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ILAB News Release: [06/11/2003]
Contact Name: Bob
Zachariasiewicz
Phone Number: (202) 693-4686
Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Highlights U.S. Efforts
on Child Labor, HIV/AIDS at International Labor Conference
Stresses Support for Workers to Move up Ladder of
Opportunity
GENEVA, Switzerland—Secretary Elaine L. Chao highlighted
U.S. programs to help child laborers—particularly child soldiers—and
President George W. Bush’s commitment to people imperiled by AIDS in her
remarks to the 91st session of the International Labor Conference.
She pointed out that these efforts meet the challenge laid out in the
International Labor Organization (ILO) Director-General’s report,
Working Out of Poverty.
“Since 1995, the United States government has provided more than
$313 million to fund international projects aimed at preventing and eliminating
child labor,” said Chao. “These projects remove children from
hazardous work environments and exploitive conditions, provide educational
opportunities for child laborers, and raise awareness about the child labor
issue.”
Chao went on to outline two international assistance programs
administered by the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs:
ending of the practice of using children as soldiers and HIV/AIDS prevention
education in the workplace.
Chao in particular has paid special attention to the brutal phenomenon
of child soldiers. She said, “They are robbed of their innocence, placed
in harm’s way on a daily basis and deprived of any hope for a normal life.
This is one form of exploitation that no member of the community of civilized
nations can ever tolerate.”
The Secretary’s remarks followed up her commitment to raise
international awareness of the plight of child soldiers, which she made during
an international conference on child soldiers convened by the Department of
Labor in Washington, D.C. in May 2003. During that conference, which brought
together representatives from 500 agencies and organizations, Secretary Chao
announced a new $13 million Labor Department initiative to prevent and
rehabilitate child soldiers. This includes a $7 million global initiative
funded through the ILO’s International Program on the Elimination of Child
Labor (IPEC), a $3 million project in Uganda and a $3 million project in
Afghanistan.
Chao also gave an overview of President Bush’s commitment to
fighting HIV/AIDS and the Labor Department’s HIV/AIDS prevention education
projects. Chao commented, “I am proud that the United States under the
leadership of President George W. Bush, has launched an unprecedented emergency
relief effort to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. President Bush has
committed $15 billion over the next 5 years to turn the tide against HIV in the
most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean.”
Chao concluded, “Both of the initiatives I have outlined
today—eliminating the use of children for armed conflict and helping HIV
afflicted workers—can make a real difference for the world’s children
and for the world’s workers. I thank the member states working with us on
these initiatives and encourage my colleagues in the ILO to join us in
supporting these worthy goals.”
The International Labor Conference is the annual meeting of the 175
member countries of the ILO, the specialized UN agency that formulates basic
labor rights through international conventions and recommendations. Secretary
Chao was the chief U.S. representative at the conference.
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