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GB.276/10/2
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Committee on Legal Issues and International Labour Standards |
LILS |
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TENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Other questions
Legal issues: Cooperation Agreement between
the International Labour Organization
and the Andean Community
1. The Andean Community is an intergovernmental organization created in 1969 within the framework of the Cartagena Agreement (subsequently amended in 1996 and 1997 under the Trujillo and Sucre Protocols, respectively), with a view to attaining economic, customs and social integration of the countries in the Andean subregion: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
2. The Andean Community encompasses all the organs and institutions of the Andean Integration System (SAI): the Andean Presidential Council, made up of the Presidents of the member States, which meets annually; the Andean Council, composed of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of each member State, which meets twice a year; the Commission, consisting of the Plenipotentiary representatives of the Members, which meets three times a year; the Andean Parliament, made up of congress members of each member State; the Court of Justice; and the General Secretariat, which is the executive body of the Andean Community headed by a Secretary-General. The headquarters of the General Secretariat is in Lima, Peru. The Cartagena Agreement also provides for the setting up of a Business Advisory Council and a Labour Advisory Council, consisting of representatives from the employers' and workers' sectors, respectively, elected by the most representative organizations of each member State.
3. The basic objectives of the Andean Community are to: promote the economic and social cooperation and integration of its Members; speed up growth of the Andean countries and job creation; strengthen solidarity and equality amongst levels of development in the subregion; improve the position of its Members in the international arena; promote regional integration and define social policies geared to raising quality of life and improving access of the various social groups to the benefits of development.
4. The ILO and the Andean Community have already worked previously in close cooperation, especially in the promotion of social dialogue.
5. Recently, at the Fourteenth American Regional Meeting of the ILO, held in Lima in August 1999, the Ministers of Labour of the Andean Community adopted a Final Statement which stressed the importance of having closer links with the ILO to study and discuss the central issues entrusted by the Andean Presidents to their Ministers of Labour. The central issues include inter alia: occupational safety and health; social security; vocational training and the certification of labour skills; labour migration; and the generation of employment.
6. The first draft of the proposed Agreement has been jointly drawn up by the Secretariat of the Andean Community and the ILO Regional Office for the Americas, at the request of the abovementioned meeting of the Ministers of Labour of the Andean subregion. Its main objective is to give specific form to the cooperation between both organizations and commit them to supporting the countries in the Andean Community, as well as the institutions in the Community, in their efforts to achieve better social cohesion and to incorporate social and labour concerns into the efforts made towards social integration in the Andean Community. This aim is reflected in the objectives laid down in the Agreement, which also contains provisions defining practical measures for its application by means of activities carried out jointly by both institutions. The Agreement also deals with matters concerning an exchange of information and the participation of either organization in meetings held by the other which are of joint interest.
7. In the light of the above, the Governing Body may wish to approve the text of the first draft of the Agreement which is contained in the appendix and authorize the Director-General (or his representative) to sign it on behalf of the ILO.
Geneva, 8 November 1999.
Point for decision: Paragraph 7.
Appendix
Cooperation Agreement between the Andean Community
and the International Labour Organization
Whereas the Andean Community is a subregional organization that promotes the economic and social integration of its member States;
Whereas the International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes social justice and universally recognized human and social rights, for which it has a tripartite structure in which workers and employers participate jointly with governments in the work of all its representative bodies;
Recognizing that both institutions undertake activities concerned with the integration of peoples and the improvement of their living and working conditions;
THE ANDEAN COMMUNITY, represented by the General Secretariat, AND THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (hereinafter referred to as the Parties),
HAVE AGREED to sign this Agreement of Cooperation:
Article I
Cooperation
1.1 The Parties shall cooperate on a reciprocal basis in those matters of joint interest within their spheres of competence and mandate, and in their respective programmes of activities and, in particular, in the following areas:
(a) the establishment of mechanisms of participation of the civil society in the institutions of the Andean Community and the promotion of social dialogue in the countries of the Community;
(b) support to the Andean Business and Labour Advisory Councils;
(c) occupational safety and health;
(d) social security;
(e) training and skills development for work;
(f) labour aspects linked to the setting up of the Andean Common Market;
(g) dissemination of the instruments of the International Labour Organization and standardization of Andean labour standards;
(h) advice to governments so that they might comply with international labour standards, with special attention being paid to those concerning fundamental rights at work;
(i) other subjects that the Parties shall jointly agree upon.
