GENEVA (ILO News) ­ A draft Declaration of principles on the fundamental rights relating to the ILO mandate together with an appropriate follow-up mechanism will be submitted for approval to the Governments, trade union federations and employers' organizations of the 174 member States of the International Labour Organization (ILO) when their representatives meet for the Organization's annual Conference, next June.

The decision was reached following intense discussions in the ILO's Governing Body whose 271 ^st session concluded this morning in Geneva.

"The Governing Body authorizes the Director-General to prepare a draft of a possible Declaration of Principles concerning fundamental rights and its follow-up mechanism for the 86 ^th session (1998) of the International Conference, taking into account all the views presented in the debate in the Governing Body", said Mr. Ahmed El Amawy, Egyptian Minister of Manpower and Immigration and Chairman of the Governing Body in announcing the decision. "In order to arrive at the most acceptable solutions", he added, "these proposals should be prepared in close consultation with the tripartite constituents" of the ILO, composed of Governments, workers' and employers' organizations.

Though its precise content and the modalities for its follow-up have yet to be determined, the draft Declaration is to promote the fundamental principles and objectives of the ILO Constitution which have been developed in the seven "core" Conventions of the ILO ^{(Endnote 1)} relating to the right of freedom of association, the right to organize and to bargain collectively, the abolition of forced labour and of child labour, equal pay for work of equal value and non-discrimination in employment.

In the course of this session, the Governing Body's Committee on Legal Issues and International Standards took note of the progress achieved in the ILO's drive to promote universal ratification of the "core" Conventions. Since the campaign began, in May 1995, the Committee was told, 82 new ratifications have been registered. The number of countries which have adhered to all seven Conventions has risen during that time from 23 to 35.

The Committee on Technical Cooperation discussed the achievements and future choices of the ILO's International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). IPEC is recognized as the foremost operational instrument in the worldwide campaign against child labour. The members of the Committee agreed that the programme's strategic direction should be built around the proposed new ILO Convention against the most intolerable forms of child labour scheduled for discussion at this June's International Labour Conference.

The Governing Body ­ composed of 28 government members ^{(Endnote 2)} , 14 employer members and 14 worker members ­ is the executive arm of the ILO and takes decisions on the implementation of ILO programmes and policies. It meets three times annually. Ten of the government seats are permanently held by major industrialized countries. The remaining members are elected for three years by governments, workers and employers respectively, taking account of regional distribution.

The Chairman of this session of the Governing Body was Mr. Ahmed Ahmed El Amawy, Mr. Jean-Jacques Oechslin (France) the employer Vice-Chairman and Mr. William Brett (United Kingdom) the worker Vice-Chairman.

Endnote 1:
Freedom of association and collective bargaining (No. 87 and 98); Forced labour (No. 29 and No. 105); Non-discrimination (No. 100 and No. 111); and Minimum age (No. 138).

Endnote 2:
Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil*, Canada, China*, Colombia, Congo, Egypt, France*, Germany*, Guinea, Hungary, India*, Italy*, Japan*, Republic of Korea, Mauritius, Nigeria, Panama, Poland, Russian Federation*, Saudi Arabia, Suriname, Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom*, United States*.

(* = members holding non-elective seats as States of chief industrial importance).