Special issue 60th Anniversary of the Universal ... - UN Russia

InternationalLabourOrganizationILOand Human Rights at WorkDeclaration on Fundamental Principlesand Rights at Work, which states thatMembers of the ILO, even if they have notratified the relevant Conventions, have anobligation arising from their very membershipto respect, promote, and realizethe principles of freedom of associationand the effective recognition of the rightto collective bargaining; the eliminationof all forms of forced or compulsorylabour; the effective abolition of childinstrument, as it mainly provides for theprotection of that freedom against potentialrestrictions or infringements by theState. It equally protects the right of bothworkers and employers to set up and joinorganizations of their own choosing, aswell as the right of these organizations tofreely decide on their internal matterswithout interference from public authorities.It was supplemented one year laterby the Right to Organize and CollectiveWe tend nowadays to take it forgranted that human rights are atthe core of the mandate of theInternational Labour Organization, butthe very notion had not yet found its wayinto positive international law, when theorganization was founded in 1919 with aview to develop international regulationof conditions of employment and work.Instead, its Constitution referred to thepursuit of social justice as its driving principle.This does not prevent ILO standardsfrom being closely related to the universalvalues of freedom, equality, and dignitylaid down in the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, and many provisions ofthe subsequently adopted InternationalCovenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights coincide with ILO standardsin the same areas that had alreadybeen adopted.The year of the 50th anniversary of theUniversal Declaration of HumanRights also saw the adoption by theInternational Labour Conference of thelabour; and the elimination of discriminationin respect of employment and occupation.These four principles areexpressed and developed in the form ofspecific rights and obligations in eightConventions recognized as fundamentalboth inside and outside the ILO.Adopted a few months before theUniversal Declaration proclaimed theright to freedom of association and toform and join trade unions, the Freedomof Association and Protection of the Rightto Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87),can be seen as a ‘classic’ human rightsBargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98),which is a more typical ILO instrumentaddressing relations between employersand workers. Convention No. 98 aims atensuring the protection of workersagainst anti-union discrimination andthe independence of workers’ andemployers’ organizations against interferenceby each other. It also provides forthe promotion of collective bargaining.The fundamental principle of eliminationof forced or compulsory labour isset out in two different Conventions, whichwere adopted in different contexts. TheUN in RUSSIA No.5 (60) 9