VI. Complaints 1. Constitutional procedures n addition to the monitoring of compliance through the regular supervisory system, there are two avenues for complaints to be filed at the ILO. They are enshrined in the ILO Constitution and are used only for serious instances of non-compliance: • Representations under Article 24 of the Constitution; • Complaints under Article 26 of the Constitution. I These two procedures are another way of drawing attention to contraventions of ILO Conventions, as a means of pressurizing a government to bring national law and practice into greater conformity with international standards. Thus minority and indigenous organizations and other concerned NGOs should consider this in their work to secure minorities’ and indigenous peoples’ protection. 1.1 The representation procedure (Article 24) This procedure is outlined in Articles 24 and 25 of the ILO Constitution: Article 24 ‘In the event of any representation being made to the International Labour Office by an industrial association of employers or of workers that any of the Members has failed to secure in any respect the effective observance within its jurisdiction of any Convention to which it is a party, the Governing Body may communicate this representation to the government against which it is made, and may invite the government to make such statement on the subject as it may think fit.’ Article 25 ‘If no statement is received within a reasonable time from the government in question, or if the statement when received is not deemed to be satisfactory by the Governing Body, the latter shall have the right to publish the representation and the statement, if any, made in reply to it.’ Here is an overview of the procedure: • A ‘representation’ is a failure by a member state to apply the provisions of a Convention that it has ratified. • Once the ILO receives a representation, the DirectorGeneral acknowledges its receipt and brings it to the attention of the government concerned by sending it a copy. • The representation is then submitted to the Governing Body. The Governing Body decides whether a representation is ‘receivable’ or not (see box below). It does not examine the substance of the representation at this stage: Essential elements for a representation to be received at the ILO: – Be about a Convention ratified by the member state concerned; – Be submitted to the ILO; – Be from an employers’ or workers’ organization; – Concern an ILO member state; – Be in writing; – It must state very clearly how, and in what way, the member state has failed to implement the provisions of the specific Convention; – Make specific reference to Article 24 of the Constitution. • If the Governing Body is satisfied that the representation has been properly submitted, i.e. it meets the above requirements, it sets up a tripartite committee to look into the matter. However, if it relates to trade union rights, then it refers it to the Committee on Freedom of Association (see later). • The tripartite committee is made up of three members of the Governing Body, one from each of the government, workers’ and employers’ groups. It can ask for further information from the government concerned or from the organization bringing the representation. • The government in question has the option to request that a representative of the Director-General visit its country to gather more information. These visits also provide opportunities for NGOs in the country to meet with and provide further information to the tripartite committee through the representative. • The tripartite committee gives its report to the Governing Body, showing the steps taken to examine the representation and its Conclusions and Recommendations. • The Governing Body discusses and adopts the tripartite committee’s report at its following session. The THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION: A HANDBOOK FOR MINORITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 31