GENEVA (ILO News) - In his first address to a United Nations organization since becoming President of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero today stressed the importance of giving a "social dimension to globalization" and establishing decent work as a universal goal.

Addressing government, employer and worker delegates from the worldwide membership of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr. Zapatero said, "Our potential for the future is immense. Nevertheless, the comparison between the realities of today offers shameful results: immensely rich countries and others that are almost beggars."

"My reflections on the globalization of the economy and its social consequences are based on the assumption that decent work has to become a global goal, and not only an ILO goal", he said.

Expressing his concerns "linked to the social effects of globalization and, more generally, to international governance", Mr. Zapatero told a special session of the 92nd International Labour Conference the ILO provided a solid platform for a global debate on the "very useful ideas for a strategic reflection" contained in the recent report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization launched earlier this year.

Referring to the report of the World Commission, which was established by the ILO to systematically examine the social aspects of globalization, Mr. Zapatero stressed the need to reinforce good governance, adding that this will be "an important issue in international debate over the coming years".

He also referred to the lack of equity in the "key global rules governing commerce and finance" which unequally affect different countries. "Much of the time, attention is paid to the efficient functioning of markets, but not much attention was given to the effect of globalization on individuals, families and local communities, or possibilities and risks involved in it for the promotion of gender equality", he said.

Mr. Zapatero also referred to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted in 1998, saying that "freedom of association, the abolition of forced labour and child labour, non-discrimination were the keys to understanding that it is impossible for a State to participate in the international economy under social and economic conditions that are not based on the fulfilment of universally recognized principles".

"If Europe understands that applying social rules to globalization is not only compatible with it but also necessary, the ILO as an institution is a reference that cannot be bypassed", he added. "The future of the ILO and its role in the new world order which gives weight to the social dimension of globalization is a key element in my political vision of international affairs."

Mr. Zapatero also asked participants in the special session for support and solidarity with the victims of the bombings of 11 March in Madrid, who he said had had their "working lives cut short".

He also extended his "support and solidarity to all those who suffer the effects of violence, misery and war, especially the citizens of Iraq."

He concluded his remarks by recalling the motto in the original ILO building, now occupied by the World Trade Organization, that says, "If you want peace, cultivate justice".

ILO Director-General Juan Somavia welcomed Mr. Zapatero as a representative of "new generation of Spaniards that grew up and were formed in liberty and had democracy as a mother tongue". He said Mr. Zapatero was a "leader of a Europe that has the firm will to successfully transit the route of globalization".

"This is also a Europe, in the middle of its own construction, that should not forget there are other worlds less fortunate that require their solidarity and support to move forward" Mr. Somavia said, adding that "in the ILO we are building the basis of what can become a global consensus to achieve a fair globalization that creates opportunities and decent work for all".