Since 1919, the International Labour Organization has promoted social justice through a comprehensive system of international labour standards that set out basic principles and rights at work. Thanks to the ILO’s tripartite structure, these standards are backed by governments, employers and workers alike. A complementary supervisory system ensures that international labour standards are applied at the national level.

Today, international labour standards are the legal component of the ILO’s strategy for governing globalization, promoting sustainable development, eradicating poverty and ensuring that people can work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity. Beyond its standard-setting action, the ILO provides guidance and technical support to governments and social partners with which they can develop policies, institutions and tools for ensuring the effective application of rights at work. In particular, they promote freedom of association and collective bargaining, and combat child labour, forced labour and discrimination in employment and occupation.

The International Training Centre of the ILO seeks to support the ILO’s strategic objective of guaranteeing rights at work through training in international labour standards for government officials, employers, workers, judges, lawyers, legal educators, journalists and media professionals. It also offers specialist courses on specific rights at work, with an emphasis on freedom of association, collective bargaining, child labour, forced labour and discrimination.