Article II
Exchange of information
The Parties shall inform each other on the development and progress of those activities which are of joint interest and shall exchange, on a permanent basis, information and documents on these activities, provided that these are not subject to restrictions of confidentiality.
Article III
Mutual consultations
The Parties shall communicate to each other their plans of action in the subject areas and countries to which this Cooperation Agreement refers and shall take into account the proposals made in connection with these plans of action, with a view to guaranteeing effective coordination and avoiding unnecessary overlapping of efforts, thus promoting a better use of the available resources of both institutions.
Article IV
Joint project execution
4.1 When the activities or projects programmed by the Parties in the countries and subject areas to which Article 1 of this Agreement refers are of common interest, the possibility might be explored of carrying out such activities or projects jointly or in a coordinated way.
4.2 The Parties may also finance those activities or projects carried out by one or other of the Parties, without detriment to the contribution or participation of other organizations or institutions.
4.3 The Parties shall undertake to formulate, execute and raise funds for joint projects in subject areas to which Article 1 of this Agreement refers and in the countries making up the Andean Community.
Article V
Mutual invitations
The Parties shall send each other invitations to appoint representatives at meetings and conferences of common interest, the regulations of which provide for the participation of these representatives. To this end, respective timetables of the events and the nature of these events shall be exchanged sufficiently in advance.
Article VI
Technical meetings
The Parties shall agree to hold technical meetings on those matters which are of joint interest and in accordance with the guidelines established for each case in particular.
Article VII
Implementation of the Agreement
7.1 The General Secretariat of the Andean Community and the ILO shall jointly draw up the projects and programmes of activities they consider necessary to develop the issues stipulated in Article 1.1 of this Agreement.
7.2 The Parties may sign complementary agreements in accordance with the guidelines established in this Agreement.
7.3 The Parties may, by mutual agreement, or on their own initiative subject to the agreement of the other Party, count upon the collaboration of other organizations or institutions to develop activities that might be carried out jointly.
7.4 The funding of the cooperation provided for in this Agreement or in complementary agreements concluded, shall be carried out with the Parties' own resources or with cooperation funds.
Article VIII
Settlement of disputes
Any dispute that might arise with respect to the interpretation, application or fulfilment of this Agreement, shall be settled by means of direct negotiations between the Parties.
Article IX
Entry into force, amendment and termination
9.1 This Agreement, having been approved by the competent bodies of the Parties, shall enter into force on the date of its signature by the duly authorized representatives of each Party and shall last for an indefinite period.
9.2 Amendments to this Agreement may only be made by joint agreement, in writing, by the Parties. The instruments in which the amendments are contained will be added as appendices to this Agreement and become an integral part of the Agreement.
9.3 This Agreement may be terminated by mutual consent or terminated by either of the Parties upon giving no less than six months advance notice in writing. The termination of the Agreement shall be without prejudice to joint activities in the process of being implemented which shall be completed in accordance with the Agreement and the respective operational programme.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, the Secretary-General of the Andean Community, Ambassador Sebastián Alegrett, and the Director-General of the International Labour Office, Mr. Juan Somavia, being duly authorized, sign this Agreement of Cooperation in the city of ..., on the ... of ... 1999, in two copies in Spanish, both equally authentic, with one of the copies for each of the Parties.
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For the Andean Community:
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For the International Labour Organization: |
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Sebastián Alegrett
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Juan Somavia
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