more than 3,000 activists were placed under police surveillance; 450 strikes were fiercely repressed and over 80 countries placed severe obstacles in the way of freedom of association. The need to have sound laws for the establishment of effective trade unions in Africa was important at independence because for generations, the African worker had been ruthlessly exploited and condemned to sub-human conditions of work. The manner in which India's National Population Policy was implemented during the nation's political emergency illustrates how policies targeting demographic change can collide with human rights when democracy is suspended. Population management in India has typically been a political and economic issue, but with time it has also become an issue of well being and human rights.
