Cameron Findlay, Deputy Secretary of Labor
Remarks to the International Labor Conference
Regarding the Timebound Program on the Worst Forms of Child Labor
Tuesday, June 12, 2001

Good morning, and thank you for this opportunity to speak about the important progress we are making in our struggle against child labor.

And thank you, Mr. Director General, for your leadership on this important issue.

I am delighted to be here today, on the occasion of the launch of the Time-Bound Programs in El Salvador, Nepal and Tanzania and bring greetings from Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao who regrets she was unable to be with you today.

And let me just take a moment to express, on behalf of the American government and the American people, our sympathies to the people of El Salvador and Nepal regarding the recent tragedies that have prevented their heads of state from joining us here today. We wish they could be here, but we look forward to continuing our work with them in the future.

This is a significant moment - a milestone in a challenging journey that began nine long years ago, in 1992. We have not yet eliminated the worst forms of child labor - but we are at last in a position where we may begin to do so, and reaching this point is a great accomplishment. Let me congratulate everyone who has worked for all these years to bring us to this day.

When the ILO first created its International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor - more commonly known by those of us in this room as "IPEC" - many governments did not talk about the issue of child labor.

As we all know well, the first step towards conquering a problem is acknowledging its existence and speaking honestly about the challenges it poses. Many nations have joined this worldwide effort, but I must particularly commend the government of Germany for its early leadership on this issue.

A topic that was once taboo is now openly debated, and there has been a growing willingness on the part of the international community, including the more than 50 countries participating in IPEC, to commit significant resources to addressing it.

At the same time, I think there is a general understanding that the real answers to these problems must begin at home.

I am very pleased to note that during the course of the IPEC program, there has been a growing willingness among nations to address the problems of child labor within their borders, and at the same time, there has been a dramatic increase in the willingness of the international community to support those efforts.

Most importantly, this progress has been reflected in the unanimous decision, two years ago, of the member states of the ILO that we shall not tolerate the worst forms of child labor and that we "shall take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor as a matter of urgency."

Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor was adopted unanimously, a landmark moment in the history of the struggle against child labor, and nations have ratified it at a record pace.

Today, the United States and other nations are moving forward rapidly in our efforts to assist countries that are ready to follow through on the commitment embodied in Convention 182 by providing technical assistance to countries that are working systematically to eliminate child labor.

Altogether, our commitment to combating child labor through IPEC and other programs totals almost $150 million over the course of the last six years. These funds are supporting a broad range of educational and economic development programs to provide assistance for working children around the world.

Through the programs we have already funded, we expect to withdraw at least as many as 160,000 children from exploitative work, and to prevent another 100,000 from entering such work, while providing indirect assistance to many others.

President George W. Bush was elected on a promise to "leave no child behind." He spoke of that in terms of improving America's public education system and opening the doors of opportunity for every American, but that pledge should also inspire all of us who are working to eliminate abusive and exploitative forms of child labor.

We must stand firm in our commitment to work together as a community of nations, to leave no child behind, anywhere in the world, in appallingly dangerous workplaces, bound in slavery, exploited as prostitutes, or employed in other criminal and hazardous professions.

No child should be involved in dangerous, illegal or immoral work.

I applaud El Salvador, Nepal and Tanzania for accepting the challenge of embarking on these comprehensive and integrated timebound programs.

Let this event mark not only a new level of commitment and action, but also the promise of a foreseeable future, when children wake up in the morning not to another hopeless and exhausting day at work, but to learning and developmental opportunities at school.

Thank you.