III. Human rights 1. Introduction s of September 2001, the ILO had adopted 183 Conventions. Subjects covered by the Conventions range from night work, to seafarers and miners, to gender issues. In 1995, the ILO decided to identify issues of priority concern as a way of channelling the energy and resources of both the ILO and its member states. The following issues were chosen as being of fundamental importance to the ILO: • Abolition of forced labour; • Elimination of child labour; • Elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation; • Freedom of association and protection of the right to collective bargaining. A upholding these core values of the ILO. The ILO launched a campaign to promote the ratification and implementation11 of these issues, which received an added impetus with the adoption of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998) (see later). The ILO ratification campaign is in progress; complemented by technical assistance programmes to help in their ratification and/or implementation. As key issues of concern for the ILO, these four categories of rights provide minority and indigenous peoples’ organizations, and other concerned NGOs, with an entry point in making effective use of the ILO and its mechanisms. They can all be used to promote and protect the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples, either directly or indirectly, with the help of friendly workers’ organizations. The four issues fall within the framework of the following Conventions:10 2. Discrimination • Convention No. 29 – Forced Labour Convention (1930) • Convention No. 105 – Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (1957) • Convention No. 138 – Minimum Age Convention (1973) • Convention No. 182 – Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999) • Convention No. 100 – Equal Remuneration Convention (1951) • Convention No. 111 – Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (1958) • Convention No. 87 – Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention (1948) • Convention No. 98 – Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention (1949) The identification of these eight Conventions as fundamental human rights Conventions was not meant to detract from the importance and relevance of other ILO Conventions. The main purpose was to indicate to the member states the need for an increased commitment in 10 he Conventions on discrimination are the most important for minorities and indigenous peoples, and the organizations working with and for them. These Conventions generally concern women and minorities, and to some extent indigenous peoples. The protection of vulnerable groups – such as children, minorities and indigenous peoples, and women – has been one of the ILO’s fundamental pillars since its creation. Two of the Conventions adopted by the first ILO Conference in 1919 relate to women: namely night work for women12 (Convention No. 4) and maternity protection (Convention No. 5). The ILO has played an important role in enhancing the position of women in the workplace. Convention No. 100 and 111 relate to gender discrimination, while Convention No. 111 also covers minorities and other categories. T 2.1 Equal Remuneration Convention (1951) (No. 100) Convention No. 100 specifically addresses the issue of differences in pay for male and female workers. Women have long been paid less than their male counterparts at work. ILO Convention No. 100 provides the means to address this issue, supplemented by its Recommendation (No. 90). THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION: A HANDBOOK FOR MINORITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES