Following the adoption of the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202) by the International Labour Conference on 14th June 2012 as well as the restructuring of the International Labour Office decided by the Director General, Guy Ryder; the former Social Security Department was transformed into the Social Protection Department within the Policy Portfolio of the ILO.

The adoption of Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202) constitutes an important milestone for the International Labour Organization (ILO). Since its creation in 1919, the ILO has actively promoted policies and provided assistance to countries to supply adequate levels of social protection to all members of society guided by international social security standards adopted by its tripartite constituents and in particular its flagship Convention concerning Minimum standards of social security, 1952 (No. 102). Access to an adequate level of social protection is already recognized in the Declaration of Philadelphia (1944) on the aims and purposes of the ILO, in subsequent ILO declarations and in a number of International labour standards, in particular the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), as a basic right of all individuals. Furthermore, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights recognize the right to social security for everyone.

The Social Protection Department, with its long experience in the field of technical cooperation activities, research and policy development on issues dealing with social security, provides ILO member States with tools and assistance to achieve and maintain for its people this right.