GENEVA (ILO News) - Morocco's Princess Lalla Meriem will officially open on 20 March the first meeting of a special panel of delegates from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and International Labour Organization (ILO) experts charged with helping mobilize international political will to eliminate the worst forms of child labour.

The meeting will be held in Marakesh where Morocco is hosting a conference of IPU members from 17-23 March. The event will coincide with the launch of a new booklet: "Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labour: A practical guide to ILO Convention No. 182". ^*

Prepared jointly by the IPU and the ILO and presented this month to the International Labour Office Governing Body, the guide aims at providing policy makers with the tools to translate international child labour legislation into effective action in a range of local contexts.

In the foreword to the new guide, ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia, declares that "tens of millions of children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour, damaging their health and sometimes costing them their life. They are robbed of the chance of fulfilling their potential."

India's Najma Heptulla, President of the IPU Council, added that "Child labour is for many of our countries a major challenge. It's not just by decree that we will be able to eradicate the worst forms of child labour, but by creating a real coalition of political and social forces, and by showcasing effective action."

For more information please contact:

Tom Netter
ILO Department of Communication
Tel.: +4122/799-7973. Fax: +4122/799-8577
e-mail: netter@ilo.org

Luisa Ballin
IPU Communications
Tel.: +4122/919-4116/27/23. Fax: +4122/919-41.60/97.
e-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org

Also see: www.ilo.org/childlabour and www.ipu.org.

* Eliminating the worst forms of child labour: A practical guide to ILO Convention No. 182, Handbook for parliamentarians No. 3 - 2002. Inter-Parliamentary Union, International Labour Office. ISBN: 92-2 112900-4.