U.S. business plays major role in the development and adoption
of new international treaty to end the worst forms of child labor
For Immediate Release Contact: Tom Niles/212-703-5055
Ronnie Goldberg/212-703-5057
GENEVA, June 16, 1999
– A new international convention to eliminate the most egregious forms of child labor is expected to be adopted on Thursday by the International Labor Organization (ILO) at its annual Conference in Geneva, according to the United States Council for International Business (USCIB). The USCIB officially represents the U.S. business community at the ILO.
U.S. business helped to ensure that the treaty is strict enough to achieve its aims, yet broad enough to be easily ratifiable by all 174 Member states of the ILO, including the United States. U.S. President Bill Clinton, addressing the Conference on Wednesday, is expected to announce that he will urge the U.S. Senate to advise and consent to ratification.
The ILO is unique among the UN specialized agencies because of its tripartite structure, in which governments, unions, and business are equally represented.
Ed Potter, U.S. Employer Delegate to the ILO Conference and USCIB International Labor Counsel, stated that, "the ILO’s relevance to global needs has increased remarkably with the adoption of the Child Labor Convention this year and the Declaration of Fundamental Principles last year, both of which were strongly supported by the U.S. business community."
The treaty obliges the ILO Member states to take immediate action to prohibit and eliminate these forms of child labor, and to remove the children engaged in them.
Michael Semrau, Chief Labor Consultant, The Coca-Cola Company, and the U.S. business representative on the Child Labor Committee, played a key role in achieving international consensus on the text. "We have created an enforceable, ratifiable international treaty that will make an immediate difference to millions of children engaged in these forms of labor," according to Semrau.
It covers children under age 18 involved in the following:
· slavery, bondage, and forced or compulsory labor (including the forced or compulsory conscription of children for armed conflict);
· prostitution, pornography, and the use of children for those purposes (including the promotion and solicitation through the internet);
· manufacturing and/or trafficking in illicit drugs;
· hazardous work, which is likely to harm the safety, health or morals of children.
Governments that ratify are urged to provide rehabilitation and social integration services, including access to education and vocational training, for children removed from these forms of work.
International cooperation is a key means of implementing the Convention. One example is U.S. support for the ILO’s International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), to which the Clinton Administration has recently pledged $30 million.
The USCIB played an important role in developing a consensus position with the U.S. Government and the AFL-CIO before arriving in Geneva, through extensive discussions and analysis of U.S. law and practice. Under an Executive Order, ratification of an ILO instrument may not change U.S. labor law at the federal or state level.
The USCIB advances the global interests of American business both at home and abroad. The USCIB has a membership of over 300 global corporations, professional firms, and business associations. It is the American affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD, and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). As such, it officially represents U.S. business positions in the main intergovernmental bodies, and vis-à-vis foreign business communities and their governments.
