JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (ILO News) - The Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), Juan Somavia, will head a tripartite delegation including, government, worker and employer representatives from the ILO Governing Body, to the World Summit on Sustainable Development when it gets underway on Monday 26 August.

Mr. Somavia is to appeal to Summit delegates to consider adopting a new and creative approach to achieving sustainable development objectives by abandoning old policy models and adopting new policy prescriptions designed to expand the benefits of globalization for all.

"For far too many people in far too many countries, today's policy prescriptions just aren't working," Mr. Somavia said. "I firmly believe that the social dimension - personal security, more and better jobs and decent work - is vital to the discussions of economic and environmental policy being held here."

Mr. Somavia will also be a featured speaker at an ILO-sponsored Round Table on Employment, Social Dialogue and Social Protection, to be held Thursday, August 29 at 6:30 p.m. in Ballroom I of the Sandton Convention Centre. The event is intended to promote the social dimension of sustainable development, as well as to highlight the value of the ILO's unique tripartite structure in the achievement of sustainable development objectives.

Mr. Somavia will be joined by the Chairperson and Workers' Representative of the ILO Governing Body, Lord Brett, the Vice-Chairperson representing Governments, Ambassador E.Y. Chung of South Korea, and the Vice-Chairperson representing Employers, Mr. D. Funes de Rioja.

The ILO is also sponsoring a side event featuring the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization , which it established earlier this year to respond to the needs of people coping with the unprecedented changes that globalization has brought to their lives and their communities. The Commission's co-chairs, President Tara Halonen of Finland and President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, will preside at the event, at which Commission members will hear and respond to presentations from people representing a variety of civil society groups. The event is scheduled to take place on Monday, September 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Sandton Convention Centre.

For further information, to obtain ILO fact sheets, or to arrange an interview with Director-General Juan Somavia please contact:

David St. John, ILO Department of Communication, WSSD Media Centre, Mobile +4178/794-9670, or
Tina Micklethwait, ILO Department of Communication, WSSD Media Centre, Mobile: +4178/794-9669
Kenneth Andoh, ILO Pretoria office, Tel:+2712/341-2170, Fax: +2712/341-2159, E-mail: pretoria@ilo.org