Misplaced Pages

#235764

64-492: United Nations Information Service (UNIS) may refer to: United Nations Information Service Geneva United Nations Information Service Vienna See also [ edit ] United Nations Information Centres Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title United Nations Information Service . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

128-599: A coalition of UN organizations aimed at helping meet the Sustainable Development Goals . Unlike other United Nations specialized agencies, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has a tripartite governing structure that brings together governments, employers, and workers of 187 member States, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men. The structure

192-612: A convention comes into force, it creates a legal obligation for ratifying nations to apply its provisions. Every year the International Labour Conference's Committee on the Application of Standards examines a number of alleged breaches of international labour standards. Governments are required to submit reports detailing their compliance with the obligations of the conventions they have ratified. Conventions that have not been ratified by member states have

256-552: A number of compilations of labour statistics, such as the Key Indicators of Labour Markets (KILM). KILM covers 20 main indicators on labour participation rates, employment, unemployment, educational attainment, labour cost, and economic performance. Many of these indicators have been prepared by other organizations. For example, the Division of International Labour Comparisons of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics prepares

320-778: A platform. Despite the American boycott, the Bern meeting went ahead as scheduled. In its final report, the Bern Conference demanded an end to wage labour and the establishment of socialism. If these ends could not be immediately achieved, then an international body attached to the League of Nations should enact and enforce legislation to protect workers and trade unions. Meanwhile, the Paris Peace Conference sought to dampen public support for communism. Subsequently,

384-676: A severe rationalist style and, at the time of construction, constituted the largest administrative building in Switzerland. Called "Decent Work Technical Support Teams (DWT)", they provide technical support to the work of a number of countries under their area of competence. The ILO is a major provider of labour statistics. Labour statistics are an important tool for its member states to monitor their progress toward improving labour standards. As part of their statistical work, ILO maintains several databases. This database covers 11 major data series for over 200 countries. In addition, ILO publishes

448-826: A special responsibility for informing the press and the general public on the UN's human rights activities due to the location in Geneva of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and of the annual meetings of the Human Rights Council . UNIS Geneva also highlights disarmament efforts, reporting on the work of the Conference on Disarmament , which meets in Geneva and is the world's sole multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations. Relief assistance

512-552: A useful instrument for putting social reforms into practice. The utopian ideals of the founding members—social justice and the right to decent work—were changed by diplomatic and political compromises made at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, showing the ILO's balance between idealism and pragmatism. Over the course of the First World War, the international labour movement proposed a comprehensive programme of protection for

576-646: Is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards . Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations , it is one of the first and oldest specialized agencies of the UN . The ILO has 187 member states : 186 out of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands . It is headquartered in Geneva , Switzerland, with around 40 field offices around

640-607: Is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). As with other UN specialized agencies (or programmes) working on international development , the ILO is also a member of the United Nations Development Group . Through July 2018, the ILO had adopted 189 conventions. If these conventions are ratified by enough governments, they come in force. However, ILO conventions are considered international labour standards regardless of ratification. When

704-478: Is also a focus of the Service's work, Geneva being the world capital of humanitarian activity. UNIS Geneva also conveys the position of the United Nations on matters in the news through its briefings, official statements, interviews and background briefings. It provides both breaking news and in-depth material to international print and audiovisual media. The Service produces a wide range of information products on

SECTION 10

#1732773209236

768-433: Is employed for making conventions more flexible or for amplifying obligations by amending or adding provisions on different points. Protocols are always linked to Convention, even though they are international treaties they do not exist on their own. As with Conventions, Protocols can be ratified. Recommendations do not have the binding force of conventions and are not subject to ratification. Recommendations may be adopted at

832-492: Is intended to ensure the views of all three groups are reflected in ILO labour standards, policies, and programmes, though governments have twice as many representatives as the other two groups. The Governing Body is the executive body of the International Labour Organization. It meets three times a year, in March, June and November. It takes decisions on ILO policy, decides the agenda of the International Labour Conference, adopts

