Agencies ordered not to deal with child labor abusers

President Clinton on Saturday issued an executive order instructing federal agencies to avoid contractors who use forced or indentured child labor.

Agencies should terminate contracts with companies that use abusive child labor practices, Clinton said.

"In many, many communities around the world, tens of millions of children work in conditions that shock the conscience-and send the products to us and to other wealthy countries," Clinton said Saturday at the University of Chicago. "Today, I'm directing all federal agencies to make absolutely sure they're not buying any products of abusive child labor."

In the next four months, the Labor, State and Treasury departments will publish in the Federal Register a list of products, "identified by their country of origin, that those departments have a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor," Clinton's order says.

For any product published on the list, federal contracting officers must require contractors to certify that their companies don't use forced or indentured child labor. In addition, federal contracts must include a provision requiring contractors to provide access to records if the government suspects they are running afoul of child labor restrictions.

President Clinton is scheduled to address child labor issues before the International Labor Organization on Wednesday.