Monrovia High-Level Forum on Decent Work
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This week began with a high-level forum in Monrovia, titled “Working Out of Poverty: A Decent Work Approach to Development and Growth in Africa.” The event, which goes through September 9th, is focused on promoting ‘decent work’ in Africa.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Realizing Rights President (and member of The Elders) Mary Robinson join with over sixty leaders from governments, the donor community, employers associations, companies and civil society organizations participating in the forum – co-convened by The Ministry of Labour of Liberia, Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The two-day workshop, through a mixture of panel presentations and group work, will review and share knowledge on policies and programs for realizing decent work at the national level. It will also encourage concrete plans by the different stakeholders for taking forward the Decent Work agenda in Liberia and, potentially, elsewhere.
The Decent Work agenda incorporates four pillars: the effective implementation of labour standards, especially the ILO core labour standards; the creation of more productive employment and sustainable enterprises, particularly through coherent and employment-friendly strategies for economic growth and development; the development and expansion of inclusive social protection systems, including for those working in the informal economy; and the support of social dialogue between the different stakeholders. Concern with gender equality is a main theme underpinning each of four main dimensions of decent work.
The event comes at a key time for promoting Decent Work in Liberia, but also for promoting Decent Work more broadly. 2008 is the midpoint for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs). As governments, agencies, and civil society organizations reflect on how far we’ve come toward the MGDs, and how far we have yet to go, this year is an opportunity to increase the emphasis on Decent Work within the United Nations (UN) system.
The UN has endorsed incorporating Decent Work targets into the MDGs, but these are often discussed without sufficient focus on livelihoods. Speaking to attendees at today's forum in Monrovia, President Robinson said:
“The current course of globalization, growth and investment is failing to create sustainable and quality employment, leaving the development community seeking a fundamentally different approach to livelihoods, which the Decent Work agenda addresses.”
President Robinson also emphasized decent work as a core human right:
“We believe that in our increasingly globalized world and economies we must have common, and shared, standards and values. And human rights are, in fact, the common standards and principles that have been adopted by all governments through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, which will be sixty years old in just three months. The principles of the Universal Declaration have been translated into international law, incorporated into national constitutions, and most recently reaffirmed in the UN Millennium Declaration.”
The two day workshop will address: trends in labour markets, including employment, informality and working poor; coherent policies for employment and economic growth; local economic development and employment-intensive investment approaches for reconstruction and recovery; social protection and social safety nets; and improved labour market governance and social dialogue.
Following Friday’s Oslo Decent Work Conference, which highlighted the need for policy coherence, the Monrovia workshop is focused on practical ideas for decent work in Liberia and other countries in Africa. The outcome of both events will be distilled to inform a high-level forum on decent work and the MGDs in New York, September 22nd; and be part of a message conveyed by Ela Bhatt, founder of SEWA in India (and member of The Elders) as part of the High-Level Event of Heads of State and Government in New York, September 25th.
Addressing the forum's participants, President Robinson further remarked:
"I firmly believe that if we had taken on the Decent Work Agenda a decade ago - in aid policies, in the MDGs and in trade policy – had we made decent job creation central to these policies - there would be more jobs now for our youth. This workshop is about learning, sharing challenges, hearing about successes in other African countries, and crafting something together, and I think what Liberia can contribute is significant. …We need good practical ideas to bring to the meeting on Decent Work in New York on September 22nd."
Along with the aforementioned events in Oslo and New York, the Monrovia forum is part of Realizing Rights' contribution to the Every Human Has Rights, 'Right to Decent Work' theme. You can more about this month's Decent Work events in the campaign news section of this site.
