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GB.276/3
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THIRD ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Appointment of the group of experts established in accordance
with section II.B of the Annex to the ILO Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
1. The Follow-up on the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work includes the possibility for the Governing Body to appoint a "group of experts" whose responsibility shall be to assist in the presentation of an introduction to the information received under the annual review, and to draw attention to any aspects which might call for further discussion.(1)
2. The terms of reference for this group, as agreed by the Governing Body in its 274th Session,(2) are as follows:
The Governing Body shall appoint a group of experts composed of seven eminent persons, who shall be responsible, in accordance with the objectives of the Follow-up on the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work as set out in the Annex to the Declaration, for --
(a) examining the information compiled by the Office on the basis of replies from Members that have not ratified the relevant Conventions to the report forms sent by the Office in accordance with article 19, paragraph 5(e) of the Constitution, as well as any comments on those replies in accordance with article 23 of the Constitution;
(b) presenting to the Governing Body an introduction to the compilation based on those reports, drawing its attention to aspects that seem to call for more in-depth discussion;
(c) proposing to the Governing Body for discussion and decision any adjustments that they think desirable to the report forms.
3. The nature and composition of this group has been thoroughly discussed on various occasions, including the 86th Session of the International Labour Conference, the 273rd (November 1998) and 274th (March 1999) Sessions of the Governing Body, and informal tripartite and other consultations.(3) As a result of these discussions, it was evident that the members of this group should enjoy the confidence of all constituents on the basis of their impartiality. They should be independent, be chosen in their personal capacity, and not represent any specific group. These eminent persons should have the requisite skills, qualifications and experience in the broad social and economic fields relevant to the Declaration. The group should be balanced in terms of professional and academic background and regional diversity, etc. They should not be currently associated with the ILO as employees or through official responsibilities of either governments or the social partners (e.g. current Governing Body members, retired members who continue to be involved in an activity that might present a conflict of interest, or delegates to the Conference); and they should not have any other function with the ILO or its various bodies.
4. After discussing various proposals on the method of selecting the group of experts, at its 274th Session (March 1999) the Governing Body "requested the Director-General to undertake wide consultations in order to submit concrete proposals for the appointment of the group of experts not later than November 1999".(4) The understanding was that the consultations would be conducted in an informal but transparent manner. Consultations began with regional coordinators in April 1999. Constituents were advised that the Office was willing to receive suggestions they might wish to make, while also using other established procedures to identify possible members of this group. Once a reasonable number of curricula vitae were available, informal consultations with the regional coordinators and the social partners continued. The list below is the result of these wide-ranging consultations.
5. The Director-General therefore submits to the Governing Body the following list of seven persons to serve as Expert-Advisers under the Follow-up on the Declaration. Short biographies of these Expert-Advisers are produced in the Appendix to this document.
- Dr. Ahmed El Borai
- Ms. Mária Ladó
- Ms. Nora Lustig
- Mr. Jean-Jacques Oechslin
- Ms. M.A. Nieves Roldan-Confesor
- Ms. Zoe Mumbi Tambo
- Mr. Robert White.
6. The Director-General further proposes that these Expert-Advisers be appointed for an initial period, and that the Governing Body review the situation not later than at its session in November 2001.
7. The Governing Body is invited --
(a) to appoint the persons listed in paragraph 5 to serve as Expert-Advisers under the Follow-up to the Declaration;
(b) to review the situation not later than at its session in November 2001.
8. The Governing Body also needs to decide on a name for this group that reflects its mandate and the nature of the functions it will carry out. The words "ILO" and "Declaration" appear in order to bring visibility and to distinguish this group from others in the Organization. The Director-General wishes to make the following proposal, which, in the interests of clarity, is given in the three working languages:
English: ILO Declaration Expert-Advisers (IDEA)
French: Experts-Conseillers sur la Declaration de l'OIT (ECDO)
Spanish: Expertos-Consejeros en la Declaración de la OIT (ECDO).
