Abstract

I. Introduction II. Survey of Recent Developments 1. Copenhagen Summit 2. Promoting Fundamental Standards 3. Forced Labor in Myanmar 4. Child Labor 5. Labor Standards and the Trading System 6. WTO Seattle Ministerial 7. Other Developments III. Mission of the ILO 1. Rationale for International Labor Standards 2. Contemporary Challenges IV. Improving the ILO's Performance 1. Structure of the ILO 2. Rethinking ILO Instruments 3. Using Market-Oriented Tools 4. Improving Enforcement 5. Increasing Civil Society Participation V. ILO's Role Among International Institutions 1. The ILO and Other International Agencies 2. Review of International Economic Policies 3. Improving International Agency Coordination 4. New Challenges for the ILO VI. Conclusions I. Introduction In April 1998, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Inter- national Law, a plenary panel held a discussion regarding non-state ac- tors in international law. After one panelist alluded to the experience of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Jessica Tuchman Math- ews, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and also a panelist, responded by declaring that the ILO "has indeed been around forever, but it also has done nothing forever, so it is not terribly interesting".1 The few ILO hands in the hall