Malta deposited in Geneva the instruments of ratification of two legal texts on labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a UN agency, which sets international labour measures and promotes social protection and work opportunities for all. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela signed the instrument of ratification for the 2014 Protocol to the 1930 Forced Labour Convention. 

Minister Abela stated that Malta’s ratification of these two important instruments is a further confirmation of the country’s commitment to further provide the people with institutional support towards the promotion of a healthy and positive working environment

The Protocol and Recommendation bring ILO standards against forced labour into the modern age. The new protocol establishes the obligations to hinder forced labour, protect victims and provide them with access to remedies and emphasises the link between forced labour and trafficking in persons.

Minister Abela also signed the instrument of ratification for the convention concerning Tripartite Consultations to Promote the Implementation of International Standards, done in Geneva on 21 June 1976. The purpose of Convention No. 144 is to promote tripartism and social dialogue at the national level by guaranteeing the involvement of employers’ and workers’ organisations at each stage of ILO’s standards-related activities.