Transcript THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT ARCHITECTURE

THE UNITED NATIONS AND
THE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
ARCHITECTURE
Presentation by Gemma Adaba–
ITUC Representative to the United Nations
To Workstream 3, of the TUDCN Meeting
Brussels, 20 May 2009
KEY INSTITUTIONAL ACTORS IN DEVELOPMENT
AT THE UNITED NATIONS
ECOSOC – Economic and Social Council
And its functional Commissions:
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CSocD – Commission on Social Development
CSW - Commission on the Status of Women
CSD – Commission on Sustainable Development
KEY INSTITUTIONAL ACTORS IN DEVELOPMENT
AT THE UNITED NATIONS
New Instruments for a strengthened ECOSOC
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AMR – The Annual Ministerial Review
DCF – The Development Cooperation
Forum
THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
AND ITS HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCES
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The World Summit on Social Development,
Copenhagen, 1995
The Fourth World Women’s Conference, Beijing,
1995
The International Conference on Financing for
Development, Monterrey, 2002
The World Summit on Sustainable Development,
Johannesburg, 2002
The Millennium Summit, 2005
Trade unions have been active within the
institutional framework outlined here,
participating in the Commission meetings and
Conferences. As actors in development, we have
contributed to the evolution of the development
architecture through:
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Statements
Lobbying for progressive, pro-union policy outcomes
Attempting to ensure follow-up; keeping
governments accountable to commitments made in
outcome documents
SOME NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS OF
TRADE UNION LOBBYING WORK AT THE UN:
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2005 – Para 47 of the Summit Outcome Document
committed Heads of State to “creating an
environment at the national and international levels
that is conducive to the attainment of full and
productive employment and decent work as a
foundation for sustainable development.”
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2006 – ECOSOC adopts a Ministerial Declaration on
Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work.
The Declaration called for “multilateral and bilateral
donor and inter-agency cooperation and
coordination, in the pursuit of the goals of full and
productive employment and decent work for all.”
MORE NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS OF
TRADE UNION LOBBYING WORK AT THE UN:
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2007 to 2008 The Commission on Social Development
devotes its two-year cycle to the theme of Full and
Productive Employment and Decent Work, and in 2008,
adopts a Resolution on that theme.
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2008 – The United Nations decides that decent work
should be a sub-target under MDG1 (Millennium
Development Goal) on poverty eradication.
MORE NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS OF
TRADE UNION LOBBYING WORK AT THE UN:
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2008 – After considerable lobbying, trade unions succeed
in getting a paragraph on decent work in the Agreed
Conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women,
which was devoted to the theme “Financing for Gender
Equality and Women’s Empowerment.”
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2008 – Trade unions succeed in getting a paragraph on
decent work in the Doha Declaration on Financing for
Development.
THE FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT (FfD)
AGENDA, A BROAD FRAMEWORK WHICH LINKS
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION TO OTHER
RELEVANT POLICY AREAS –
The Six Thematic Areas of the FfD Agenda:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Mobilizing Domestic Resources for Development
Mobilizing International Resources for Development
Trade as an Engine of Growth and Development
Addressing External Debt
Official Development Assistance
Systemic Issues, and Reform of Global Governance
FOLLOW-UP OF THE DOHA CONFERENCE
ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT
Para 79 of the Doha Declaration mandates the UN
General Assembly to hold a Conference at highest
level on the crisis and its impacts on development
The Conference will be held from 1 to 3 June, 2009
TRADE UNIONS HAVE BEEN ACTIVE IN THE
PREPARATORY PROCESS FOR THE JUNE
CONFERENCE
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Based on the Global unions submissions to the G20
process, trade unions have made inputs to the work of
the Stiglitz Commission which was charged with
producing the background document for the Conference
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The ITUC has produced and circulated an assessment
of the Stiglitz Commission Report
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Trade unions have made inputs to the preparatory
events for the June Conference, namely, the thematic
interactive dialogue of 24-25 March, 2009, and the
ECOSOC Meeting with the Bretton Woods Institutions,
WTO and UNCTAD on 27 April, 2009
REFLECTING THE WORK OF THE STIGLITZ COMMISSION,
THERE WILL BE FOUR ROUND-TABLES AT THE CONFERENCE,
DEVOTED TO THE FOLLOWING THEMES:
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3.
4.
Present and future impacts of the crisis on
employment, trade, investment and development,
including the internationally agreed development goals
and the Millennium Development Goals
Coordinated and collaborative actions and appropriate
measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis on
development
The role of the United nations and its Member Staes in
the ongoing international discussions on reforming and
strengthening the international financial and economic
system and architecture
Contribution of the United nations Development
System in response to the crisis.
TRADE UNIONS WILL BE ACTIVE IN THE JUNE
CONFERENCE WITH SOME KEY LOBBYING POINTS:
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The increasing financialization of the global
economy and the disconnect from the real economy
are at the root of multiple crises, one of the most
devastating being the jobs crisis.
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Impacts in terms of increasing inequality,
unemployment and poverty are particularly stark.
TRADE UNIONS WILL BE ACTIVE IN THE JUNE
CONFERENCE WITH SOME KEY LOBBYING POINTS:
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A new regulatory architecture must return financial
markets to their primary function of financing
productive investment and decent jobs in the real
economy
Both fiscal packages in the short-term as well as
longer term policies to restore stable growth must
incorporate shifts to low carbon economies that
create green and decent jobs
Governments must put in place counter-cyclical
measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis
TRADE UNIONS WILL BE ACTIVE IN THE JUNE
CONFERENCE WITH SOME KEY LOBBYING POINTS:
Active labour market policies must be central to
these counter-cyclical measures. They must, inter
alia:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Provide support for SMEs to adjust, and maintain
employment
Focus on groups most affected by the crisis, such as
temporary and part-time workers, informal economy
workers, women, migrants;
Eliminate structured inequalities and pay inequity in the
world of work;
Provide income support through special schemes, as well
as social protection;
Ensure migrant workers the same rights as nationals
THE DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FORUM:
AN OPPORTUNITY TO ESTABLISH COHERENCE BETWEEN
DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER CRITICAL AREAS
IMPACTING DEVELOPMENT
The Development Cooperation Forum emerged as a
new instrument, one of the outcomes of the 2005
Summit. It is mandated by ECOSOC to convene a
biennial Development Cooperation Forum.
The first Development Cooperation Forum was held in
2008. The next Development Cooperation Forum will
be held in 2010.
THE DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FORUM
AIMS TO:
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Strengthen the voice of all stakeholders, including civil
society, parliamentarians, private sector and local
governments by supporting inclusive high-level dialogue
on key development cooperation issues;
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Give due consideration to the broad range of issues
which affect the effectiveness of development
cooperation such as climate change, food security and
policy coherence;
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Continue to provide independent and high-quality
analysis of development cooperation issues and ensure
a comprehensive and inclusive international debate on
this agenda;
THE DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FORUM
FURTHER AIMS TO:
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Play a key role as an international mutual accountability
mechanism that will draw together analysis of progress
in national and global-level mutual accountability
processes, and thereby contribute to holding donors and
programme countries to account; and
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Focus its meeting in 2010 on playing an instrumental
role in developing a more inclusive framework for guiding
effective development cooperation, taking into
consideration the concerns of stakeholders.