The UN Armenia Resident Coordinator Francoise Jacob’s Speech on ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment at Workplace C190

It is a pleasure to join you today to mark Armenia’s ratification of ILO Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. This is an important milestone and a strong signal of Armenia’s commitment to dignity, equality, and social justice.

Convention 190 is historic. For the first time, a binding international labour standard clearly affirms the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment. Developed through tripartite dialogue, it reflects a shared understanding that violence and harassment are neither inevitable nor acceptable, and are fundamentally incompatible with decent work.

Violence and harassment in the world of work are violations of human and labour rights. They undermine productivity, damage trust, and weaken institutions. The Convention also recognizes their disproportionate impact on women and acknowledges that domestic violence becomes a work-related issue when it affects safety, performance, or continued employment.

At its core, Convention 190 affirms a simple principle: everyone has the right to work in an environment of respect and dignity. It provides practical guidance for action, calling for a comprehensive, inclusive, and gender-responsive approach that includes prevention, protection for all workers, access to remedies, awareness-raising, training, and strong social dialogue.

In Armenia, this commitment builds on important foundations. The UN has been working closely with tripartite partners to strengthen capacities to address discrimination and harassment and to support labour law reforms, including revisions to the Labour Code to enhance protections, occupational safety and health, and labour inspection. We have also supported the implementation of national frameworks on preventing and responding to violence against women. Convention 190 offers a coherent framework to integrate these efforts and ensure consistency across labour, equality, migration, and criminal laws.

These efforts align closely with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Armenia, which prioritizes inclusive human development, decent work, gender equality, and human rights. Armenia’s ratification of Convention 190 directly advances these shared objectives.

Ratification, however, is only the beginning. The real impact will come through implementation, requiring sustained collaboration among government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and civil society, grounded in social dialogue.

The United Nations system stands ready to support Armenia in this process. Together with the ILO, UN Women, and other partners, we will continue to work with national stakeholders to translate Convention 190 into effective laws, policies, and practices.

Let me conclude by congratulating Armenia on this important achievement. By ratifying Convention 190, Armenia is helping to shape a world of work where respect is non-negotiable, dignity is protected, and equality is advanced for all.

Thank you.