The ILO and globalization

Recent events and publications:
International policy developments

Furthering the ILO’s Decent Work agenda as an integrated development strategy in a global context requires an enabling international policy environment. This can only be achieved through partnerships and networks that will maximize impact and allow for greater policy coherence. Crucial to this end is the need for the ILO to monitor developments in the international community which are relevant to the debate on the social dimensions of globalization and to make decent work viable and operational at the national level.

Since its inception in 1994, the ILO Governing Body's Working Party on the Social Dimensions of the Liberalization of International Trade has expressed interest in keeping abreast of the work of other international organizations in relation to the social dimensions of the liberalization of international trade. Regular papers were submitted to the Working Party on developments in other international organizations of relevance to its work. In March 2000 the Governing Body changed the title of the Working Party to Working Party on the Social Dimension of Globalization and continued to ask the Office to prepare regular updates on developments in other international organizations and bodies relevant to its work for its forthcoming sessions. In doing so, the Office chose to widen the scope of the document, encompassing policy developments relevant to the various aspects of the social dimension of globalization, which have become a recurrent theme on the international scene.  

In order to keep ILO constituents and staff, as well as other interested audiences and partners, informed of international policy developments of critical interest to the ILO's work, this website will post regular information on the outcomes of major conferences, events, studies and reports, international fora and other international policy initiatives and decisions adopted by major bodies and groupings of the international community, from the perspective of the ILO.

ILO Governing Body documents on international policy developments
concerning the social dimension of globalization

I.  Reports and studies

1. United Nations system
A. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): Trade and Development Report 2002: Developing Countries in World Trade
B. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): Human Development Report 2002: Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented World

2. Bretton Woods institutions:
A. World Bank: Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2002: Making Trade Work for the World’s Poor
B. International Monetary Fund (IMF): World Economic Outlook

3. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Employment Outlook 2002

4. European Union (EU)
European Commission: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Com(2002) 82 final, Brussels, 13.02.2002: Towards a global partnership for sustainable development

5. Regional development banks
A. African Development Bank: Annual Report 2001
B. Asian Development Bank: Annual Report 2001
C. Inter-American Development Bank: Annual Report 2001

II. Conferences and meetings

1. United Nations system
A. International Conference on Financing for Development Monterrey, Mexico, 21-23 March 2002: Monterrey Consensus
B. 2nd World Assembly on Ageing, Madrid, Spain, 8-12 April 2002: Political Declaration; International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002
C. World Food Summit: five years later, Rome, 10-13 June 2002: Declaration of the World Food Summit: five years later
D. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): High-Level Segment of the Substantive Session of 2002, New York, 1-3 July 2002: The contribution of human resources development, including the areas of health and education, to the process of development: Ministerial Declaration

2. Bretton Woods institutions: Spring Meetings
IMF International Monetary and Financial Committee, Washington, 20 April 2002: Communiqué
IMF-World Bank Development Committee, Washington, DC, 21 April 2002: Communiqué

3. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
OECD Council at Ministerial Level 15-16 May 2002, Paris, France: Final Communiqué

4. Group of Eight (G-8)
A. G8 Labour and Employment Ministers Conference Montreal, Canada, 26-27 April 2002: Chair’s Conclusions
B. G8 Summit Kananaskis, Canada, 26-27 June 2002: Chair’s Summary; Africa Action Plan

5. Group of Twenty (G-20)
3rd Meeting of G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Ottawa, Canada, 16-17 November 2001: Communiqué

6. Inter-governmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development (G24)
Sixty-seventh Meeting, Washington, D.C.,19 April 2002: Communiqué

7. Group of Seventy-Seven (G-77)
A. Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs New York, 16 November 2001: Ministerial Declaration
B. Twenty-sixth Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77, New York, 19 September 2002: Ministerial Declaration

8. Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
A. Special Declaration on the Fortieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Non-Aligned Movement, New York, 14 November 2001
B. Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of the Non-Aligned Movement during the 56th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, New York, 14 November 2001: Final Communiqué
C. Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement Durban, South Africa, 29 April 2002: Final Document

