The Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, a standing tripartite body of the International Labour Conference and an essential component of the ILO’s supervisory system, examines each year the report published by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. Following the technical and independent scrutiny of government reports carried out by the Committee of Experts, the Conference Committee provides the opportunity for the representatives of governments, employers and workers to examine jointly the manner in which States fulfil their obligations deriving from Conventions and Recommendations. The Officers of the Committee also prepare a list of observations contained in the report of the Committee of Experts on which it would appear desirable to invite governments to provide information to the Conference Committee, which examines over 20 individual cases every year.

The report of the Conference Committee is submitted for discussion by the Conference in plenary, and is then published on the website in the Record of Proceedings. Since 2007, with a view to improving the visibility of its work and in response to the wishes expressed by ILO constituents, it was decided to produce a separate publication in a more attractive format bringing together the usual three parts of the work of the Conference Committee. This publication is structured in the following way: (i) the General Report of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards; (ii) the discussion on the General Survey, on the report of the Joint ILO–UNESCO Committee of Experts and on the situation concerning particular countries; and (iii) the report of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards: Submission, discussion and approval.