Events in the international community

United Nations General Assembly

57th Session, New York, 2002

Statement by Caroline Lewis, ILO Liaison Office, New York

Agenda Item 89:
    Implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006)

In marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty this year, the ILO Director General, Juan Somavia, quoted from part of the Declaration of Philadelphia (1944) which states that “Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere”. Recent events have shown how prescient the Declaration’s statement was, and we have learnt to our cost that we can no longer ignore the links between human security and poverty. Productive employment is one of the major routes out of poverty. The promotion of productive employment is at the heart of the ILO’s decent work agenda and encapsulates the Organization’s contribution to the UN Decade for Poverty Eradication (1997-2006).

Most economies in the world today are suffering an employment crisis: many people have seen jobs whittled away or become precarious. Yet conversely, others are working long hours in poor conditions without earning enough to raise themselves out of poverty. The ILO’s concern is therefore with both the quality and quantity of jobs, because poverty is more than about lack of income. It is about lack of dignity, disempowerment and lack of recognition. Many surveys of the poor reveal that the most injurious and debilitating characteristic of poverty is loss of dignity, because it seriously weakens relationships with families and communities.

It is becoming increasingly evident that the present pattern of globalization does not ensure decent work for all and that past prescriptions for economic growth which have not taken into account the need for employment creation, have, instead, exacerbated human insecurity. The goal of the ILO’s World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization is to promote globalization as a means of reducing poverty and unemployment and creating sustainable development. Its recommendations will be published next year.

On the ground, many of the ILO’s activities are carried out directly in collaboration with its constituents (employers and trade unions) giving it unique access to the workplace to help improve workers’ lives.

With the majority of poor people engaged in small or own account enterprises in developing countries, the ILO is making major efforts to eradicate poverty through its InFocus Programme on Boosting Employment Through Small Enterprise Development (IFP/SEED). The use of cooperatives as self-help vehicles in the creation of credit and social protection schemes is also an effective tool.

Social protection is an especially valuable means of reducing poverty. With clear evidence that poorer sections of society are the least protected in old age or in sickness, the ILO works with community organizations, trade unions and civil society to provide micro-insurance. The dramatic challenge of HIV/AIDS, which threatens to decimate the prime income-earning generation of entire communities, is being addressed by a Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work (English - français - español), which covers the disease’s implications for workers, employers and public policy makers.

The Secretary General’s Youth Employment Network, which the ILO jointly runs with the UN and the World Bank, is a response to the fact that 85 per cent of youth live in poor countries and 70 million remain un- or under-employed. The network is focusing on investing in education, vocational training, equal opportunities for women, and small enterprise start-ups, and placing employment at the centre of macroeconomic policy.

On the inter-agency front, the ILO and UNDP have set up a joint taskforce for developing a programme on employment and poverty. This follows concern at the stubborn persistence of poverty and the slow pace of progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. Experience of those countries that have succeeded in reducing poverty indicates the importance of sustained high growth, in particular growth that is employment-intensive. The ILO/UNDP programme involves collaborative research as well as cooperation at the national and international levels, including joint technical cooperation projects, the first of which will be in Ethiopia. The ILO and the World Bank are also collaborating closely on the inclusion of a work component in poverty reduction strategies.

While employment is essential for helping pull people out of poverty, the work available must not be exploitative, and a rights-based approach to poverty eradication remains crucial. The ILO is concerned with monitoring the ratification and, most importantly, implementation of, Conventions to protect the rights of people in the workplace. Hazardous, exploitative and unhealthy work environments are more likely to be experienced by poor people with little power over the conditions in which they work.

The ILO is also concentrating its efforts on the four areas of its Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. These are child labour, forced labour, discrimination and freedom of association. There are still 246 million children – 1 in every 6 children aged 5 to 17 – involved in child labour. Forced labour persists, denying basic dignity and rights and continuing to trap people in a cycle of debt and poverty. Discrimination remains a live issue: women, who constitute the majority of the poor, are commonly underpaid; indigenous people, refugees and trafficked persons are often the most vulnerable to discriminatory practices. The poorest groups of workers - agricultural and subsistence farmers, migrant and domestic workers and workers in export-processing zones - rarely find the opportunity to have their concerns adequately represented in trade unions.

As the Secretary-General states in his report on poverty eradication to the Committee this year, an enabling economic environment is key to development and successful poverty eradication. Macroeconomic stability that is focused on promoting growth, not just on keeping inflation in check, and financial reform that frees up the ability of poorer people to use microfinance - often their only source of start-up capital - must be a first step. With growth come job opportunities and at least the chance of decent and productive work.