The Declaration of Philadelphia

In 1944, when the ILO had completed 25 years of work and was on the threshold of its post-war expansion of operations, the International Labour Conference meeting in Philadelphia, USA, adopted the Declaration of Philadelphia, which redefined the aims and purposes of the Organisation. The Declaration remains a guiding consideration in all ILO work, and embodies the following principles:

• Labour is not a commodity
• Freedom of expression and of association are essential to sustained progress
• Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere.
• All human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity.