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FIFTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Status of the Country Objectives

The attached information is submitted in response to the request made by the Committee in November 1997.

Geneva, 2 March 1998.

Summary

Africa
Completed	23	Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Ongoing	17	Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Niger, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia
To be undertaken	2	Gambia, Liberia
Pending	11	Algeria, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland
Americas
Completed	17	Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
Ongoing	14	Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname
Pending	1	Haiti
Arab subregion
Completed	5	Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Territories under the Palestinian Authority
Ongoing	7	Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Asia and the Pacific
Completed	11	Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri-Lanka, Viet Nam
Ongoing	6	Bangladesh, Fiji, Islamic Republic of Iran, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Thailand
Not foreseen	3	Myanmar, Republic of Korea, Singapore
Pending	1	Afghanistan
To be undertaken	1	Malaysia
Europe
Completed	6	Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Ongoing	5	Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan
To be undertaken	13	Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia
Pending	1	Turkmenistan

Africa

Country	Planned or actual starting date	Country Objectives status	Planned or actual completion date	Comments
1. Algeria		Pending		Feasibility under assessment.
2. Angola	November 1995	Ongoing	June 1998	Follow-up mission undertaken. Next steps subject to the effective installation of EMAC.
3. Benin	May 1995	Ongoing	December 1998	Earlier draft to be reconsidered in consultation with the constituents and EMACO.
4. Botswana	June 1995	Ongoing	End of first quarter, 1998	Documents being reviewed. A meeting was held with constituents on 29 October 1997. The final document is in preparation.
5. Burkina Faso	May 1995	Ongoing	June 1998	Draft not yet endorsed by the constituents. Tripartite meetings held in Ouagadougou in 1997 and the draft to be reconsidered in consultation with the constituents and EMACO.
6. Burundi		Pending		Feasibility under assessment.
7. Cameroon	March 1996	Completed	December 1996	Finalized in December 1996.
8. Cape Verde	October 1994	Completed	March 1995	Finalized and endorsed by the constituents.
9. Central African Republic	October 1994	Completed	October 1995	Finalized and endorsed by the constituents.
10. Chad	February 1997	Ongoing	March 1998	Awaiting clearance.
11. Comoros	June 1996	Pending	Not scheduled	Awaiting clearance.
12. Congo	August 1994	Completed	March 1996	Finalized and endorsed by constituents committee March 1996. CO to be updated in 1998.
13. Côte d'Ivoire	January 1996	Ongoing	December 1998	Draft not yet endorsed by the constituents. Separate meetings held with social partners 1997 and tripartite meeting scheduled January 1998.
14. Democratic Republic of the Congo		Pending		Multidisciplinary mission undertaken in December 1997.
15. Djibouti	1994	Ongoing	Second half 1998	Elements for an update gathered during a programming mission carried out in April 1997. Multidisciplinary mission to be carried out by EAMAT and EMACO specialists.
16. Egypt	June 1995	Completed	May 1996	Finalized.
17. Equatorial Guinea	December 1996	Ongoing	December 1998	Subject to the effective installation of EMAC.
18. Eritrea	April 1994	Completed	First half 1998	Final draft of Country Objectives for Eritrea submitted to Government in July 1997. Endorsement by Government is expected after its strategic plan for the next five years is finalized in early 1998.
19. Ethiopia	May 1994	Completed	December 1996	Finalized. Tripartite seminar of constituents was held in September 1996.
20. Gabon	October 1995	Ongoing	December 1998	Ongoing. Subject to the effective installation of EMAC.
21. Gambia	Last quarter 1998	To be undertaken	March 1999	Awaiting clearance.
22. Ghana	May 1994	Completed	December 1995	Constituents have requested an evaluation of the present COs in 1998, followed by the formulation of new objectives.
23. Guinea	January 1995	Completed	September 1995	Finalized and endorsed by the constituents.
24. Guinea Bissau	Second half 1997	Ongoing	May 1998	Ongoing. Tripartite consultations planned for early 1998.
25. Kenya	May 1994	Completed	December 1996	Finalized. Tripartite consultative meetings with social partners held in November 1996 for endorsement.
26. Lesotho	March 1995	Completed	December 1996	Finalized. CO to be updated in 1998.
27. Liberia	Planned for 1999	To be undertaken	October 1999	Awaiting clearance.
28. Libya		Pending		Awaiting clearance.
29. Madagascar	November 1994	Completed	January 1996	Finalized. CO transmitted to the constituents for endorsement.
30. Malawi	First half 1995	Completed	December 1997	Implementation of the Action Plan started in 1996.
31. Mali	May 1994	Completed	July 1994	Finalized and endorsed by the constituents.
32. Mauritania	November 1995	Completed	January 1996	Finalized and endorsed by the constituents.
33. Mauritius	February 1995	Completed	January 1996	Finalized.
34. Morocco	December 1996	Ongoing	September 1998	A multidisciplinary mission was fielded by EMANO, Dakar, in December 1996. Confirmation of the Government's acceptance of the final version of its report is still awaited.
35. Mozambique	first half 1995	Completed	December 1997
36. Namibia	September 1994	Completed	November 1996	Finalized and endorsed by the constituents.
37. Niger	November 1996	Ongoing	June 1998	Awaiting clearance.
38. Nigeria		Pending		Awaiting clearance.
39. Rwanda		Pending		Preliminary mission undertaken to assess feasibility.
40. Sao Tome & Principe	April 1994	Ongoing	December 1998	Consultative mission undertaken to assess feasibility.
41. Senegal	Second half 1997	Ongoing	October 1998	Ongoing. CO exercise delayed due to the need for EMANO to finalize the SPPD mission on "Employment and the performance of the informal sector" and for the Government to adopt a national policy and action plan on employment.
42. Seychelles	February 1995	Completed	January 1996	Finalized. CO transmitted to constituents for endorsement.
43. Sierra Leone		Pending		Awaiting clearance.
44. Somalia		Pending		Awaiting clearance.
45. South Africa	May 1996	Ongoing	June 1998	The first draft discussed with MDT.
46. Sudan		Pending		A draft was expected in February 1997.
47. Swaziland	May 1996	Pending		Labour Relations Act drafting in progress. The situation will be assessed after this process.
48. Tanzania	May 1994	Completed	November 1996	Finalized. Tripartite consultation held in October 1996.
49. Togo	October 1996	Ongoing	June 1998	Separate meetings held with the constituents in 1997. Tripartite meetings held in 1997. Follow up tripartite committee in place. CO to be drafted in January 1998.
50. Tunisia	October 1997	Ongoing	October 1998	The process has started, comprising two phases -- Phase I: A three-stage multidisciplinary mission by EMANO, Dakar, began on 13 October 1997, with completion planned for mid-March 1998. Phase II: Formulation of the CO document itself, by the Algiers AO, will start once the report of the multidisciplinary mission is officially accepted.
51. Uganda	May 1994	Completed	January 1997	Finalized.
52. Zambia	September 1994	Completed	May 1997
53. Zimbabwe	September 1994	Completed	May 1997

