A/HRC/31/32 III. Scope and content of the right to work 12. The clarification of the scope and normative content of the right to work is essential to its realization and to overcoming any uncertainty as to its legal character. A right to accessible work which ensures the satisfaction of human needs and values is central to a dignified life and has several dimensions. General comment No. 18 on the right to work, adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2005, reviews these normative dimensions in light of the interdependence of articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Covenant and constitutes an important starting point for the clarification of its content. ILO standards and declarations, other international and regional standards as well as national constitutions and practices set out key components which reinforce the right to work as a whole. 13. The right to work may be interpreted as encompassing the following interdependent and mutually reinforcing aspects: (a) The right of every person to productive and freely chosen work that ensures a dignified life for him- or herself and his or her family, without discrimination; (b) The right to economic and environmental conditions in the workplace that are conducive to meeting the needs of the individual and to realizing associated freedoms, including the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of work; A. (c) workplace; The material conditions related to safety, security and dignity in the (d) equality. The social conditions relating to labour rights, family leave and gender The freedom and opportunity to work 1. Right to work and employment policies 14. Article 6 (2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasizes the link between the right to work and full employment, identifying a nonexhaustive list of measures to ensure its realization. These include policies and techniques to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive employment. Drawing on article 23 (1) of the Universal Declaration, article 1 of the ILO Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) provides that policies to ensure the availability of full, productive and freely chosen employment must guarantee that (a) there is work for all who are available for and seeking work; (b) such work is as productive as possible; and (c) there is freedom of choice of employment and the fullest possible opportunity for each worker to qualify for, and to use his skills and endowments in, a job for which he is well suited, irrespective of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin. Paragraph 1 of the ILO Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 1984 (No. 169) defines full employment as “a means of achieving in practice the realization of the right to work”, noting that deterioration in job opportunities can provoke social tension and thus create conditions which can endanger peace and prejudice the exercise of the right to work. 15. According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to work should not be understood as an absolute and unconditional right to obtain employment.12 Nevertheless, States parties have an immediate obligation to move as expeditiously and effectively as possible, to the maximum of their available resources, towards adopting policies aimed at attaining full employment. Policies should also aim to 12 4 General comment No. 18 (2005), para. 6.