896-573: The Allied Powers agreed that clauses should be inserted into the emerging peace treaty protecting labour unions and workers' rights, and that an international labour body be established to help guide international labour relations in the future. The advisory Commission on International Labour Legislation was established by the Peace Conference to draft these proposals. The Commission met for the first time on 1 February 1919, and Gompers

960-713: The American Federation of Labor (AFL) issued its own distinctively apolitical report, which called for the achievement of numerous incremental improvements via the collective bargaining process. As the war drew to a close, two competing visions for the post-war world emerged. The first was offered by the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), which called for a meeting in Bern , Switzerland, in July 1919. The Bern meeting would consider both

1024-516: The International Association for Labour Legislation (IALL), founded in 1900, and political networks, such as the socialist Second International , were a decisive factor in the institutionalization of international labour politics. In the post-World War I euphoria, the idea of a "makeable society" was an important catalyst behind the social engineering of the ILO architects. As a new discipline, international labour law became

1088-922: The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and

1152-828: The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). UNIS Geneva is also responsible for guided tours of the Palais des Nations , which is the headquarters of the United Nations Office at Geneva, with over 100,000 visitors each year. The tour of the Palais des Nations - built in the 1930s for the League of Nations - includes meeting rooms such as the Assembly Hall, the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room,

1216-408: The 193 member states of the United Nations plus the Cook Islands are members of the ILO. The UN member states which are not members of the ILO are Andorra , Bhutan , Liechtenstein , Micronesia , Monaco , Nauru , and North Korea . The ILO constitution permits any member of the UN to become a member of the ILO. To gain membership, a nation must inform the director-general that it accepts all

1280-419: The 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work ; together they protect 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 , and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. The ILO is a major contributor to international labour law . Within

1344-431: The American proposal was adopted. Gompers also set the agenda for the draft charter protecting workers' rights. The Americans made 10 proposals. Three were adopted without change: That labour should not be treated as a commodity; that all workers had the right to a wage sufficient to live on; and that women should receive equal pay for equal work. A proposal protecting the freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association

SECTION 20

#1732773209236

1408-542: The Minister of Economic Integration, Small Business, Employment, and Skills Development, Younes Sekouri. The list of the Directors-General of ILO since its establishment in 1919 is as follows: Once a year, the ILO organizes the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva to set the broad policies of the ILO, including conventions and recommendations. Also known as the "international parliament of labour",

1472-807: The Peace Conference adopted it without amendment on 11 April. The report became Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles . The first annual International Labour Conference (ILC) began on 29 October 1919 at the Pan American Union Building in Washington, D.C. and adopted the first six International Labour Conventions, which dealt with hours of work in industry, unemployment, maternity protection, night work for women, minimum age, and night work for young persons in industry. The prominent French socialist Albert Thomas became its first director-general. Despite open disappointment and sharp critique,

1536-734: The Polish government, which finally gave legal status to Solidarność in 1989. During that same year, there was a roundtable discussion between the government and Solidarnoc which agreed on terms of relegalization of the organization under ILO principles. The government also agreed to hold the first free elections in Poland since the Second World War. The ILO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. In its first months of existence in 1919, it offices were located in London, only to move to Geneva in

1600-622: The Salle des Pas Perdus, and the Council Chamber. The UN Information Service at Geneva offers lectures by UN staff members on the UN in general and the work of the Geneva-based specialized agencies. The information programmes are prepared for groups coming from all parts of the world and composed of university students, diplomats, public servants and representatives of non-governmental organizations or other associations. The themes of

1664-647: The Soviet Union. This appointment (by the ILO's British director-general, C. Wilfred Jenks ) drew particular criticism from AFL–CIO president George Meany and from New Jersey Assemblyman John E. Rooney . However, the funds were eventually paid. On 12 June 1975, the ILO voted to grant the Palestinian Liberation Organization observer status at its meetings. Representatives of the United States and Israel walked out of

1728-585: The U.S. government responded positively and took its seat at the ILO. During the Second World War , when Switzerland was surrounded by German troops, ILO director John G. Winant made the decision to leave Geneva. In August 1940, the government of Canada officially invited the ILO to be housed at McGill University in Montreal. Forty staff members were transferred to the temporary offices and continued to work from McGill until 1948. The ILO became