9. Ministerial Conference of the Least Developed Countries, Cotonou, Benin, 5-7 August 2002
Cotonou Declaration

10. Arab Labour Conference
29th Session (Cairo, March 2002): Resolutions adopted by the Arab Labour Conference at its 29th Session, Cairo, Egypt, 2-8 March 2002

11. Organization of the Islamic Conference
Twenty-Ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Solidarity and Dialogue) Khartoum, Sudan, 25-27 June 2002: Final Communiqué;
Resolution on the eradication of poverty in the least developed and low-income OIC member States;
Khartoum Declaration

12. The Commonwealth
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Coolum, Australia, 2-5 March 2002: Coolum Communiqué; Coolum Declaration

13. Network for Progressive Governance
Stockholm Progressive Summit Stockholm, Sweden, 22-23 February 2002: Communiqué: A Progressive Agenda for Democracy and Development

14. African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
3rd Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government, Denarau, Nadi – Fiji Islands, 18-19 July 2002 47 Nadi Declaration – ACP Solidarity in a Globalised World

15. Organization of African Unity / African Union
A. 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU Durban, South Africa, 8 July 2002
B. Executive Council of the African Union, First Ordinary Session Durban, South Africa, 9-10 July 2002: Regulation, EC/AU/AEC/Regl. (I)

16. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
25th Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government Dakar, Senegal, 20-21 December 2001: Final Communiqué

17. Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
12th Council of Ministers Meeting, Lusaka, Zambia, 30 November 2001: Report

18. European Union
A. European Council Meeting Laeken, Belgium, 14-15 December 2001: Presidency Conclusions; Laeken Declaration on the Future of the European Union
B. European Council Meeting (Second annual spring meeting on the economic, social and environmental situation in the Union), Barcelona, Spain, 15-16 March 2002: Presidency Conclusions
C. European Council Meeting, Seville, Spain, 21-22 June 2002: Presidency Conclusions
D. European Union-Canada Summits: Joint Summit Statement, Ottawa; Joint Summit Statement, Toledo
E. European Union-Latin America and Caribbean Summit, Madrid, Spain, 17 May 2002: Political Declaration: the Madrid Commitment; EU-LAC Common Values and Positions
F. 11th EU-Japan Summit, Tokyo, Japan, 8 July 2002: Joint Press Statement
G. Fifth EU-China Summit, Copenhagen, Denmark, 24 September 2002: Joint Press Statement

19. Association of Caribbean States
Third Summit of Heads of State and/or Government of the Association of Caribbean States Margarita Island, Venezuela, 11-12 December, 2001: Declaration of Margarita: the Consolidation of the Great Caribbean

20. Organization of American States (OAS)
Thirty-Second Regular Session of the General Assembly, Bridgetown, Barbados, 2 June 2002: Declarations and Resolutions adopted

21. XIth Summit of Heads of State and Government of Ibero-American Countries
Lima, 23-24 November 2001: Lima Declaration: “United to build tomorrow”; Political Declaration on the world economic situation and international trade

22. XVIth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Rio Group
San José, 11-12 April 2002: Declaration of San José

23. Andean Community
Andean Presidential Council, Guayaquil, Ecuador, 26 July 2002: Declaration of the Andean Presidential Council; Andean Charter for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

24. Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
A. 13th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, Belize City, 3-5 February 2002: Communiqué
B. Twenty-Third Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, Georgetown, Guyana, 3-5 July 2002: Communiqué; The Liliendaal Statement of Principles on “Forward Together”

25. 2nd Meeting of Presidents of South America
Guayaquil, Ecuador, 26-27 July 2002
Consensus of Guayaquil on Integration, Security and Infrastructure for Development

26. Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
A. 7th ASEAN Summit and 5th ASEAN +3 Summit, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, 5 November 2001: Press Statement by the Chairman
B. 35th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, 29-30 July 2002: Joint Communiqué

27. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC)
Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, 29-30 May 2002: Statement of the Chair

28. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
11th SAARC Summit Kathmandu, Nepal, 4-6 January 2002: Declaration

29. First round of consultations between the Foreign Ministries of China and eight Caribbean countries
St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, 17 September 2002: Joint Press Communiqué

30. Fourth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 4)
Copenhagen, 23-24 September 2002: Chairman’s Statement

Conferences and meetings

1. Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
Special Meeting of the OECS Authority on the Economy, St. Kitts and Nevis, 10th October 2002: Communiqué; OECS Development Charter

2. Organisation internationale de la francophonie
IXth Conference of Heads of State and of Government of countries sharing the French language, Beyrouth, 18-20 October 2002: Declaration of Beirut; Beirut Plan of Action (Translation)

3. Thirty-fifth Session of the Commission/Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
Johannesburg, South Africa, 20 October 2002: Ministerial Statement

4. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum
10th Annual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, Los Cabos, Mexico, 27 October 2002: Declaration

5. Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
8th ASEAN Summit, 6th ASEAN+3 Summit and ASEAN-China Summit, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 4 November 2002: Press Statement by the Chairman
ASEAN-Japan Summit, ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit, First ASEAN-India Summit, South African President’s Briefing, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 5 November 2002: Press Statement by the Chairman
ASEAN-Japan Summit, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 5 November 2002: Joint Declaration of the Leaders of ASEAN and Japan on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership

6. Fifth SADC-EU Joint Ministerial Conference
Maputo, Mozambique, 7-8 November2002: Communiqué

Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization
(Doha, Qatar, 9-14 November 2001)

Appendix: Extracts from statements 

November 2001: Document GB.282/WP/SDG/3 

I.  Reports and studies

A. United Nations system
1. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): Trade and Development Report, 2001; World Investment Report, 2001: Promoting Linkages
2. International Conference on Financing for Development: Report of the Secretary-General; Report of the High-Level Panel on Financing for Development (“Zedillo Report”)
3. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development
4. UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: Universal Human Rights Guidelines for Companies (Draft Guidelines)

B. Bretton Woods institutions
1. World Bank: Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries, 2001; Social Protection Sector Strategy: From Safety Net to Springboard;
2. International Monetary Fund (IMF): World Economic Outlook: Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Stability - The Information Technology Revolution

C. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Employment Outlook, 2001

D. European Union (EU)-European Commission
1. Communication on promoting core labour standards and improving social governance in the context of globalization
2. Green paper on promoting a European framework for corporate social responsibility

E. Organization of African Unity (OAU): A New African Initiative: Merger of the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP) and the Omega Plan 13

F. Regional development banks
1. African Development Bank Annual Report, 2000
2. Asian Development Bank Annual Report, 2000
3. Inter-American Development Bank Annual Report, 2000

G. Latin American Economic System (SELA): Study on the Insertion of Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy Globalization Process

II.  Conferences and meetings

A. United Nations system
1. Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC III) (Brussels, May 2001)
2. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): High-Level Segment – The role of the United Nations in support of the efforts of African countries to achieve sustainable development (Geneva, 16-18 July 2001)

B. Bretton Woods institutions - Spring meetings: IMF International Monetary and Financial Committee IMF-World Bank Development Committee (Washington, DC, 26-30 April 2001)

C. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): OECD Council at Ministerial Level (Paris, 16-17 May 2001)

D. Organization of African Unity (OAU): Thirty-seventh Assembly of Heads of State and Government (Lusaka, 9-11 July 2001)

E. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Twenty-Fourth Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government (Bamako, Mali, 15-16 December 2001)

F. European Union (EU)
1. European Council meeting (Nice, 7-9 December 2000)
2. European Council meeting (Stockholm, 23-24 March 2001)
3. European Council meeting (Göteborg, 15-16 June 2001)
4. European Parliament (October 2000)
5. EU-China Summit (Brussels, 5 September 2001)

