History of Organization

The International Labour Organization was created in 1919 by Part XIII of the Versailles Peace Treaty ending World War I. It grew out of nineteenth-century labor and social movements which culminated in widespread demands for social justice and higher living standards for the world's working people. In 1946, after the demise of the League of Nations, the ILO became the first specialized agency associated with the United Nations. The original membership of forty-five countries in 1919 has grown to 121 in 1971. In structure, the ILO is unique among world organizations in that the representatives of the workers and of the employers have an equal voice with those of governments in formulating its policies. The annual International Labor Conference, the ILO's supreme deliberative body, is composed of four representatives from each member country: two government delegates, one worker and one employer delegate, each of whom may speak and vote independently. Between conferences, the work of the ILO is guided by the Governing Body, comprising twenty-four government, twelve worker and twelve employer members, plus twelve deputy members from each of these three groups. The International Labor Office in Geneva, Switzerland, is the Organization's secretariat, operational headquarters, research center, and publishing house. Its operations are staffed at headquarters and around the world by more than 3,000 people of some 100 nationalities. Activities are decentralized to regional, area, and branch offices in over forty countries. The ILO has three major tasks, the first of which is the adoption of international labor standards, called Conventions and Recommendations, for implementation by member states. The Conventions and Recommendations contain guidelines on child labor, protection of women workers, hours of work, rest and holidays with pay, labor inspection, vocational guidance and training, social security protection, workers' housing, occupational health and safety, conditions of work at sea, and protection of migrant workers. They also cover questions of basic human rights, among them, freedom of association, collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labor, the elimination of discrimination in employment, and the promotion of full employment. By 1970, 134 Conventions and 142 Recommendations had been adopted by the ILO. Each of them is a stimulus, as well as a model, for national legislation and for practical application in member countries. A second major task, which has steadily expanded for the past two decades, is that of technical cooperation to assist developing nations. More than half of ILO's resources are devoted to technical cooperation programs, carried out in close association with the United Nations Development Program and often with other UN specialized agencies. These activities are concentrated in four major areas: development of human resources, through vocational training and management development; employment planning and promotion; the development of social institutions in such fields as labor administration, labor relations, cooperatives, and rural development; conditions of work and life - for example, occupational safety and health, social security, remuneration, hours of work, welfare, etc. Marking the beginning of its second half-century, the ILO has launched the World Employment Program, designed to help countries provide employment and training opportunities for their swelling populations. The World Employment Program will be the ILO's main contribution to the United Nations Second Development Decade.

There are some 900 ILO experts of fifty-five different nationalities at work on more than 300 technical cooperation projects in over 100 countries around the world. Third, standard-setting and technical cooperation are bolstered by an extensive research, training, education, and publications program. The ILO is a major source of publications and documentation on labor and social matters. It has established two specialized educational institutions: the International Institute for Labor Studies in Geneva, and the International Center for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training in Turin, Italy. Since its inception the ILO has had six directors-general: Albert Thomas (1919-1932) of France; Harold B. Butler (1932-1938) of the United Kingdom; John G. Winant (1938-1941) of the United States; Edward J. Phelan (1941-1948) of Ireland; David A. Morse (1948-1970) of the United States; Wilfred Jenks (I970- ) of the United Kingdom.

HE ILO: What it does Four strategic objectives:

Promote and realize fundamental principles and rights at work Create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue

The Organization engages in:

Formulation of international policies and programmes to promote basic human rights, improve working conditions and enhance employment opportunities; Creation of international labour standards - backed by a unique system to supervise their application - to serve as guidelines for national authorities in putting these policies into action; An extensive programme of international technical cooperation formulated and implemented in an active partnership with constituents, to help countries in making these policies effective in practice; Training, education, research and publishing activities to help advance all these efforts.

