111th International Labour Conference - Committee on Application of Standards - General Report - EU Statement

European Union

Statement

International Labour Conference

111^th session 

Geneva, 5-16 June 2023

________

Committee on Application of Standards

General Report

________

Geneva, 6 June 2023

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Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Albania*, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, the Republic of North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, the potential candidate country Georgia, the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

1. Allow me to welcome and extend our best wishes to the Chair of the Committee, Vice‑Chairs and the Rapporteur.
2. We welcome the discussion at the Committee on the Application of Standards, a crucial pillar of the supervisory system, and appreciate that we are back to our normal schedule with 24 cases. We strongly believe in the fundamental importance of international labour standards, their ratification, and the effective and authoritative supervision of their implementation.
3. We highly appreciate the analysis and expertise of the Committee of Experts shown in the General Report, which provides a solid basis for the work of our committee. We recall our strong commitment to the independence, objectivity, and impartiality of the Committee of Experts.
4. We appreciated the information session with the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations last year and look forward to a new meeting in 2023.   
5. The EU and its Member States also welcome the joint statement by the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations and UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies that is inspired by the UN Secretary General’s Call to Action for Human Rights. The common values of universal peace, freedom, equal rights, human dignity, social justice and the rule of law are universal, complementary and mutually reinforcing. We share the view that human rights including international labour standards are fundamental for relations between peoples and nations and that continuing undermining the exercise of fundamental rights and further shrinking civic space will exacerbate the already protracted and interlocking crises the world faces. Through the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy we put an increased emphasis on human rights, including labour rights.
6. The Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine not only grossly violates international law and the principles of the UN Charter, but is also incompatible with the aims and purposes of this Organization and the principles governing ILO membership. The EU and its Member States strongly condemn the unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression and its devastating impact on the world of work and labour rights in Ukraine, including for seafarers stranded in Ukrainian ports and workers in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power, as well as their wider ramifications across the globe. We reaffirm our steadfast support for the return to the global rules-based order, with the UN, including the ILO, at its core.
7. We therefore welcome that the Committee of Experts will follow up on the Resolution of March 2022 within the framework of its mandate and also the Committee’s call, in the light of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, of preserving seafarers’ rights as enshrined in the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006.
8. The EU and its Member States welcome the historic decision taken by the ILC last year to include a safe and healthy working environment in the ILO’s framework of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. All EU Member States will strive to ratify the related fundamental ILO Conventions, since we truly believe that ratification, implementation of and compliance with all fundamental ILO Conventions not only contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights, including labour rights, but also to the larger objectives of building social and economic stability, as well as inclusive and equitable societies all over the world.
9. We welcome the part of the General Report on the application of international labour standards and the quest for social justice in the context of protracted and interlocking crises. We strongly support the Global Coalition for Social Justice initiative, its aim and ambition. It comes at a critical juncture, where there is an urgent need to advance social justice questions globally and beyond the ILO. We share the hopeful message of the Committee of Experts that the Global Coalition for Social Justice will mobilise a wide range of partnerships leading to concrete progress in the effective exercise of labour rights at country level. This initiative should rely on international labour standards and their supervision as a compass towards sustainable development. The EU and its Member States are committed to champion decent work, including through strengthening fundamental principles and rights at work and address the impact of COVID-19.

 [*Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.]