1B Kommunal- og regionalminister...

1B Kommunal- og regionalminister Ragnhild Queseth Haarstads innlegg i plenumsdebatten:

Mr. President,

I am honoured to have the opportunity to address the International Labour Conference for the first time.

The Director-General's report on ILO activities in 1996 and 97 clearly demonstrates the relevance of the ILO in promoting democracy and human rights at work. Promoting democracy and human rights should continue to be the main objective for the ILO, because the achievement of this objective is essential also for the fight against unemployment, poverty and discrimination.

The Norwegian Government sincerely hopes that the Conference will adopt the draft Declaration of principles which will state clearly the obligation of all member States to work towards the realisation of fundamental rights at work. It is also necessary to adopt a follow-up mechanism that is meaningful and effective.

I believe that the adoption of the draft Declaration is essential to the credibility of the ILO as the competent organisation to promote the fundamental rights at work. If the International Labour Conference should fail to adopt a declaration and an appropriate follow-up mechanism, it could give grounds for questioning the ILO's primary role in relation to other organizations.

The Norwegian Government is strongly committed to assist developing countries in their social and economic development. We will therefore take an initiative for a seminar in Geneva, in cooperation with the ILO on how to promote workers' fundamental rights. We hope that the number of member States, the social partners and other relevant international organizations, such as UNCTAD, WTO and the Bretton Woods institutions will participate. Our intention is to promote a dialogue and to contribute to consensus on these issues. It is imperative that the globalization process should serve both economic progress and improved social conditions, including respect for fundamental human rights.

Norway has, during recent years, focused particularly on child labour. At the Oslo International Conference against Child Labour in October last year, my Government pledged substantial financial contributions to international action to combat child labour. In this respect, my Government has recently agreed to give 8,8 million dollars for integrated ILO programmes, partly in cooperation with UNICEF. We are very pleased that the Conference this year has started work on a new Convention for the elimination of the most intolerable forms of child labour. We believe that the elimination of these most intolerable forms of child exploitation is currently the single most important objective of the ILO and its member States.

A healthy and well-educated population is a fundamental requirement for economic and social growth. It would be contrary to our development aspirations if new generations of children grow up to be illiterate, worn out or crippled before they are adults. The immediate elimination of the most intolerable forms of child labour should be in the best interests of every country.

It is not sufficient to remove children from the workforce. They need a credible alternative. Free basic education for all children is the best remedy to prevent the conditions of working children going from bad to worse. It is therefore important to direct assistance and technical cooperation towards establishing free basic education for all children. My Government will contribute to this endeavour and I invite other donor countries to do the same.

As this will be Mr Hansenne's last Conference as the Director-General of the ILO, I would like to thank him, on behalf of Norway, for all he has done to bring this Organization forward and make it more relevant.

At the same time I would like to congratulate Mr. Somavia and welcome him as our new Director General.