Protection of labor rights of employees of international intergovernmental organizations: theory and practice

Abstract

The article examines the issue of protection of labor rights of employees of international intergovernmental organizations by means of internal judicial mechanisms. It was noted that rights related to labor relations, including international civil servants, are guaranteed by the provisions of a number of international agreements in the field of human rights, in particular, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 (Article 23), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights of 1966 (Art. 7-9). Institutional bodies, in particular, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights paid significant attention to them.
 It is emphasized that the protection of labor rights correlates with the right to social security and covers the right to access benefits, whether in cash or in kind, and enjoy them without discrimination in order to ensure protection.
 The practice of the Dispute Tribunal of the United Nations, the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labor Organization, the Administrative Tribunal of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development regarding consideration of labor disputes between the staff and the administration of the organization was studied.
 It is emphasized that the functioning of internal mechanisms and ensuring access to them is a guarantee of the protection of fundamental rights provided by international acts in the field of human rights. It is indicated that in order to establish the compliance of the internal justice systems of international intergovernmental organizations with international human rights law, the Index of Legitimacy of the Internal Justice Systems of International Organizations was created, since the internal mechanisms for resolving labor disputes may have differences due to the nature and directions of activities of an IGO, which in turn, may have an impact on compliance with the labor rights of its employees.