Director-General,
Chairperson,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Employer and Worker Representatives,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a profound honour for me, as the representative of the Government of South Africa, to co-sponsor, together with the Government of Ireland, this commemorative event marking the centenary of the Committee on the Application of Standards.

For South Africa, the CAS is far more than an institutional component of the ILO architecture. It is one of the pillars of a supervisory system that has helped shape both international labour governance and our own national history. Indeed, it was through the ILO's supervisory machinery that some of the earliest and most sustained international scrutiny of apartheid emerged at a time when injustice at home sought to conceal itself from the world.

As early as the 1940s, discussions within the International Labour Conference began, albeit cautiously, to reflect the realities of racial discrimination and systemic injustice in South Africa. Building on observations from the Committee of Experts and concerns raised by worker representatives, these discussions initiated a process through which international labour standards became instruments of accountability, solidarity and change.

Worker representatives, in particular, drew attention to the denial of fundamental rights to the majority of South Africans: racial discrimination in employment, restrictions on freedom of association, the suppression of collective bargaining, the criminalisation of strike action and the exclusion of millions from economic opportunity and social protection. These interventions exposed the stark gap between international principles and lived reality. They challenged the international community to confront that contradiction and to act.

Over time, those efforts gathered momentum. In 1961, the International Labour Conference condemned racial discrimination in South Africa and called for the country's withdrawal from the ILO until apartheid was abandoned. 

In 1964, drawing on the work of the CAS and other supervisory bodies, the Conference adopted the landmark Declaration concerning the Policy of Apartheid of the Republic of South Africa and launched a comprehensive programme aimed at eliminating apartheid in labour matters.

These actions reflected not only institutional resolve but also the moral authority of the international labour movement. They demonstrated that supervision is not merely a technical exercise. It is also an expression of principle.

For the next three decades, the ILO maintained its focus on apartheid, documenting violations, monitoring developments and mobilising international attention. In doing so, it demonstrated how standards, supervision and tripartism can contribute to profound social and political transformation.

In June 1990, shortly after his release from prison, Nelson Mandela addressed the International Labour Conference and expressed his gratitude to the ILO in these words:

"We thank you that you refused to forget us. We thank you that you did not tire in your struggle. We thank you for your sense of humanity and your commitment to justice, which drove you to reject the very idea that we should be imprisoned and that our people should be in bondage."

President Mandela also made a solemn undertaking that a democratic South Africa would embrace the international labour standards adopted during the decades of struggle. That commitment marked the beginning of a new chapter in our country's history, founded upon dignity, equality, freedom and social justice.

What, then, does this centenary commemoration signify?

It reminds us that the CAS is not simply a procedural mechanism. It is a living institution whose influence has been felt in the lives of workers, employers and communities across the world.

For South Africa, the experience of apartheid demonstrated, perhaps more clearly than any other episode in the history of the Organisation, that supervision matters. It showed how a system grounded in standards, evidence and tripartite dialogue can help drive meaningful change. It demonstrated that international labour standards are not ends in themselves but catalysts for action.

The South African case mobilised the entire supervisory system, engaged workers' organisations across the globe, resonated throughout the United Nations system and reinforced the broader struggle for liberation and equality. In that collective effort, the CAS occupied a central place.

As we celebrate one hundred years of the Committee, we should remember that its greatest achievements are reflected in stronger institutions, better laws and expanded rights for workers.

This remains true today. Just days ago, on 3 June 2026, South Africa appeared before the CAS to discuss the implementation of Convention No. 111 on discrimination in employment and occupation. The Committee and social partners engaged constructively with our employment equity framework, recognising our efforts to address apartheid-era inequalities.

Allow me, in closing, to pay tribute to the generations of government representatives, employers, workers and ILO officials who have served this Committee over the past century. Through their dedication and perseverance, they have helped turn principles into practical change.

For South Africa, the contribution of the Committee on the Application of Standards forms part of our democratic journey and our pursuit of equality, dignity and social justice.

I thank you.

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