National Statement at the ILO Government Group Meeting on Democratisation delivered by Ms. Barkha Tamrakar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India (Geneva, 21st September 2022) National Statement at the ILO Government Group Meeting on Democratisation delivered by Ms. Barkha Ta..
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National Statement at the ILO Government Group Meeting on Democratisation delivered by Ms. Barkha Tamrakar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India (Geneva, 21st September 2022)

National Statement at the ILO Government Group Meeting on Democratisation

delivered by Ms. BarkhaTamrakar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India

(Geneva, 21st September 2022)

  1. India attaches high importance to the unique tripartite institutional mechanism of ILO and values the critical role of the Governing Body towards welfare of the global workforce.
  1. We agree with the proposal for creation of “Government Group ad hoc Task Force on Democratization or Fair Representation of States in ILO” to provide concrete recommendations to the Tripartite Working Group on Democratisation (TWGD) for outlining a comprehensive strategy and to develop proposals for promoting respect for and observance of the principle of equality of States in ILO.
  1. We believe that the Task Force will be an important steptowards promoting equitable participation of constituents in the ILO’s tripartite governance, and an appropriate forum for further discussion on how to address the existing situation.
  1. It has been felt that there is an imbalance in regional representation in the Governing Body. Some countries and regions are over-represented due to overlap of membership within and across the regional groups.
  1. The anomaly that continents with large populations have only one representative region each in the ILO Governing Body needs to be addressed. At present, Europe, the smallest continent in terms of population, is split into two geographical regions for representational purposes: Eastern Europe and Western Europe. We wish to draw attention to the fact that the Standing Orders of the ILO Governing Body refer only to geographical regions, yet the Industrialized Market Economy Countries or IMEC is recognized as a separate group in the Governing Body.
  1. This representational asymmetry is also reflected in composition of the tripartite Screening Group which not only determines the agenda of the Governing Body Sessions, but is also consulted on issues that arise, in the course of the sessions, where consensus is not achieved.
  1. The ILO Centenary Declaration stipulates that social justice and decent work cannot be achieved when there is no full, equal and democratic participation in ILO’s Governance. It follows that all ILO Member States should be accorded equal opportunity and representation.
  1. In order to maintain the trust and confidence of ILO Members in this supervisory institution, it is vital to preserve the independence, objectivity, neutrality, competence and transparency in the Governing Body, including through equitable representation.
  1. India has always remained committed to democratisation of the ILO as reflected in our ratification of the 1986 amendment to ILO’s constitution. We will continue to work with member States and other constituents towards further reforms in ILO’s governance with a view to ensure welfare of the global workforce.

Thank you.

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