In 1998 the ILO created a special promotional measure to strengthen the application of the four principles and associated rights that are considered fundamental for social justice. By adopting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up, ILO member states recognize that they have an obligation to work towards realizing certain basic values that are inherent in ILO membership, namely freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; the effective abolition of child labour; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. This obligation exists even if they have not yet been able to ratify the eight fundamental conventions which embody these principles. At the same time the ILO itself has an obligation to provide assistance needed to achieve these objectives.

A follow-up to the Declaration was adopted at the same time to help determine the needs of states to improve their application of the above principles and rights. Member states are required to submit annual reports on all the fundamental rights for which they have not ratified the corresponding ILO conventions. The reports are examined by the Governing Body with the help of a panel of independent experts, whose comments are published in the Introduction to the Annual Review of reports. In addition, the Director-General prepares a Global Report on one of the four sets of principles and rights each year to analyze the situation around the world, both for ratifying and non-ratifying countries, and to suggest new avenues for ILO technical assistance. The International Labour Conference examines this report, and the Governing Body consequently sets out a plan of action for technical cooperation for the following four-year period. The Declaration and its follow-up are designed to promote the principles and rights it embodies and to facilitate the ratification of the fundamental conventions through dialogue and technical assistance. The purpose of the Declaration and its follow-up is not to create a parallel set of standards; rather, it is to assist member states to achieve full respect for the fundamental principles and rights at work, including ultimate ratification of all the fundamental conventions. Once this is achieved, all member states will have been brought under the regular ILO supervisory system in respect to these standards.