1792-466: The UN system the organization has a unique tripartite structure: all standards, policies, and programmes require discussion and approval from the representatives of governments, employers, and workers. This framework is maintained in the ILO's three main bodies: The International Labour Conference, which meets annually to formulate international labour standards; the Governing Body, which serves as

1856-677: The United Nations Office at Geneva, information on UN events and activities in Geneva and in the world, and can participate in events and press briefings being organized at the Office. Furthermore, UNIS Geneva provides services for press conferences and briefings held by organisations of the United Nations system based in Geneva, including the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),

1920-862: The United Nations Office at Geneva, the second-biggest of the four major office sites of the United Nations after the UN's main Headquarters in New York (the other two are the Offices in Vienna and Nairobi ). It is also the United Nations Information Centre for Switzerland. The Service provides information services focusing primarily on Geneva-based United Nations activities in the field of human rights, disarmament, development and economic and social issues. It bears

1984-597: The United Nations Office at Geneva. The United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) system was established in 1946. It currently operates in 63 countries through its regional centers which are known as United Nations Regional Information Centres (UNRIC). Its headquarters is located in New York . The UNIC's operations are directed by the United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC). UNICs are established to bridge communication gaps between

United Nations Information Service - Misplaced Pages Continue

2048-640: The United Nations and the people of the world. They provide a wide scope of media outreach to raise and spread the voice of United Nations, as well as to increase public awareness of the United Nations system globally. The regional centres disseminate United Nations news and issues to the people by translating them into regional languages. They also organize events, memorial days, national and international days to increase awareness through various activities including competition for drawing, sports, art and craft in thematic manners. International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization ( ILO )

2112-464: The activities of Solidarność detained many of its leaders and members. The ILO Committee on Freedom of Association filed a complaint against Poland at the 1982 International Labour Conference. A Commission of Inquiry established to investigate found Poland had violated ILO Conventions No. 87 on freedom of association and No. 98 on trade union rights, which the country had ratified in 1957. The ILO and many other countries and organizations put pressure on

2176-408: The conference makes decisions about the ILO's general policy, work programme and budget and also elects the Governing Body. The first conference took place in 1919: see Interwar period below. Each member state is represented by a delegation composed of two government delegates, an employer delegate, a worker delegate. All of them have individual voting rights and all votes are equal, regardless of

2240-723: The draft Programme and Budget of the Organization for submission to the Conference, elects the Director-General, requests information from the member states concerning labour matters, appoints commissions of inquiry and supervises the work of the International Labour Office. The Governing Body is composed of 56 titular members (28 governments, 14 employers and 14 workers) and 66 deputy members (28 governments, 19 employers and 19 workers). Ten of

2304-490: The election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the U.S. presidency, the new administration made renewed efforts to join the ILO without league membership. On 19 June 1934, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the president to join ILO without joining the League of Nations as a whole. On 22 June 1934, the ILO adopted a resolution inviting the U.S. government to join the organization. On 20 August 1934,

2368-606: The executive council and decides the agency's policy and budget; and the International Labour Office, the permanent secretariat that administers the organization and implements activities. The secretariat is led by the Director-General, Gilbert Houngbo of Togo, who was elected by the Governing Body in 2022. In 1969, the ILO received the Nobel Peace Prize for improving fraternity and peace among nations, pursuing decent work and justice for workers, and providing technical assistance to other developing nations. In 2019,

2432-550: The first specialized agency of the United Nations system after the demise of the League in 1946. Its constitution, as amended, includes the Declaration of Philadelphia (1944) on the aims and purposes of the organization. Beginning in the late 1950s the organization was under pressure to make provisions for the potential membership of ex-colonies which had become independent; in the Director General's report of 1963

2496-771: The future of the IFTU and the various proposals which had been made in the previous few years. The IFTU also proposed including delegates from the Central Powers as equals. Samuel Gompers , president of the AFL, boycotted the meeting, wanting the Central Powers delegates in a subservient role as an admission of guilt for their countries' role in bringing about war. Instead, Gompers favoured a meeting in Paris which would consider President Woodrow Wilson 's Fourteen Points only as

