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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202/219-8211
Note to Editors: On Thursday, June 18 in Geneva, the
International Labor Conference adopted a new Declaration on fundamental worker
rights and a follow-up procedure to increase the scrutiny of member states
regarding their compliance with core labor standards.
The International Labor Conference is the annual meeting of the
International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations organization which
defends fundamental human rights in the workplace. The United States has long
supported the idea of a reaffirmation of core worker rights as one means of
enhancing the ILO's ability to act effectively in promoting and protecting
worker rights in the 21st Century.
"This is a big step forward for the ILO and its members as we enter the
21st Century. With the passage of this Declaration, the ILO has underlined and
clarified the importance of the fundamental rights of workers in an era of
economic globalization. It firmly demonstrates that we can and will move
forward in an effort to see trade and labor concerns as mutually supportive
--not mutually exclusive.
"As we have said, and as President Clinton stated in his speech to the
World Trade Organization on May 18, we must continue to forge a working
relationship between the ILO and the WTO. We continue to see it as vitally
important to a strengthened trading system that we advance the effort to
protect basic workers rights. That remains our policy and our commitment.
"This Declaration and its follow-up procedure furthers our abilities to
pursue these objectives. Nothing in this Declaration restricts our ability to
advance together the liberalization of international trade and the protection
of basic worker rights. As the ILO has stated, the Declaration does not impose
any restrictions in this regard on members.
"It is also clear, with this recommitment to core values, that the ILO
members have accepted the need to be accountable. And with this action, there
will now be a process within the ILO to demonstrate that accountability.
"I was honored to be a part of this historic ILO meeting and to work
with my colleagues to adopt this crucial Declaration that outlines a vision for
the next century for this organization. Clearly we proved in these weeks in
Geneva, that a consensus can be reached among governments and between employer
and worker groups.
"There were long and difficult negotiations over this Declaration, but I
was always confident about the outcome because, from the beginning, there was a
consensus among us, a shared objective and an historical obligation to do what
we have done."
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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