New Director-General begins tenure at ILO

GENEVA (ILO News) - The new Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), Mr. Juan Somavia of Chile, takes office today, marking the first time a representative of the Southern hemisphere has headed this organization. Mr. Somavia is the ninth Director-General of the ILO since its founding in 1919 and was elected by the ILO Governing Body on 23 March 1998. ^*

"We have agreed internationally to promote open societies and open economies. That consensus will not hold if real benefits for ordinary people and their families are not put into the equation," Mr. Somavia said. "I am proud of what the ILO stands for. The Nobel Prize in 1969 acknowledged its contribution to peace. I have the responsibility to modernize and help steer the tripartite structure to make ILO values prevail in the new global realities."

Born on 21 April 1941, Juan Somavia earned degrees in law and economics from the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Paris. He is an attorney by profession and has had a long and distinguished career in civil and international affairs.

As Executive Secretary of the Chilean-Argentinian Chamber of Commerce he strengthened links between the business communities of the neighbouring countries. While Ambassador of Chile to the Andean Group and Chairman of its Governing Body, Mr. Somavia worked intensively in favour of regional integration. During the late 60s, while working in GATT, he played an active role in the participation of developing countries in the Kennedy Round. In the early 1970s, as Ambassador and Adviser to the Foreign Minister of Chile on Economics and Social affairs, he dealt with ILO related issues.

Mr. Somavia actively participated in the restoration of democracy in Chile through holding the presidency of the International Commission of the Democratic Coalition in Chile and as founder and Secretary General of the South American Peace Commission 1986-1990. For his contributions to peace and human rights, he received the "Leonidas Proaño Peace Prize", presented to him by the Latin American Human Rights Association.

As Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations in New York since 1990, he was twice (1993 and 1998) President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, he lead the negotiations that culminated in the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995. He served twice as President of the United Nations Security Council, in April 1996 and October 1997.

He has also written and lectured widely on trade, labour and human rights, and holds numerous citations and awards for his work regarding peace, human rights, and social development.

Mr. Somavia will make his first formal policy statement to the 274 ^th meeting of the ILO's Governing Body on 22 March.

The ILO is built on the constitutional principle that universal and lasting peace can be established only if based on social justice. The ILO has been the source of such hallmarks of industrial society as the 8-hour day, maternity protection, child labour laws and a whole range of policies promoting workplace safety and peaceful industrial relations. Unique among UN organizations, the ILO has a tripartite structure involving governments, employers and workers.

One of the Organization's oldest functions is the adoption by the tripartite International Labour Conference of Conventions and Recommendations which set international labour standards. Between 1919 and 1998, 186 Conventions and 189 Recommendations were adopted covering a wide range of issues including certain basic human rights (notably freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, the abolition of forced labour and the worst forms of child labour and the elimination of discrimination in employment), labour administration, industrial relations, employment policy, working conditions, social security, occupational safety and health, and the employment of women, children and special categories such as migrant workers and seafarers. The ILO has 174 member States.

Mr. Somavia succeeds Mr. Michel Hansenne of Belgium who has served two five-year terms as Director-General since first being elected to the post in 1988.

* The Governing Body, which is composed of 28 government members, 14 employer members and 14 worker members, is the executive arm of the ILO and takes decisions on the implementation of ILO programmes and policies.