2560-477: The hourly compensation in manufacturing indicator. The U.S. Department of Labor also publishes a yearly report containing a List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs . The December 2014 updated edition of the report listed a total of 74 countries and 136 goods. The International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO)

2624-443: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Nations_Information_Service&oldid=1183640623 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages United Nations Information Service Geneva UNIS Geneva operates from

United Nations Information Service - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-493: The meeting. The U.S. House of Representatives subsequently decided to withhold funds. The United States gave notice of full withdrawal on 6 November 1975, stating that the organization had become politicized. The United States also suggested that representation from communist countries was not truly " tripartite "—including government, workers, and employers—because of the structure of these economies. The withdrawal became effective on 1 November 1977. The United States returned to

2752-479: The needs of the potential new members were first recognized. The tensions produced by these changes in the world environment negatively affected the established politics within the organization and they were the precursor to the eventual problems of the organization with the USA. In July 1970, the United States withdrew 50% of its financial support to the ILO following the appointment of an assistant director-general from

2816-457: The new international laws. Philosophically opposed to the concept of an international parliament and convinced that international standards would lower the few protections achieved in the United States, Gompers proposed that the international labour body be authorized only to make recommendations and that enforcement be left up to the League of Nations. Despite vigorous opposition from the British,

2880-477: The obligations of the ILO constitution. Other, non-UN states can be admitted by a two-thirds vote of all delegates, including a two-thirds vote of government delegates, at any ILO General Conference. The Cook Islands, a non-UN state, joined in June 2015. Countries that had been members of the ILO under the League of Nations remained members when the organization's new constitution came into effect in 1946. The ILO

2944-624: The organization convened the Global Commission on the Future of Work, whose report made ten recommendations for governments to meet the challenges of the 21st century labour environment; these include a universal labour guarantee, social protection from birth to old age and an entitlement to lifelong learning. With its focus on international development, it is a member of the United Nations Development Group,

3008-533: The organization in 1980 after extracting some concession from the organization. It was partly responsible for the ILO's shift away from a human rights approach and towards support for the Washington Consensus . Economist Guy Standing wrote "the ILO quietly ceased to be an international body attempting to redress structural inequality and became one promoting employment equity". In 1981, the government of Poland declared martial law . It interrupted

3072-413: The population of the delegate's member State. The employer and worker delegates are normally chosen in agreement with the most representative national organizations of employers and workers. Usually, the workers and employers' delegates coordinate their voting. All delegates have the same rights and are not required to vote in blocs. Delegates can attend with advisers and substitute delegates, and all have

3136-426: The programmes range from human rights and humanitarian affairs to disarmament and peacekeeping operations. The Information Service at Geneva also holds a graduate study programme each year during the first three weeks of July, providing an opportunity for postgraduate students from all over the world to deepen their understanding of the United Nations and its related agencies through first-hand observation and study at

3200-465: The revived International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) quickly adapted itself to this mechanism. The IFTU increasingly oriented its international activities around the lobby work of the ILO. At the time of establishment, the U.S. government was not a member of ILO, as the US Senate rejected the covenant of the League of Nations, and the United States could not join any of its agencies. Following

3264-541: The same legal force as recommendations. In 1998, the 86th International Labour Conference adopted the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work . This declaration contains four fundamental policies: The ILO asserts that its members have an obligation to work towards fully respecting these principles, embodied in relevant ILO conventions. The ILO conventions that embody the fundamental principles have now been ratified by most member states. This device

SECTION 50

#1732773209236

3328-414: The same rights: they can express themselves freely and vote as they wish. This diversity of viewpoints does not prevent decisions from being adopted by very large majorities or unanimously . Heads of State and prime ministers also participate in the Conference. International organizations, both governmental and others, also attend but as observers. The 109th session of the International Labour Conference

