World News 02-12-1999 Clinton Cracks Down On Child Labour Rights who: Bill Clinton what: Speaks to WTO conference about child labour law where: Seattle, Washington when: Yesterday snippet: As the riots surrounding the World Trade Organisation in Seattle begin to calm, observers have begun to focus more on the talks. The Guardian`s John Vidal gets an interesting insider`s view in his article Secret World of the Trade Deal Makers "because, in its incompetence, the WTO has issued me with the wrong accreditation". The demonstrators - who want to halt the WTO`s attempts to free up international trade laws at the expense of the environment - have merely sharpened the determination of the conference delegates to agree on greater trade liberalisation, says The Times. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton "has demanded tough action on child labour", and is expected to sign a treaty banning child prostitution, reports the BBC. In a speech to the WTO yesterday he urged delegates to respect "core labour standards that are essential not only to worker rights, but to human rights". But a Pakistani delegate said that liberal protestors do not speak for the developing world. "How could you have a minimum wage of $4 for workers in Bangladesh?" he asked. "It`s not even 20 cents there." [... more]

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