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June 9, 2000 - Women activists from around the world are calling for extended maternity leave and paid breastfeeding breaks to be added to an international maternity treaty.

The treaty is currently being renegotiated at the International Labor Organization (ILO) conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The new treaty, which is expected to be approved in the next few days, would replace a 1952 ILO treaty on maternity leave.

Latin American and East European countries are driving the campaign for the ILO convention to guarantee longer paid maternity leave as well as paid breastfeeding breaks.

The current treaty, which provides 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, including 6 weeks leave after the birth for women to recover and establish breastfeeding, has only been ratified by 38 of the United Nation's 174 member countries. The United States, Australia and Japan never signed it.

Many activists have been pushing for the new treaty to guarantee 14 weeks of paid maternity leave and two 30-minute breastfeeding breaks per day. Employers must also provide a clean place for working moms to nurse, many activists are demanding.

The ILO's committee on maternity protection voted last week to increase guaranteed maternity leave to 14 weeks from 12 weeks, and the change is now expected to be adopted by the full conference. According to Associated Press reports, The United States, Australia, Britain and Japan were among those countries who voted against increasing maternity leave.

The committee is still debating whether the new treaty should include paid breastfeeding breaks. A decision will likely be made early this week, as the new treaty is scheduled to be adopted by June 15.