ABSTRACT
Scholars and activists often neglect a vital aspect of human rights: the role of labour law and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Yet labour law is often the most immediate and practical way to promote and to enforce human rights, entering directly into contact with the concerns that most people encounter on a daily basis. The first manifestation of human rights in the international arena was focused on work: the slave trade was prohibited, in 1815, by the Congress of Vienna, and Great Britain also campaigned to suppress it in practice. The ILO has a curious history in international human rights, so much so that many of those working in human rights neglect — indeed, may be ignorant of — its proper place in the system. Human rights are implemented by the ILO principally through the adoption of international labour standards. By early 2012, there had been nearly 7,800 ratifications of the 189 ILO Conventions.
