On Monday 7 April 2003, The Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) issued the following statement regarding the death in Beijing of Pekka Aro, a senior ILO official:

"The ILO is grieving today. Our colleague Pekka Aro died in Beijing early yesterday morning, while on official mission. In just a few days, Pekka was taken away by a sudden illness, which according to our latest information, was Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). We know little about this new and devastating illness, for which there is no vaccine, no cure. But for us it has truly hit home.

Pekka left for Asia three weeks ago to prepare for the China Employment Forum. On 28 March, he fell ill with symptoms of gastroenteritis. He was hospitalized on 2 April and later diagnosed with atypical pneumonia.

We immediately contacted the Chinese authorities and then organized an ILO task force to provide all possible support from Geneva, in close coordination withour colleagues in Beijing. Dr. Rudy Wabitsch of the ILO Medical Service and Dr. Daniel Chin from WHO Beijing constantly monitored his health situation and worked to ensure that the best medical attention was being provided. Göran Hultin (Executive Director, Employment) led action to quickly bring Pekka back home.

We were very concerned when we learned that his condition was rapidly deteriorating. We were hopeful to the end. Yet all efforts were to no avail. A special thought goes to Djankou Ndjonkou and our colleagues in Beijing, who were close to Pekka through it all. They are now in quarantine and for them and their families, we know this is a most difficult time.

My thanks to all who did everything possible for Pekka.

Today, I mourn with you our colleague and friend. We knew Pekka as a hard worker, an effective mobilizer, a believer in excellence. We valued his loyalty and friendship, his dedication and commitment. He was generous with his time, his advice, and his support.

This is a great shock to us all and a terrible loss for our organization. We miss him already.

In this time of sorrow, our thoughts are with Pekka's wife and children. We share their grief."

A Finnish national, Mr. Aro was married and the father of three children.

In addition to his duties as director of the ILO department for skills development, Mr. Aro did groundbreaking work on labour and employment issues in central and eastern Europe and was an acknowledged expert on employment issues. Prior to joining the ILO, he held a number of key positions in Finnish and international trade unions.

A China Employment Forum (CEF), convened by the Chinese Government and the ILO, was originally scheduled to take place on 7-9 April in Beijing. On 1 April the ILO informed the Chinese Government that ILO officials would not be travelling to Beijing for the event, as a precautionary measure for the protection of the health and safety of staff. The Chinese authorities later decided to postpone the Forum, saying further information would be announced in due course.