Ms Cynthia Samuel - Olonjuwon is the Chief of the ILO Programming Unit for Africa and has more than 30 years’ experience in the world of work; including the academia, private sector, government and international organisations. She has served in positions of management and analytical programming at country, regional and global levels. Ms Samuel-Olonjuwon’s work on labour migration started in 2001, where she contributed to the collaborative engagement with the IOM and the Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP), in support of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

As the Co-Chair, of the UN sub Cluster on Employment and Labour, she coordinates UN support to the African Union (AU) on issues related to employment and labour. In close collaboration with the AU, IOM and ECA, she co-ordinated the development of the Joint Programme on Labour Migration Governance (JLMP), which was endorsed by the 26th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly (January 2015). The JLMP will strengthen the effective governance and regulation of labour migration and mobility in Africa, under the rule of law with the involvement of key stakeholders. It will directly contribute to obtaining the development potential of labour mobility in Africa by supporting effective governance of labour migration and protection of migrants.

English is her preferred working language.