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Faced with a regional challenge of significant negative effects of the global crisis on employment, social protection and food security, in particular for vulnerable groups of the population, high-level representatives from Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Turkey /1 adopted a Ministerial Declaration designed to stimulate long-term sustainable responses to the global financial and economic crisis.
The Declaration was adopted following a discussion at a UN Ministerial Conference jointly organized by four UN agencies (the International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)) and hosted by the Government of Kazakhstan in Almaty (Kazakhstan) on 7-8 December.
The Declaration commits Governments of 11 countries /2 of the region to the development of employment policies and social protection systems that can respond quickly and effectively to existing and new vulnerabilities, and measures to address remaining food security issues affecting parts of the region.
The Declaration sets up a number of targets for the countries of the region, including:
- promoting social dialogue between the Governments and the employers’ and workers’ organizations to achieve inclusive job-rich growth, productive employment performed under decent working conditions, with full respect to fundamental rights at work;
- building a macroeconomic framework conducive to high levels of investment, sustainable enterprises and productive employment, also supported by sustained improvements in education and skills of the labour force and strong labour market institutions and policies. The Global Jobs Pact, relevant for all our countries, can usefully guide the countries in these actions;
- establishing minimum social protection measures including but not limited to adequate unemployment benefits, social assistance and child benefits, to protect the most vulnerable from the effects of economic downturn and to assist them to take advantage of recovery;
- boosting agricultural development through increased investment in production and post-harvest technology, improved market functioning for integration into global commodity markets, mitigation of risks for farmers and establishment of sustainable management practices.
Through this Declaration, the Governments committed themselves to “building employment, social protection and food security policies that will ensure that every working woman and man has the opportunity to participate in the economy and contribute to an economic and labour market recovery with equity”.
Speaking on behalf of the United Nations at the press conference on Monday, Ms Kori Udovicki, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS, said she was ‘delighted and encouraged’ by the Almaty meeting. At this important gathering governments come together to share experience on measures adopted in their countries to overcome the negative social impact of the economic downturn, she said.
Ms Udovicki confirmed the readiness of the UN Agencies to support governments in combating the social implications of the crisis, assessing its impacts, identifying populations at risk, and monitoring the effectiveness of social, employment and agricultural development measures. “We are committed to provide a platform for continued dialogue in the region on employment promotion, social protection, food security and agricultural development to continue the positive engagement that began here in Almaty’, Ms. Udovicki said.
The UN Ministerial Conference concluded its work today.
Further Information:
More information on the UN Ministerial Conference, including working papers prepared for the Conference
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/1 UN Ministerial Conference on Social Impacts of the Economic Crisis in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Central Asia gathered Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs and senior officials from the Ministries of Labour, Finance/Economy and Agriculture of the region, high-level representatives of the United Nations system, international and regional financial institutions (IFIs), regional organizations, bilateral cooperation agencies, international employers' and workers' organizations, civil society and regional academia.
/2 Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine.
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