The ILO was founded in 1919 as a tripartite organisation which brings together employers, workers and governments In a common effort to protect and promote human and social rights and to improve conditions of work and life everywhere. Since 1946 the ILO is a specialised agency of the United Nations system. The participation of worker’s and employer’s organisations in the formulation and implementation of employment and other social policies is of major concern to the ILO. To achieve its objectives the ILO recurs to standard-setting, technical co-operation, research and information activities which are closely inter-related. The annual International Labour Conference adopts International Labour Conventions and Recommendations which set basic standards to guide national policy and law in labour and social affairs. A permanent machinery exists to supervise their application. Among the most Important conventions are those which concern human rights, notably freedom of association, the elimination of forced labour and discrimination in employment and occupation. Technical co-operation programmes are designed to help developing countries to make lull use of their human resources and to promote employment and working conditions. They are mainly financed by UNDP and multi-bilateral funding with a world-wide coverage though focal points exist in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. Being in close co-operation with other international agencies the ILO insists on the social and environmental sustainability of structural adjustment policies in the Third World. It succeeded to include employment issues in the International Development strategy of the UN for the 1990’s. Consequently, the ILO tries to influence the ‘social component’ of projects executed by other agencies.
