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U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman

MEDIA NOTE January 19, 2001 Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy Report "Our goal is a State Department that exercises continuous leadership in supporting core worker standards, and whose personnel at every level and in every country recognize the connection between worker rights and our interest in a peaceful, stable and prosperous world." With those words of January 16, Secretary Albright affirmed the importance of labor diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy. To assist in maintaining U.S. leadership in promoting international workers rights, the Department has accepted many of the recommendations contained in A World of Decent Work: Labor Diplomacy for the New Century, a report of the Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy. Some of the key recommendations accepted include: integrating labor diplomacy issues more fully into the Department's strategic planning; sensitizing new ambassadors and chiefs-of-mission to the worker rights issues; formalizing our exchange program with the Department of Labor; As the Department focuses on the effects of globalization, attention must be paid to workers, who are often vulnerable to economic and political dislocation, and form one of the pillars of civil society, contributing to democracy, stability, and prosperity. The Department received the Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy's report in October 2000. A working group, chaired by Under Secretary for Global Affairs Frank E. Loy, accepted the majority of the recommendations. The report follows a series of wide-ranging measures the Department has taken to revitalize and reorient labor diplomacy to deal with the challenges of the 21st century, including: the appointment of a Special Representative for International Labor Affairs in October 1999; the 50% increase in the number of Foreign Service Officers assignments to labor positions, and the trebling of the staff in the Office of International Labor Affairs. Access to the Advisory Committee's report and a summary of the Department's response on the Internet is available at http://1997-2001.state.gov. For details on the Department's response to the report, please contact Eric Barboriak, in the Office of International Labor Affairs, at (202) 647-3664. [end of document] Press Statements Index | Department of State | Secretary of State