ILO LIAISON OFFICE – BRUSSELS
NEWSLETTER NO. 9/2003
ILO Governing Body
The Governing Body of the ILO will meet up in Geneva for its 288th Session from 6 to 21 November.
One of its main tasks will be to decide whether or not to accede to a request for the setting up of a commission
of inquiry to look into the situation in Belarus regarding freedom of association.
In recent years Belarus has frequently stood accused of repressing civil liberties and suppressing independent
trade unions.
The Governing Body will also take a close look at the situation in Colombia, where trade union activists
continue to be targets of violence on a large scale, and at the situation in Burma regarding forced labour.
A follow-up on the technical cooperation programme in the occupied Arab territories will also feature on the
agenda; here the spotlight will be on the Palestinian Fund for Employment and Social Protection set up by the ILO.
The Session of the Governing Body will receive a progress report on the efforts made by the World Commission
on the Social Dimension of Globalisation, created by the ILO in February 2002. A final report is due at the
beginning of 2004. Debate will also focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The Governing Body will
also determine what headway has been made in the programmes designed to promote decent work and the Global
Social Trust. The aim of the latter is to improve the social security situation in the least developed countries
(LDCs) with the help of the developed countries. The first partnership in this domain is currently being set up
between the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and Namibia.
To see the full programme of meetings that will be held during the Session of the Governing Body and access
the documents that will be examined there,
click here.
A UN Convention for the disabled?
The recent UN General Assembly considered a new draft international convention on the protection and promotion
of the rights of persons with disabilities. Until now, the only international standard on the subject is ILO
Convention 159 on the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, which was adopted in 1983
and has been ratified by 75 countries. The ILO supports this plan for a new UN convention. In order to provide
help in drafting it, the ILO's Handicap Programme has published a working document entitled "The Right to Decent
Work for People with Disabilities". To consult that document,
click here.
Timor-Leste joins the ILO
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) became the 177th ILO state following the arrival
in Geneva of a letter from Prime Minister Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri, providing notification of his government's
official acceptance of the obligations set out in the ILO Constitution. Accordingly, Timor-Leste - a member of
the United since 27 September 2002 - became a member of the ILO on 19 August 2003.
The fate of women sailors
Women sailors - a small, but growing group in the maritime transport sector - often find themselves faced
with incredibly tough working conditions, including discrimination and sexual harassment. This is the situation
revealed by a recently published ILO study of which an overview can be consulted by
clicking here.
The study found that women account for between 1 and 2% of the 1,250,000 sailors on board 87,000 vessels around
the world. Most of them are low-ranking hotel staff on cruise ships. Just 7% of women sailors are officers;
the remaining 93% are simple sailors. By comparison, 42% of men are officers and 58% are sailors. While ship
owners and managers are very positive about the employment of women in their sector, the latter frequently
face sexism, intolerance and harassment.
A new face at the ILO Liaison Office in Brussels
Gisela Lange, Senior Adviser to the Director of the ILO Liaison Office in Brussels, has left to join the ILO
Office in Ankara. We thank her most sincerely for her valuable contribution to our team's efforts during the
last three years. She will be replaced as from November 3 by Sabine Overkämping.
Minimising the negative impact of the brain drain
The number of highly qualified people emigrating from developing countries to industrial nations has significantly
increased in recent years, reflecting the trends associated with globalisation. The implications of this 'brain drain'
has become a major issue in international debate. An article published on the ILO website examines the problems and
looks at various political options designed to minimise the negative effects of this brain drain. You can read the
article (in French) by
clicking here.
Did you know…?
40% of the world's population is aged under 20, and 1 billion youngsters will enter the labour market over
the next decade. To help meet this employment challenge, the ILO has set up a Youth Employment Network.
The main aim of this network is to help young people improve their situation and employment prospects.
Recently the network updated its website to include a mass of interesting data in this domain concerning
the youth employment situation around the world, how national employment networks work in some countries
where considerable headway has been made in this area, the projects currently under way, and so forth.
You can access the site by
clicking here.
New publications
The following recent ILO publications may be of special interest to our readers:
"Jobs after War. A critical challenge in the peace and reconstruction puzzle"
By Eugenia Date-Bah, September 2003, 452 pp., ISBN 92-2-113810-0 (€35)
After a war, employment is a key issue in the reintegration of the groups affected by the conflict as well as for
peacekeeping in the relevant areas and their reconstruction. All the same, employment does not receive the
attention it deserves in discussions and action plans organised after an armed conflict. This book takes up
the issue and suggests an integrated strategy for dealing with it. Copies can be ordered by
clicking here.
"Helping Small Businesses Prevent Substance Abuse"
2003, viii+111, ISBN 92-2-113871-2 (€20)
This handbook provides practical information and a guide for developing initiatives designed to prevent alcohol
and drug abuse in the workplace. It is based on the lessons derived from an ILO pilot project conducted on this
subject in five countries, and can be ordered by
clicking here.
Scheduled meetings in 2003 and 2004
Click here for a list of scheduled ILO meetings in 2003 and 2004.