1D Førstesekretær Evy...

1D Førstesekretær Evy Buverud Pedersens innlegg i plenumsdebatten

The Report of the Director-General deals with a number of interesting issues. I will comment on some of the most important ones.

The ILO's fundamental Conventions define the rights of workers in a number of contexts, both in other international organizations and in individual States. Even so, the debate going on in the Committee on the Declaration of Principles shows the need for this work to be intensified. The resulting text should pervade all the ILO's activities. It must also constitute the basis for the ILO's cooperation with other organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The ILO must take the initiative with the WTO to make sure that the cooperation with the World Trade Organization (WTO) turns into reality. It would be morally reprehensible for the WTO to have regulations which ensure ownership rights and investments but take no interest in workers' rights. Both the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF must take on greater resposibility to ensure observance of the fundamental ILO Conventions. Nothing, and I repeat nothing, can excuse the violation of these Conventions.

The ILO campaign to increase the rate of ratification of these Conventions has yielded results and they are, with one exception, among the most ratified of the ILO Conventions. The exception is the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138).

The International Conference on Child Labour held in Oslo last autumn showed that there is broad support for the call for an international ban on child labour. The Conference helped to prepare the ground for the work at this session of the International Labour Conference on a new Convention on the elimination of the worst form of child labour.

The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) must be stepped up. Proper evaluation, close follow-up and active participation by the social partners will be of decisive importance for future results. The ILO must further intensify its campaign for an increased ratification of Convention No. 138, along with the adoption of a new, supplementary Convention. In the struggle against child labour it is imperative to guarantee children the right, and access to education free of charge.

Finally, I would like to comment on two different but highly important points. Firstly, there is an urgent need to boost the share of women's participation in the bodies of the ILO. The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions gives its wholehearted support to the statement adopted by the Workers' group of the ILO Governing Body in last year's November session. The statement establishes short-term objectives, inter alia, that the proportion of women attending the International Labour Conference shall consitute 33 per cent by the year 2000. This would represent double the number attending over past three years. This is feasible if all three parties demonstrate their goodwill to give priority to the equal rights situation.

Secondly, watching governments commit the same mistakes as others before them is depressing. They spend billions om military defence, including on weapons which are all-destructive. Along with this, minimal resources are spent on basic needs. Large parts of their populations lack a health service, education and work. In other words, ordinary people - workers, employed and unemployed, grown-ups and children - are paying the price for this madness. It is the responsibility of every government to make sure that the resources available are spent for the benefit of its own population and to ensure equitable distribution.

Peace is a precondition for a good life and for development. Peace is included as an objective in the Constitution of the ILO and in the Declaration of Philadelphia. We expect the International Labour Conference and the ILO to send out clear signals to those governments which now misuse their own resources at the expense of their own populations that resources should be spent on peace-promoting efforts, health, education, employment and general welfare.