III 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 177 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 9, 2009 Mr. Harkin submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Recognizing the 10th anniversary of the International Labour Organization's unanimous adoption of Convention 182, Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

Whereas on June 17, 1999, the International Labour Organization (ILO) unanimously adopted Convention 182, Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, done at Geneva (T. Doc. 106-5) (in this preamble referred to as the “Convention”); Whereas on August 5, 1999, President William Jefferson Clinton submitted the Convention to the Senate for its advice and consent; Whereas on October 21, 1999, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, under the chairmanship of Senator Jesse Helms, considered the Convention, and on November 3, 1999, reported it out of committee; Whereas on November 5, 1999, the Senate unanimously agreed to the resolution of advice and consent to the ratification of the Convention; Whereas on December 2, 1999, President Clinton signed the instruments of ratification of the Convention, as the United States became the third country to ratify the Convention; Whereas the terms of the Convention apply to all children under 18 years of age and define the worst forms of child labor to include slavery and practices similar to slavery (including the sale and trafficking of children), forced or compulsory labor, debt bondage and serfdom, child prostitution and child pornography, the use of children in illegal activities (including drug production and trafficking), and work that is likely to jeopardize the health, safety, or morals of children; Whereas the stated goals of the Convention include the effective elimination of the worst forms of child labor, ensuring that the parties take into account the importance of free basic education, removal of children from all work that is in violation of the Convention, and provision of rehabilitation and social integration for children who have engaged in work that it is in violation of the Convention; Whereas since 1995, the United States has become the largest contributor to the ILO’s International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor; Whereas the Department of Labor has funded 220 projects through the International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor that have affected 1,300,000 children in 82 countries who were rescued from or prevented from entering the worst forms of child labor; Whereas in May 2000, the United States Government enacted the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-200), which included a provision that requires countries receiving duty-free access to the United States marketplace to take steps to implement the terms of the Convention in order to retain such trade privileges; Whereas between 2000 and 2004, the worst forms of child labor declined worldwide, as the overall number of child laborers fell by 11 percent, from 246,000,000 to 218,000,000, and the number of young child laborers was reduced by 33 percent; Whereas between 2000 and 2004, the number of children between 5 and 17 years of age who performed hazardous work fell by 26 percent, from 171,000,000 to 126,000,000; and Whereas on the 10th anniversary of its adoption, a total of 183 countries have ratified the Convention: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the Senate that— (1)the worst forms of child labor should not be tolerated, whether they occur in the United States or other countries; and (2)on the 10th anniversary of its adoption, all parties to Convention 182, Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, done at Geneva June 17, 1999 (T. Doc. 106-5), should work toward its full implementation to realize the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labor.