The ILO has approved a new 'landmark declaration' which it claims 'marks the most important renewal of the Organisation since the adoption of the historic "Declaration of Philadelphia" in 1944'. The Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation represents a wholesale restatement of the ILO's fundamental principles and its ways of working.

The scope of the ILO’s work is defined around the four pillars of the Decent Work Agenda, namely, promoting employment, enhancing social protection, promoting social dialogue, and realizing the fundamental principle and rights at work. In doing so, it emphasizes that each of the four strategic objectives are inseparable and inter-related.

The Declaration is also clearly intended to give a further boost to the adoption and understanding of the decent work concept among other international bodies. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were amended by the UN General Assembly last November to include a specific goal related to the achievement of decent work for all, and the ILO has worked on mainstreaming the decent work concept throughout the UN family. The Declaration is significant in defining in a single statement both the ILO's mission and the scope of its activities.

The text is available here