Baker & McKenzie Partner to Participate in Drafting Historical International Labour Standard for HIV/AIDS in the World of Work
Firm News
June 1, 2010
Toronto, June 1, 2010 – Baker & McKenzie labour and employment law partner Kevin Coon has been selected as part of the Tripartite Canadian Delegation to the 99th Session of the United Nations International Labour Conference (“ILC”) taking place June 1 - 18 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The purpose of the annual Conference is to analyze and develop international labour standards and their application, and to pass resolutions that provide guidelines for ILO’s (International Labour Organization, a tripartite United Nations agency) general policy and future activities.
Mr. Coon will participate at the ILC on the Committee developing an international labour standard on HIV/AIDS in the world of work.
The development of this international instrument is of historical significance as it will be the first international law instrument to deal with HIV/AIDS in the world of work. This effort at the ILO recognizes that HIV/AIDS is a global health issue.
According to the International Labour Organization (“ILO”), a tripartite United Nations agency, HIV/AIDS has been a global pandemic for 28 years and 33 million people live with HIV. Of the 2.7 million new infections in 2007, 45% were among those aged 14-24. HIV/AIDS has a dramatic impact on the world of work including the infection of healthcare workers and teachers, impact on workers, decrease in productivity and the use of scarce resources in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
In response to the ongoing pandemic, and its impact on the world of work, Coon explains that the “the Governing Body of the ILO decided that it was necessary to adopt an international labour standard on HIV/AIDS in order to increase the attention devoted to the subject at the national and international level, to promote united action among the key actors on HIV/AIDS and to increase the impact of the ILO code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, adopted in 2001.” Coon states that statistics indicate that “ two thirds of those with HIV/AIDS go to the workplace and it is recognized that the world of work can be an effective vehicle for the dissemination of information related to and the treatment of HIV/AIDS.”
While the need for a standard has been promoted for many years, the actual drafting of the HIV/AIDS international labour standard has been a two year endeavour with the expectation that the final text will be prepared by the end of this year’s ILC in June 2010. Having served in this role in 2009, Mr. Coon has been nominated once again to serve as one of the two representatives of employers to work on the standards drafting panel, along with a worker, government and representatives of the ILO legal staff, to prepare the text.
Founded in 1919, the ILO became the first specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946. The ILO is devoted to advancing opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. It aims to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues. Today the ILO helps advance the creation of decent jobs and the kinds of economic and working conditions that give working people and business people a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress.
Mr. Coon is Head of Baker & McKenzie’s Labour & Employment Law Practice Group in Toronto. He has a commitment to the development of social policy issues related to international labour standards and workplace issues. Mr. Coon has served on the Canadian employer delegation to the ILC, serving on the Committee on the Application of International Labour Standards, the Committee reviewing the issues of the Informal Economy and on the Sectoral Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility. He advises corporations on issues of labour standards, business and human rights, corporate social responsibility and issues related to doing business in a global economy.