G. EU-United States Summits (Washington DC, 18 December 2000; Göteborg, 14 June 2001)

H. EU-Canada Summits (Ottawa, 19 December 2000; Stockholm, 21 June 2001)

I. Group of Eight (G-8)
1. G-8 Summit (Genoa, 20-22 July 2001)
2. Meeting of the G-7 Summit (during the G-8 Summit, Genoa, 20-22 July 2001)
3. Conference of G-8 Labour Ministers (Turin, 10-11 November 2000)

J. Group of Twenty (G-20): Second meeting (Montreal, Canada, 25 October 2000)

K. Group of 77 (G-77): Thirtieth Meeting of Chairmen/Coordinators of the Group of 77 Chapters (Geneva, 15-16 March 2001)

L. Group of Fifteen (G-15): Eleventh Summit (Jakarta, 30-31 May 2001)

M. Summit of the Americas: Third Summit of the Americas (Quebec City, 20-22 April 2001)

N. Organisation of American States (OAS): Special Session of the General Assembly (Lima, Peru, 11 September 2001)

O. Xth Summit of Heads of State and of Government of Ibero-American Countries (Panama, 17-18 November 2000)

P. Rio Group: XVth Presidential Summit (Santiago, Chile, 17-18 August 2001)

Q. Andean Community
1. Thirteenth Andean Presidential Council (Valencia, Venezuela, 23-24 June 2001)
2. Meeting of Heads of State of the Andean Community (Lima, 28-29 July 2001)
3. Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Andean Community, MERCOSUR and Chile (La Paz, Bolivia, 17 July 2001)

R. Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
1. Twelfth Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government (Barbados, 14-16 February 2001)
2. Twenty-Second Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM (Bahamas, 3-6 July 2001)

S. Arab Labour Conference: 28th Arab Labour Conference (Amman, Jordan, 2-7 April 2001)

T. League of Arab States: 13th Council of the League of Arab States at the Summit Level (Amman, Jordan, 27-28 March 2001)

U. Organization of the Islamic Conference (IOC): Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Doha, Qatar, 12-13 November 2000)

V. Southern African Development Community (SADC)
1. Summit of Heads of State and Government (Blantyre, Malawi, 12-14 August 2001)
2. Meeting of COMESA and SADC Trade Ministers (Cairo, Egypt, 30 July 2001)

W. Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
1. Fourth ASEAN Informal Summit (Singapore, 25 November 2000)
2. Fifteenth Meeting of ASEAN Labour Ministers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 10-11 May 2001)

X. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC): APEC Summit (Brunei, 16 November 2000)

Y. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC): Meeting of Commerce Ministers (New Delhi , 23 August 2001)

 Addendum: November 2001: Document GB.282/WP/SDG/3(Add.1)

1. Africa-European Union (EU): African Heads of State and EU Meeting (Brussels, Belgium, 10 October 2001)

2. Asia and Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC): APEC Summit (Shanghai, China, 21 October 2001)

3. Twelfth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labour (Ottawa, 17-19 October 2001)

4. European Union (EU): Informal European Council (Ghent, Belgium, 19 October 2001)

November 2000:

Reports and studies: UN system, Bretton Woods, WTO, OECD, EU, Regional development banks, Latin American Economic System,
Conferences and meetings: UN system, Global Ministerial Environment Forum, Bretton Woods, OECD, EU, Africa-Europe Summit, EU-United States Summit, G-8 Summit (July 2000), Group of 77, South Summit, Group of Fifteen (G-15): Tenth Summit (June 2000), Non-Aligned Movement: Thirteenth Ministerial Conference, Meeting of the Presidents of South America, Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), Andean Community, Southern African Development Community (SADC), Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), Inter-Parliamentary Union
(Acrobat format)

March 2000:-

(Bretton Woods - 1999 Annual Meetings, WTO Third Ministerial Conference (Seattle, 1999), UNCTAD X, etc.) (Acrobat format)

March 2000: Addendum

(Extracts from statements made at the Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (Seattle, 29 November-3 December 1999)
(Acrobat format)

November 1997

(Reports and studies, meetings and conferences)

March 1997:

First Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (Singapore, 9-13 December 1996)

November 1996

(Reports and studies, meetings and conferences)