9. The Governing Body is invited to approve the above name for this group.
Geneva, 12 November 1999.
Points for decision:
Paragraph 7;
Paragraph 9.
Appendix
Short biographies of persons proposed for appointment as
Expert-Advisers under the Follow-up on the ILO Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
Dr. Ahmed El Borai (Egypt)
Professor and Head of Labour Legislation, Faculty of Law, and Director of the Centre for Labour Relations, University of Cairo. Member of the Committee of Experts of the Arab Labour Organization. Formerly representative of Egypt to UNESCO and consultant to UNDP, ILO and ALO. Author of books and articles in Arabic and French on labour law and labour administration. Degrees: Licence en Droit, University of Cairo; D.E.S. and Doctorat d'Etat (public law), University of Rennes (France).
Ms. Mária Ladó (Hungary)
Director of the Institute of Labour Research (ILR), Budapest, and leader of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Social Policy. Formerly Head of the Industrial Relations Research Unit and Research Fellow at ILR and production engineer for VBKM Electronics. Has served as a consultant to the World Bank, ILO and other institutions on labour market and industrial relations issues. Author of numerous publications in English and Hungarian. Degrees: Engineering degree and post-graduate diploma in business engineering, Technical University, Budapest; Doctorate in Sociology, Karl Marx (now Budapest) Economics University.
Ms. Nora Lustig (Argentina/Mexico)
Senior Adviser and Chief of the Poverty and Inequality Advisory Unit, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC. Temporarily on secondment to work as the Deputy Director of the World Bank's World Development Report 2000-20001 on Poverty. President of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she served formerly as a Senior Fellow. Formerly Professor of Economics, El Colegio de México (Mexico City). Numerous publications in English and Spanish on poverty and development issues. Degrees: Bachelor and Master of Arts, and Ph.D. in Economics, University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Jean-Jacques Oechslin (France)
Retired; formerly Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), Executive Secretary and Assistant to the Secretary-General of the IOE, and Director and Head of Section of International Social Affairs, French National Council of Employers. Served as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the ILO Governing Body, President of the European Community Social Commission of the Federation of Industry, and Employer spokesperson of the European Union Standing Committee on Employment. Degrees: Diploma and Doctorate in Law, Institute for Political Studies, Paris.
Ms. M.A. Roldan-Confesor (Philippines)
Presidential Adviser for Human Resource Development and International Labour Affairs, Office of the President, Government of the Philippines and Professor, Asian Institute of Management and the Development Academy of the Philippines. Formerly Secretary of Labor and Employment and career official of the Department of Labor and Employment. Served as chairperson of various national groups, ASEAN Labour Ministers' Meeting and the ILO Governing Body. Degrees: Master of Public Policy and Administration, Harvard University; Master in Business Administration, Ateneo de Manila University; Bachelor of Arts, Maryknoll College.
Ms. Zoe Mumbi Tambo (Zambia)
Executive Director of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, Banjul (The Gambia). Formerly served as Programme Director for the Centre; Head of the Labour Statistical Unit of the Zambian Ministry of Labour; and Team Coordinator for Southern African Activities, International Movement of Catholic Students (Nairobi). Member, Gambia National Commission for UNESCO. Author of papers and lectures on women, youth, development, management of non-governmental organizations and democratization. Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Sociology, University of Zambia; Diploma in Demography, University of Ghana.
Mr. Robert White (Canada)
Retired; formerly President, Canadian Labour Congress and Vice-President, United Auto Workers' Union. Has also served as President of the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Chairperson of the Commonwealth Trade Union Council, and Chairperson of the Human and Trade Union Rights Committee of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Degrees: honorary degrees from York University, the University of Windsor and St. Francis Xavier.
1. Annex to the Declaration, II.B.3 and GB.274/2, paras. 16 and 22.
2. GB.274/2, para. 22.
3. GB.273/3, paras. 19-21 and GB.274/2, paras. 16-18.
4. GB.274/2, para. 23.