Annual Review under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022, commits Member States to respect and promote certain categories of principles and rights at work, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions. These categories concern freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labour, the abolition of child labour, the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation and a safe and healthy working environment.

This commitment is supported by a follow-up procedure, whereby Member States that have not ratified one or more of the fundamental ILO instruments directly relating to the principles and rights stated in the Declaration, including the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, are asked each year to report on the status of the relevant rights and principles within their borders. The reporting process provides governments and social partners with an opportunity to state what measures have been taken towards achieving respect for the Declaration, as well as to note impediments to ratification of the relevant instruments and areas where assistance may be required. 

On the basis of the governments’ annual reports and observations by employers’ and workers’ organizations, the International Labour Office prepares and updates country baselines, which serve as a starting point to evaluate the extent to which the fundamental principles and rights at work are given effect in practice. The baselines also aim at facilitating the governments’ future reporting obligations.