The ILO Centenary: Advancing Social Justice, Promoting Decent Work

The book exhibition "100 years of the International Labor Organization: Advancing Social Justice, Promoting Decent Work" will held in Official Documents department (room 207) from April 3 to May 5.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) is one of the oldest and major international organization. It was founded in 1919 in accordance with Part 13 of the Treaty of Versailles etc. as a structural unit of the League. The basic premise and the reasons for the creation of the ILO were the demands of the international workers' movement of social justice and improving the conditions of life of workers. In 1946, after the collapse of the League of Nations, the ILO became the first specialized agency of the United Nations.

The ILO has four main strategic objectives: to promote and implement fundamental principles and rights at work; empower women and men to secure decent employment; enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all; strengthen tripartism and social dialogue.

These problems can be solved in different ways: through the development of international policies and programs aimed at supporting fundamental human rights and improve working conditions; The adoption of international labor standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations; using a large-scale program of international technical cooperation; through training and education, research and publishing activities in support of these efforts.

A distinctive feature of the ILO, tripartism, is the tripartite structure, within which the negotiations between the governments, organizations of workers and employers are being realized. Delegates of these three groups are represented and consulted on an equal footing at all levels of the International Labor Organization.

The supreme body of the ILO is the International Labor Conference, convened at least once a year. The Conference considered and adopted the international standards in the social and labor areas, discuss issues of global importance. The ILO executive body is the Administrative Council, which guide the work of the Organization in between sessions of the Conference, and determines the order of implementation of its decisions. The Secretariat performs the functions of the ILO International Labor Office.

The ILO includes 187 countries-members in the world. The ILO secretariat headquarters is situated in Geneva, and there is a global network of technical experts and employees on the ground in more than 40 countries.

Over the years the ILO adopted Convention 189 and 205 recommendations affecting virtually the whole range of problems in the work area, from the elimination of forced and child labor to ensuring the rights of seafarers and promotion of gender equality. In addition, the ILO publishes a number of periodicals, thematic monographs, studies and statistical compilations.

In 2019 the ILO celebrates centurary of its existence. It’s an occasion to evaluate impartially and critically the main challenges and changes facing the world of work, think about what should be done by the ILO member states to struggle with them effectively.

The Republic of Belarus is a member of the ILO since 1954 and has ratified 49 of its conventions, including 8 fundamental. ILO membership allows Belarus to study and apply the international practice of regulation of social and labor disputes, develop social partnership, to improve and regulate the labor market. Participation in the ILO's work helps to develop based on the global experience of labor law, promotion of entrepreneurship, the decision of problems of employment.

The exhibition presents more than 100 documents in Russian and English languages. There are mostly the ILO documents: books, brochures, periodicals and booklets.

The exhibition consists of the following sections:

• ILO history, its main goals and objectives;
• normative work, ILO Conventions and Recommendations;
• technical cooperation programs, research and publications of the ILO;
• the main areas of the ILO's activities;
• cooperation of the ILO and the Republic of Belarus.

The exhibition is destined for specialists in the area of ​​international and labor law, economics of labor and social relations managers and specialists of state institutions and the Trade Unions, as well as for students and researchers.

The opening hours of the exhibition corresponds to the library’s opening hours.
Entrance to the exhibition is available by the library ticket or ticket of the library's social and cultural center.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 28.

Official Documents Department