Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Geneva, 27 May 1999
N° 77

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are to step up their co-operation through to the signature of an Agreement of Co-operation, which is to take place on Thursday, 27 May at 10.30 a.m., in the Cabinet of the Director General of the ILO (4, rte des Morillons). The Agreement will be signed by the Director General of the ILO, Mr. Juan Somavia, the President of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr. Miguel Angel Martínez, and the IPU Secretary General, Mr Anders B. Johnsson.

For Council President Martínez, "this Agreement is a means of enabling national parliaments to make a concrete contribution to the action of the ILO and to better support the process of ratification of its conventions, application of their provisions and lifting of reservations limiting their scope".

As the IPU Secretary General, Mr Anders B. Johnsson, stated, "in the age of globalisation, the Inter-Parliamentary Union offers national parliaments a means of reaffirming the universality of social policy standards". He added that, as underscored by Article IV of this Agreement of Co-operation, "the promotion and implementation of the Principles and Rights recalled in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (....) [are an] essential factor of parliamentary democracy and development".

Ever since its founding in 1919, the International Labour Organization has acted as a pioneer by recognising the fundamental role that national parliaments play in implementing the decisions of the international institutions with an obligation for its Member States to submit the conventions and recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference to parliaments, primarily with a view to their incorporation into legislation.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union - the world organisation of parliaments founded in 1889 and based in Geneva, which has 138 member national parliaments and 5 associated regional parliamentary assemblies - is very pleased at the co-operation it is continuing to develop with the United Nations system. It will be recalled that the IPU has already signed similar agreements with the United Nations (a Conference of Presiding Officers of Parliament is due to be held at UN Headquarters in New York in September 2000, immediately before the Millennium General Assembly) and some of its specialised agencies such as FAO, UNDP and UNESCO.

The IPU also has a liaison office with the UN in New York: tel. (1 212) 557.5880, fax (1 212) 557.3954, e-mail: ny-office@mail.ipu.