Permanent Mission of India

Geneva

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Discussions under Institutional Section

 Agenda item GB.350/INS/8

 “Democratization in the ILO’s governance and update on the status of ratification of the 1986 Instrument for the Amendment of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, with reference to the decision by the Governing Body at its 347th Session (March 2023) on the tripartite working group on the full, equal and democratic participation in the ILO’s tripartite governance”

National Statement by India during the 350th Session of the Governing Body of ILO delivered by Ms. Barkha Tamrakar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India to the UN (Geneva, 6 March 2024)

Thank you Chair.

1.  India, being a founding member of the ILO, attaches high importance to the unique tripartite institutional structure of ILO and values the critical role of the ILO towards welfare of the global workforce. Government of India strongly advocates for the principle of ‘One Country, One Voice, One Vote’ i.e. to say that, equal weightage should be given to voices of all the countries participating in various organs/ bodies of ILO.

2.  There is a need to reform the current arrangement to maintain balanced and equitable geographical representation at all levels, ensuring objectivity, transparency, and neutrality in all ILO bodies. It is important to address the existing representational asymmetry in the regional government groupings of the ILO Governance organs and various Committees.

3.  Representational asymmetry is also reflected in the Tripartite Screening Group, which determines the agenda of the Governing body sessions. The regional group of Europe is split into two groups viz. one Eastern Europe group (EEG) and other Western Europe group (WEG). Thus, Europe has two representatives; while the Asia and Pacific group (ASPAG) has only one representative in the Screening Group. Further, the group of Industrialized Market Economy Countries (IMEC), which is a cross-regional group, also takes part in the Screening Group as per practice. IMEC’s participation leads to dual representation of many countries in the Screening Group. This practice is against the ethos of ‘One Country, One Voice, One Vote’.

4.  To ensure equal and balanced geographical representation in all the organs of ILO, there is an urgent need to make the ILO Secretariat more geographically representative. ILO Office may work on revising the desirable range of staff from each region or country based on the total population or total workforce size of the region or country, apart from the considerations such as GDP and budgetary contributions.

5.  Greater transparency in appointment of members in various committees of the ILO is also needed. For example, allocation of seats of CEACR among various geographic regions needs to be more transparent.

6.  The proposed allocation of the 56 government seats in the 1986 Instrument of amendment needs to be revisited. Factors such as the number of States in each region and the size of the population and the workforce of the region should be considered while allocating the seats among various regions.

7.  India supports the concept of democratization in all bodies & organs of ILO, which should not be restricted to Governing Body only. We will continue to work with ILO and its constituents towards further reforms in ILO’s governance structure based on the principle of ‘One Country, One Voice, One Vote’.

Thank you.