II. International labour standards 1. Introduction o put its aims and objectives into practice, the ILO formulates and adopts different standards (international agreements such as Conventions), resulting from a process of consensus among its members on a specific issue. The main form used by the ILO has always been Conventions and Recommendations, but can also include informal agreements, such as Declarations and Resolutions. Since its creation, the ILO has been active in adopting, implementing and monitoring international standards which are concerned with basic rights and fundamental freedoms, including: freedom of association, safety at work, working conditions, etc. Their impact and influence is considerable. All ILO member states are (or should be) committed to achieving the ILO’s goals and objectives, and international labour standards are used as guidelines for national authorities to implement labour and social policy at the national level. There are two categories of international labour standards: • Conventions – These are international Treaties, which are binding on member states once they have been ratified. • Recommendations – These are non-binding and are intended to orient law, policy and action. They are often adopted in conjunction with a Convention, and expand on its provisions. They provide the guidelines for the application of a Convention and often also contain explanatory provisions, which can be useful in implementing the Convention. They may be adopted independently of a Convention. Recommendations cannot be ratified. T 1.1 Ratification The following is a brief explanation of ratification: • Ratification – This is an agreement by a state that it will be legally bound by a specific Convention. Ratification is a formal obligation taken by a state to abide by, in both law and practice, the provisions of the relevant Convention or Treaty. It is a voluntary act and undertaken after its implications have been fully considered. • Process of ratification – A Convention is generally ratified after the necessary national procedures are completed. These vary from country to country and generally include approval by the Parliament. Once the internal procedures have been completed and the decision to ratify a specific Convention is agreed, then the member state – generally through its foreign ministry – sends a formal communication to the ILO’s Director-General. By this letter they inform the ILO of the state’s decision to adhere to the Convention’s provisions.5 • Effect of ratification – When a member state ratifies a Convention, it agrees to two obligations: (i) to implement the provisions of the Convention in law and practice; and (ii) to submit to the ILO’s supervision regarding how it is implementing the Convention. Note: There is a one-year period before a Convention comes into effect for the country. The purpose is to give the government time to bring national law and practice into greater conformity with the Convention. • No reservations – A unique feature of ILO Conventions is that reservations are not accepted. All ILO Conventions must be ratified and accepted in their entirety – this is unlike UN practice, whereby a country can enter reservations to specific provisions of Treaties and Conventions.6 Thus, a government has to apply all the provisions of a ratified Convention and cannot exempt itself from certain provisions. Note: It can however specify specific exclusions or options if these are allowed within the provisions of the ratified Convention; for example, additional grounds for discrimination can be identified under Convention No. 111 (see later in ch. III on human rights). • Denunciation – This is the procedure whereby a state declares that it no longer wishes to be bound by a Convention’s provisions. All ILO Conventions contain a clause indicating how and when they may be denounced, and also when the denunciation comes into effect – generally one year after it is registered. Note: There are also special provisions for Conventions which revise earlier ones, i.e. when ratification of the more recent Convention amounts to an automatic denunciation of the earlier one; for example, if a country which has ratified Convention No. 107 later ratifies Convention No. 169.7 THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION: A HANDBOOK FOR MINORITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 7