3392-609: The same time as conventions to supplement the latter with additional or more detailed provisions. In other cases recommendations may be adopted separately and may address issues separate from particular conventions. While the ILO was established as an agency of the League of Nations following World War I , its founders had made great strides in social thought and action before 1919. The core members all knew one another from earlier private professional and ideological networks, in which they exchanged knowledge, experiences, and ideas on social policy. Pre-war " epistemic communities ", such as

3456-612: The sear of the World Trade Organization ). During the Second World War the Office was temporarily relocated to McGill University in Montreal , Canada. The current seat of the ILO's headquarters is located on the Pregny hill, not far from its initial seat. The building, a biconcave rectangular block designed by Eugène Beaudoin , Pier Luigi Nervi and Alberto Camenzind , was purpose-built between 1969–1974 in

3520-402: The summer 1920. The first seat in Geneva was on the Pregny hill in the Ariana estate, in the building that used to host the Thudicum boarding school and currently the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross . As the office grew, the Office relocated to a purpose-built headquarters by the shores of lake Leman , designed by Georges Epitaux and inaugurated in 1926 (currently

3584-474: The titular government seats are permanently held by States of chief industrial importance: Brazil , China , France , Germany , India , Italy , Japan , the Russian Federation , the United Kingdom and the United States . The other Government members are elected by the Conference every three years (the last elections were held in June 2021). The Employer and Worker members are elected in their individual capacity. On 25 March 2022 Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo

3648-449: The work of the United Nations and current international issues, including meeting summaries, press releases, backgrounders and statements. All publications are available on the UNIS webpage. It produces radio, television and photo material on events in Geneva and related field activities. UNIS Geneva provides annual accreditation to representatives of the media who are covering UN system issues. Accredited journalists receive access to

3712-413: The working classes, conceived as compensation for labour's support during the war. Post-war reconstruction and the protection of labour unions occupied the attention of many nations during and immediately after World War I. In Great Britain, the Whitley Commission , a subcommittee of the Reconstruction Commission, recommended in its July 1918 Final Report that "industrial councils" be established throughout

3776-400: The world, and employs some 3,381 staff across 107 nations, of whom 1,698 work in technical cooperation programmes and projects. The ILO's standards are aimed at ensuring accessible, productive, and sustainable work worldwide in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity. They are set forth in 189 conventions and treaties , of which eight are classified as fundamental according to

3840-422: The world. The British Labour Party had issued its own reconstruction programme in the document titled Labour and the New Social Order . In February 1918, the third Inter-Allied Labour and Socialist Conference (representing delegates from Great Britain, France, Belgium and Italy) issued its report, advocating an international labour rights body, an end to secret diplomacy, and other goals. And in December 1918,

3904-721: Was amended to include only freedom of association. A proposed ban on the international shipment of goods made by children under the age of 16 was amended to ban goods made by children under the age of 14. A proposal to require an eight-hour work day was amended to require the eight-hour work day or the 40-hour work week (an exception was made for countries where productivity was low). Four other American proposals were rejected. Meanwhile, international delegates proposed three additional clauses, which were adopted: One or more days for weekly rest; equality of laws for foreign workers; and regular and frequent inspection of factory conditions. The Commission issued its final report on 4 March 1919, and

SECTION 60

#1732773209236

3968-414: Was delayed from 2020 to May 2021 and was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic . The first meeting was on 20 May 2021 in Geneva for the election of its officers. Further sittings were held in June, November and December. The 110th session took place from 27 May to 11 June 2022. The 111th session of the International Labour Conference took place in June 2023. The ILO has 187 state members. 186 of

4032-407: Was elected Director-General of ILO. On 1 October 2022 he succeeded Guy Ryder , who was elected by the ILO Governing Body in October 2012, and re-elected for a second five-year-term in November 2016. He is the organization's first African Director-General. In 2024, a group of African countries that play a crucial role visited the International Labour Office, such as Morocco, where they held talks with

4096-449: Was elected as the chairman. Two competing proposals for an international body emerged during the Commission's meetings. The British proposed establishing an international parliament to enact labour laws which each member of the League would be required to implement. Each nation would have two delegates to the parliament, one each from labour and management. An international labour office would collect statistics on labour issues and enforce

#235764