Statssekretær Jan-Erik Støstad holdt i dag det norske hovedinnlegget under den internasjonale arbeidsorganisasjonen ILOs årlige arbeidskonferanse i Geneve. Han understreket at det er gjort fremgang i kampen mot barnearbeid, samtidig som store utfordringer gjenstår.

Under et eget møte med ILOs generaldirektør Juan Somavia, redegjorde Støstad for at det norske finansdepartementet har trukket selskapene Wal-Mart og Freeport ut av Statens pensjonsfond – utland. De to drøftet også ILOs utfordringer når det gjelder likestilling.

Mr. President,

I am honoured to take the floor at the International Labour Conference for the first time. Let me start by congratulating the Director-General and his staff for once again having presented a most relevant report.

The eradication of child labour has for many years been a top priority to my government and we have given our full support, politically and economically, to the ILO’s work on the abolition of child labour.

The report before us is the second Global Report on child labour. And for the first time we can see a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel! The report shows that our common efforts are paying off. The number of child labourers globally has fallen by 11 per cent over the last four years. For children in hazardous work, the decrease is 26 per cent. We have during the same period seen significant advances in ratifications of ILO’s conventions 138 and 182. It is indeed remarkable that Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour already has been ratified by 160 Member States. This rights based approach is a crucial premise for achieving durable results on child labour, as well as in other areas where children are exploited or abused.

These figures, however encouraging, should not make us believe that we can relax in our efforts. With still some 218 million children at work, the activities in this field of the ILO, as well as the political and economic support of the member states should continue and rather be intensified. The active participation of other organizations within the UN family, such as UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO, UNDP and the World Bank should also be increased. Most importantly; governments, social partners and other stakeholders in the countries with the greatest prevalence of child labour must further intensify their efforts to address the root causes of this disgrace.

The abolition of child labour is dependent on economic resources, but most of all on political determination at national level. The governments of Member States with a large number of working children should therefore as soon as possible initiate national action plans on child labour, preferably integrated in Decent Work Country Programmes, as part of the national poverty reduction strategies. In accordance with Convention 182, priority must be given to the worst forms of child labour, such as slavery, forced labour, trafficking, prostitution and hazardous work. Special attention should be given to girls, who are often exposed to the worst forms of exploitation, for example in the sex industry.

Keeping these political conditions in mind, we fully share the Director-General’s ambitions that we should be able to eliminate at least the worst forms of child labour, within the next ten years.

Mr. President,

The UN World Summit in September 2005 made Decent Work a common goal for all UN nations. Child labour is not decent work. Children should be at school, not at work. The poorest countries of the world can only find their way out of poverty, by offering education to all children. It is no longer acceptable, nor is it economically, socially or politically sustainable, that parents are kept in such poverty that they are forced to send their children to work instead of sending them to school. This link, between child labour and Education for All, holds the key to the long-term solution of the problem.

We therefore thank the ILO and your partners for initiating the Global Task Force on Child Labour and Education, and have already announced that Norway will indeed participate.

Child labour, and in particular in its worst forms, is first of all detrimental to the child itself. Many of these children find themselves worn out or injured and thus unable to take part in working life when they reach the legal age for entering the workforce. And this situation is of course also detrimental to society itself. A well educated and healthy workforce is of vital importance to secure wealth and prosperity.

A fair globalization which gives opportunities to all people is currently perhaps the most important issue on the international agenda. Globalization can never be fair if it causes millions of children to be part of the workforce instead of getting education. On the other hand, it is not enough to send children to school. They must also be given decent jobs when they have finished their education. The ILO Decent Work Agenda is therefore most important to give children and young workers a future. Decent work for all is also the only way forward for those parents who see no way of survival other than sending their children to work.

Mr. President,

Before I close, let me address one systemic issue of crucial importance to our common goal of fair globalization; the challenge of good, coherent global governance.

The eradication of child labour has for many years been a top priority to my government and we have given our full support, politically and economically, to the ILO’s work on the abolition of child labour.

The report before us is the second Global Report on child labour. And for the first time we can see a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel! The report shows that our common efforts are paying off. The number of child labourers globally has fallen by 11 per cent over the last four years. For children in hazardous work, the decrease is 26 per cent. We have during the same period seen significant advances in ratifications of ILO’s conventions 138 and 182. It is indeed remarkable that Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour already has been ratified by 160 Member States. This rights based approach is a crucial premise for achieving durable results on child labour, as well as in other areas where children are exploited or abused.

These figures, however encouraging, should not make us believe that we can relax in our efforts. With still some 218 million children at work, the activities in this field of the ILO, as well as the political and economic support of the member states should continue and rather be intensified. The active participation of other organizations within the UN family, such as UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO, UNDP and the World Bank should also be increased. Most importantly; governments, social partners and other stakeholders in the countries with the greatest prevalence of child labour must further intensify their efforts to address the root causes of this disgrace.

The abolition of child labour is dependent on economic resources, but most of all on political determination at national level. The governments of Member States with a large number of working children should therefore as soon as possible initiate national action plans on child labour, preferably integrated in Decent Work Country Programmes, as part of the national poverty reduction strategies. In accordance with Convention 182, priority must be given to the worst forms of child labour, such as slavery, forced labour, trafficking, prostitution and hazardous work. Special attention should be given to girls, who are often exposed to the worst forms of exploitation, for example in the sex industry.

Keeping these political conditions in mind, we fully share the Director-General’s ambitions that we should be able to eliminate at least the worst forms of child labour, within the next ten years.

Mr. President,

The UN World Summit in September 2005 made Decent Work a common goal for all UN nations. Child labour is not decent work. Children should be at school, not at work. The poorest countries of the world can only find their way out of poverty, by offering education to all children. It is no longer acceptable, nor is it economically, socially or politically sustainable, that parents are kept in such poverty that they are forced to send their children to work instead of sending them to school. This link, between child labour and Education for All, holds the key to the long-term solution of the problem.

We therefore thank the ILO and your partners for initiating the Global Task Force on Child Labour and Education, and have already announced that Norway will indeed participate.

Child labour, and in particular in its worst forms, is first of all detrimental to the child itself. Many of these children find themselves worn out or injured and thus unable to take part in working life