ABIDJAN (ILO News) - While insisting on the need for public awareness of the main challenges facing Africa in this end-of-century period - challenges which include "a rate of growth insufficient to attenuate extreme poverty, the persistence of ethnic conflicts and civil wars and the crushing burden of debt servicing" - Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), appealed "that everyone on the continent, man or woman, should have access to decent and productive work in conditions of liberty, equity, security and dignity".
In his speech, delivered this morning at the opening ceremony of the Ninth African Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) attended by senior representatives of governments and employers' and workers' organizations, the ILO Director-General urged governments and social partners to "put social dialogue at the heart of all Africa's economic and social policies as an indispensable tool for stability and progress".
"By facilitating the search for, and the maintenance of, peace, nurturing democratic life and promoting the transformation of economic growth into social justice," he said, "tripartism and social dialogue can contribute towards the attainment of all the strategic goals of ILO".
Mr. Somavia stressed the need for the simultaneous pursuit of the goals of economic and social efficiency and pointed out that "the creation of jobs and income-creating activities must be at the centre of the economy".
Referring to the recent Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Seattle, Mr. Somavia underlined the social dimension of globalization, pointing out that "too few people are enjoying these advantages at present". He called for a "change of course that will make the markets operate for the benefit of all".
The programme of activities of the Regional Meeting, which is taking place in Abidjan from 8-11 December, provides for the consideration of a series of problems which include unemployment, the realities of the informal economy, child labour, and the spread of HIV/AIDS on the African continent as part of the problem of social exclusion.
These topics will be analysed with a view to the development of a regional agenda oriented towards the promotion and application of fundamental labour rights, the expansion of job creation opportunities, and the strengthening of social dialogue in the region.
Noting that the problem of employment occupies the forefront of priorities in the struggle against poverty, and invoking the broader context of sustainable development, the Director-General of ILO stressed the importance of creation of enterprises as a factor of growth. "We know," he said, "that in Africa the answer to the problem of employment must involve, in particular, the creation of small and medium-sized enterprises". Recalling that the informal economy accounts for 90% of newly created jobs, Mr. Somavia urged that special attention be given to a sector "in which serious problems affecting the lives of millions of women, men and children continue to exist".
In his speech, the Director-General launched an appeal for the intensification of the struggle against child labour - "a silent nation of 80 million African child workers united in misfortune" - and invited African Governments to ratify without delay ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour, adopted by the International Labour Conference in Geneva in June 1999.
Finally, while expressing great concern over the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS on the African continent - "a pandemic which challenges our concepts of compassion, solidarity and social inclusion" - he announced that ILO activities in that sphere are to be strengthened, adding: "History teaches us that, in the face of adversity, societies can survive, win through and prosper only to the extent that they succeed in strengthening their social fabric".
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Daniel Kablan Duncan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, expressed his government's support for the strategic goals of the ILO, namely, "decent work and social protection for everyone in Africa".
After taking stock of the employment and social protection situation in Africa, which had become "still more difficult in view of the long economic crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s", the Prime Minister pointed out that action taken in order to resolve the crisis was aimed at ensuring political and social stability, so that all energies may be channelled towards the goal of development. He stressed his country's political will "to create a society based on solidarity, bringing about the improvement of the existing system of social protection through the strengthening of services and the harmonization of the institutional framework".
In conclusion, Mr. Daniel Kablan Duncan said that "in terms of social dialogue and tripartite cooperation, Cote d'Ivoire has a long tradition which has led it to develop a number of institutional mechanisms for both the promotion and the consolidation of dialogue between the social partners".
The Meeting will conclude its work and will present its conclusions on Saturday, 11 December. It is hoped that recommendations drawn from these conclusions will serve as the basis for a fresh impetus for social progress in the region.