ILO Standards on Vocational Rehabilitation

One of the key functions of the International Labour Organization is the establishment of international standards on labour issues and decent work. These international labour standards take the form of Conventions and Recommendations. Three of them deal directly with vocational rehabilitation.  

The ILO principles of equal opportunity, equal treatment and non-discrimination are underlined in ILO Convention concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons), 1983, No. 159, its accompanying recommendation, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation, 1983, No. 168 and the Recommendation concerning Vocational Rehabilitation of the Disabled, 1955, No. 99. Other ILO conventions and recommendations are inclusive of disabled persons but these standards directly address the issue of vocational rehabilitation.  

Convention No. 159, which entered into force on 20 June 1985, has been ratified by 78 countries. In Asia and the Pacific Australia, China, Fiji, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan and Philippines have ratified the Convention. Fiji is the most recent country in the region to ratify the Convention, having done so in 2005.

In addition to these Conventions and Recommendations, the ILO has developed a Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace , to provide guidance to public and private sector employers, employers' and workers' organizations and national authorities.

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