THE ILO: Origins World War I transformed the world's social and economic map. From the peace process emerged the ILO, created together with the League of Nations by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. It gave expression to the concern for social reform that grew with the industrial revolution, and the conviction that realistic reform had to be conducted on an international plane. The ILO is unique among world organizations in that employers' and workers' representatives - the "social partners" of the economy - have an equal voice with those

of governments in shaping its policies and programmes. Twenty-five years on, it equipped itself for the reconstruction period following World War II with the Declaration of Philadelphia, a dynamic restatement and enlargement of its basic goals and principles. The Declaration anticipated the postwar growth in national independence and heralded the birth of large-scale technical cooperation with the developing world, side by side with the standard-setting function the ILO began in 1919. In 1946 the ILO became the first specialized agency associated with the United Nations. On its 50th anniversary in 1969 it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The ILO marked its 75th anniversary in 1994 in a world undergoing profound change again. In adapting to new conditions, new demands, new hopes, it holds firm to the convictions that brought it into being and to its mandate to enact, through democratic tripartite partnership, its enduring principles of humanity and justice. Universality is vital for the achievement of these purposes. The original membership of 45 nations grew to 174 in 1997. THE ILO: How it works The International Labour Conference meets annually. It provides an international forum for discussion of world labour and social problems and sets minimum international labour standards and broad policies of the Organization. Every two years, the Conference adopts the ILO's biennial work programme and budget, which is financed by Member States. Each Member State has the right to send four delegates to the Conference: two from the government and one each representing workers and employers, each of whom may speak and vote independently. Between Conferences, the work of the ILO is guided by the Governing Body, comprising 28 government members and 14 worker and 14 employer members. The International Labour Office in Geneva is the Organization's secretariat, operational headquarters, research centre and publishing house. The Office is staffed by about 1,800 people of some 110 nationalities. Administration and management are decentralized in regional, area and branch offices in more than 40 countries. The work of the Governing Body and of the Office is aided by tripartite committees, covering major industries, and by committees of experts on such matters as vocational training, management development, occupational safety and health, industrial

relations, workers' education and special problems of women and young workers. Regional conferences of the ILO Member States are held periodically to examine matters of special interest to the regions concerned. The International Labour Office is headed by a director general who is appointed by the Governing Body. Since 1919, the International Labour Organization has been led by eight men: the Frenchman Albert Thomas (1919-1932), Harold Butler of Britain (1932-1938), the American John Winant (1939-1941), Edward Phelan of Ireland (1941-1948), the American David Morse (1948-1970), Wilfred Jenks of Britain (1970-1973), Francis Blanchard of France (1973-1989), and the present DirectorGeneral Michel Hansenne. In 1989, Michel Hansenne, former Belgian Minister of Employment and Labour and of the Civil Service, became the first Director-General of the post-Cold War period. Re-elected for a second term in 1993, he indicated that his primary responsibility was to lead the ILO into the 21st century with all the moral authority, professional competence and administrative efficiency which the Organization had demonstrated for 75 years. Mr. Hansenne intends to give the ILO the means to play a full part in the major international councils on economic and social development. His effective leadership has set the ILO on a course of greater decentralization of activities and resources away from Geneva under the ILO's Active Partnership Policy (APP).
On March 23rd, 1998, the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization elected Mr. Juan Somava of Chile to serve as the next DirectorGeneral of the ILO. He was elected by a vote of 44 votes for his candidacy. A majority of the 56 eligible votes was necessary to be elected. There were no abstentions. Ms. Maria Nieves Roldan-Confesor (Philippines) received 12 votes. Mr. Somava's five-year term of office begins on 4 March 1999. In a statement accepting the results of the vote, Mr. Jorge Arrate Mac Niven, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Government of Chile, thanked the Governing Body members for their support and said that "the election of Mr. Somava marks the first time in 79-year history of the ILO that a representative of the Southern hemisphere has been elected to the post of Director-General," adding that this was an important day for Chile as the post of Director-General of the ILO is "the highest attained by a Chilean citizen in the UN system to date." An attorney by profession, Mr. Somava has had a long and distinguished career in civil and international affairs, serving, inter alia, as Chairman of the preparatory Council of the World Summit for Social development (held in

Copenhagen in 1995) and President of the UN economic and Social Council (from 1993-1994). He has held the post of Ambassador of Chile and served as an Adviser to the Foreign Minister of Chile on Economic and Social Affairs. He recently served as Representative of Chile in the UN Security Council. He was born on 21 April, 1941, and earned degrees in law and economics from the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Paris.