On behalf of the ILO Director-General, allow me to congratulate UNESCO and the other conveners of this High-Level Meeting on the quality of the proposed Framework of Action.

The promotion of quality education and the search for social justice and decent work are deeply intertwined. For this reason the ILO, UNESCO and other partners have a long history of cooperation in such areas as skills for employability, youth employment, the elimination of child labour, and the status of teachers.

We will need to develop this cooperation further as part of the overall international effort to implement the 2030 Agenda, in particular with regard to targets 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 on technical and vocational training on which both ILO and UNESCO already cooperate closely. This was strongly reaffirmed by the inter-agency group on technical and vocational education and training (IAG-TVET), held at UNESCO, in October 2015.

We will also need to replicate our very productive collaboration within the UN Task Team on the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth which clearly links SDG Goals 8 on decent work and SDG 4.

We also note that the Framework has made important strides in recognizing the importance of working conditions of teachers, and we welcome the attention paid to status and working conditions of ECCE personnel.

The ILO appreciates the attention given to equality and non-discrimination against marginalized and vulnerable peoples. We would hope that the extensive list set out in paragraph 5 is understood to include persons living with or affected by HIV, which continues to pose a serious challenge to quality education in many parts of the world and is often a grounds for discrimination.

The ILO welcomes target 4.1. In view of the fact that there are an estimated 168 million children in child labour and at least 5.5 million children in forced labour, we would suggest that attention is given not only to cost–related barriers to education, but also to other barriers such as child labour and forced labour situations that keep children out of education or significantly reduce their education outcomes.

The ILO also welcomes the emphasis in target 4.3 on technical, vocational and tertiary education. We would suggest that under this target we also promote the status and working conditions of educators in these areas, as we commit to doing for other levels of education.

Finally, the ILO wholeheartedly supports the focus of the Framework on eliminating gender disparities in education. In this respect, we would also highlight the importance of eliminating gender disparities within the teaching profession itself. Gender equality cannot be achieved in education unless it is reflected in the teaching corps.

We look forward to playing a full role in follow up action with UNESCO and the other co-convening agencies for Education 2030.