Events in the international community

United Nations General Assembly

57th Session, New York, 2002

Statement by John Langmore,
Representative to the United Nations and Director, ILO Liaison Office, New York

Agenda Item 87: Environment and sustainable development
(a) Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21

On behalf of the Director General of the International Labour Organization, I would like to emphasize the ILO’s strong support for a coherent, proactive and measurable follow-up to the Johannesburg Outcomes – and for a continued and enhanced effort to implement Agenda 21 and the WEHAB initiatives (Water, Environment, Health, Agriculture, Biodiversity).

The ILO’s primary objective for the WSSD preparatory process and Johannesburg Summit was to work with national delegations, other UN entities, and the major groups to significantly strengthen and better integrate the social pillar of sustainable development with the economic and environmental pillars. While, like others, we would have wished that even more priority had been given to the effective integration of the social dimension of sustainable development in the Johannesburg Outcomes, we welcome the significant number of commitments made in Johannesburg – and these represent major opportunities and challenges to move from words to action.

We are especially pleased that it was finally possible for the Summit to recognize – in both the Johannesburg Declaration and Plan of Implementation – the vital role of “income generating employment opportunities” that "take into account the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work” as an essential factor for the eradication of poverty. We believe that this represents a major step forward in the recognition – at the highest levels of government – that the development of employment opportunities is an essential component of any poverty reduction strategy. The ILO will continue to use its Decent Work Agenda and Global Employment Agenda as key mechanisms to support action at the country level to promote employment, incomes and decent work – including a special effort to promote youth employment via the Secretary-General’s Youth Employment Network initiative that brings together the UN, World Bank and ILO.

It is not necessary here to raise all the specific issues included within the Johannesburg Outcomes of relevance to the ILO and to our tripartite constituency – workers and employers and ministries of employment and labour. I would rather like to draw your attention to the fact that the Committee on Employment and Social Policy of our Governing Body will be meeting tomorrow to discuss the ILO’s follow-up to the Johannesburg Summit. It will be looking at the following key points: the importance of employment, decent work and the ILO’s Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and relevant ILO standards for poverty eradication as noted earlier; the role of the ILO and its constituents in facilitating the transition to more sustainable consumption and production patterns – especially through the ILO’s existing mechanisms and tools for social dialogue; and also the importance of continuing the ILO’s priority activities since Rio to enhance the capacity of its workers’ and employers’ organizations to deal directly with the challenges of sustainable development – especially at the national, sectoral and workplace levels.

The other activity that the ILO has under way at present that is directly relevant to Johannesburg follow-up is the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. While it is far too early to guess at what the Commissioners will recommend, the purposes of the Commission suggest that it will look at means of rapidly increasing opportunities for work and productivity growth, improving labour standards, reversing growing inequities of income, strengthening the international environment for development and addressing the global democratic deficit.

Finally, I would note that the ILO is giving high priority to integrating its Johannesburg follow-up initiatives within the key integrating approaches related to the Millennium Development Goals. Nevertheless, we would like to emphasize that the ILO also fully recognizes that the Johannesburg Outcomes go far beyond the issues targeted within the MDGs related to poverty reduction – and that they also encompass many important commitments and opportunities for action by and within industrialized countries – that also warrant follow-up action by the ILO and its constituents.

The ILO looks forward to collaborating, within the UN system, with the major groups and with the appropriate inter-governmental mechanisms responsible for ensuring effective follow-up to the Johannesburg Summit at all levels.