BANGKOK (ILO News) -- Representatives of governments, employers and workers from 25 Asia-Pacific countries and one special administrative region gather in Bangkok on Tuesday, 9 February, to help bring to the region the benefits of the Declaration on Fundamental Rights and Principles at Work adopted last June by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The historic Declaration breaks new ground in the field of human rights protection by committing all 174 members of the Organization to respect the principles at the heart of its seven core Conventions whether or not a country has ratified them. The Declaration proclaims that membership in the ILO carries an obligation to respect and promote the Afundamental rights embodied in its Conventions on freedom of association, forced labour, child labour and discrimination at work. It also underscores the Organization duty to help member States realize the principles underlying those Conventions. Particular emphasis is placed on the ILO concern for the special problems faced by unemployed and migrant workers.

The three-day symposium at Bangkok Siam City Hotel will concentrate on action in response to the ILO Declaration. The financial crisis in Asia has brought social justice to the top of national agendas. Far from putting developing and newly industrialized countries at a disadvantage, international labour standards can make them more competitive. Indeed, the Declaration expressly bans using labour standards for protectionist trade purposes.

Discussing positive developments in the region, the ILO Assistant Director-General responsible for Asia and the Pacific, Ms. Mitsuko Horiuchi, welcomed Thailand forthcoming ratification of the ILO Convention on Equal Remuneration. She also noted that Indonesia had recently ratified the Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize in a year that marked the 50th anniversaries of that Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well. Taking advantage of technical assistance from the ILO, Indonesia is well on the way to becoming the first country in the region to ratify all seven core Conventions and enacting corresponding national laws.

Thailand's Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Sompong Amornvivat, will make the inaugural address at the opening ceremony of the Asian-Pacific Symposium on Standards-related Topics at the Siam City Hotel at 9 am on Tuesday February 9.

Mr. Kari Tapiola, ILO Deputy Director-General responsible for Policies related to Standards, will report to delegates on innovative procedures being devised to assist member States in meeting their obligations under the Declaration. These include a yearly review of each country's progress towards ratification and problems faced in implementing the principles and rights covered by the Declaration. The Organization is also to produce a yearly global report on one of the four rights areas concerned. The first, to be released in the year 2000, will be on freedom of association. Subsequent global reports will be on forced labour, in 2001; the elimination of discrimination in employment, in 2002; and child labour, in 2003.