Statements and Speeches by the Director-General

2012

• Not an ordinary May 1st  - (pdf 159KB) • Arabic - (pdf 69KB)
  29 April 2012  -  Tens of thousands of people around the world are taking to the streets today to mark May 1st. What else is new? Well, plenty.
• World Day for Safety and Health at Work • Arabic  - (pdf 31KB)
  28 April 2012  -  On this World Day for Safety and Health at Work it is timely to focus on the opportunity to promote safer and healthier workplaces as part of decent work strategies in the transition to a greener economy.
• International Women's Day • Arabic
  6 March 2012  -  Today we celebrate International Women’s Day by recognizing the important contribution of rural women across the world to the well-being of their families and communities and in sustaining societies and economies. We call for action to ensure that all rural women can live and work in dignity.
• “A new era of social justice”: Statement by ILO Director General, for World Day of Social Justice • Arabic  - (pdf 87KB)
  20 February 2012  -  A commentator writing on recent protests observed that they had been initially driven not by any particular ideology but rather by “the most human of emotions – the quest for dignity and justice.

2011

• Message by Juan Somavia Director-General of the ILO on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities • Arabic - (pdf 32KB)
  3 December 2011 -  On this Day the ILO calls for a concerted effort to expand opportunities for decent and productive work for persons with disabilities as one of the most effective channels of inclusive development.
• Message by Juan Somavia Director-General of the ILO on the occasion of World AIDS Day 1 December 2011 • Arabic - (pdf 77KB)
  1 December 2011 -  "Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths" - the ILO joins its efforts with the UN family and all who are striving to reach the zero goal.
• The global jobs crisis: the G-20 must act now to avoid a lost decade • Arabic - (pdf 47KB)
  02 November 2011 -  The world employment outlook is dire. Unemployment stands at more than 200 million, and is rising. The current rate of global jobs growth, at 1 per cent or less per year, will not replace the 30 million jobs lost since the crisis began in 2008.
• Message by Juan Somavia Director-General of the International Labour Office on the occasion of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty • Arabic - (pdf 55KB)
  17 October 2011 -  This year’s theme “from poverty to sustainability: people at the centre of inclusive development” is most timely. At a time of crisis, the human cost of inefficient patterns of growth becomes all the more acute and all the more evident.
• ILO Director-General on the occasion of International Day of Cooperatives - (pdf 52KB) • Arabic - (pdf 282KB)
  2 July 2011  -  The ILO is pleased to join the international community in celebrating International Day of Cooperatives focusing on the theme of "youth, the future of cooperative enterprise".
• ILO Director-General's statement on Bahrain - (pdf 42KB) • Arabic - (pdf 50KB)
  20 June 2011  -  The Director-General of the ILO condemned the public call by the Joint Committee of Major Companies in Bahrain to the 15 members of the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions to resign immediately or to face criminal and civil law prosecution.
• Palestine Solidarity Event - (pdf 50KB) • Arabic - (pdf 21KB)
  9 June 2011  -  I am happy that this Palestine solidarity event has become an integral part of our International Labour Conference
• Message by Juan Somavia on the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work • Arabic- (pdf 34KB)
  28 April 2011  -  On this Day we recall that every year around 337 million people are victims of work accidents and more than 2.3 million people die because of occupational injuries or work-related diseases.
• World Day of Social Justice 2011 - Juan Somavia: 'Time for a new era of social justice based on decent work' • Arabic - (pdf 33KB)
  17 February 2011  -  It is time to build a new era of social justice on a foundation of decent work. Recent events flashing across the world’s television screens have brought into sharp focus demands that have been brewing in the hearts of people: the desire for a decent life and a decent future based on social justice.
• Statement by ILO Director-General on the situation in Egypt • Arabic
  2 February 2011  -  The world has followed with great respect the massive and courageous expressions of the will of the people of Egypt during the events of recent days. In the difficult times ahead it will be of critical importance that the government and all other actors commit to peaceful action to open the way to a new era of social justice in Egypt's proud history.
• Restoring Trust - Time to rescue the real economy -(pdf 99KB)• Arabic - (pdf 43KB)
  24 November 2008  -  The current crisis has hit the financial sector hard. But what about people and the real economy?