 

Completed:	23	Cameroon, Cap Vert, Central African Republic, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Ongoing:	17	Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia.
To be undertaken:	2	Gambia, Liberia.
Pending:	11	Algeria, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland.
Multidisciplinary teams:	EAMAT: EMAC: EMACO: EMANO:	East Africa, Addis Ababa Central Africa, Yaoundé (currently being established)  Central and West Africa, Abidjan North-West Africa, Dakar

Americas

Country	Planned or actual starting date	Country Objectives status	Planned or actual completion date	Comments
1. Antigua and Barbuda	1997	Ongoing	April 1998	A Regional Objectives Statement (ROS) is foreseen. (*)
2. Argentina	July 1994	Ongoing	January-March 1998	The new Minister of Labour has stressed his determination to liven up social dialogue and consensus, which could accelerate the development of the COs.
3. Bahamas	1997	Ongoing	April 1998	A Regional Objectives Statement (ROS) is foreseen. (*)
4. Barbados	1995	Completed	August 1997
5. Belize	1994	Ongoing	1998
6. Bolivia		Completed	August 1994	A second CO exercise has been started (period 1998-2000).
7. Brazil		Completed	December 1995
8. Chile		Completed	August 1995	A second exercise has commenced.
9. Colombia		Completed	August 1995
10. Costa Rica	May 1995	Completed	December 1997	By common accord of the constituents. (**)
11. Cuba		Ongoing	First quarter of 1998	In November 1997 the Minister of Labour agreed to move ahead with the elaboration of the Country Objectives in 1998.
12. Dominica	1997	Ongoing	April 1998	A Regional Objectives Statement (ROS) is foreseen. (*)
13. Dominican Republic	7 October 1996	Completed	July 1998	The Dominican Republic comes sunder the jurisdiction of the San José Area Office as of 1 January 1998. In preliminary discussions with the Director of that Office, its constituents indicated their desire to be included in the Central American Subregional Plan II. As mentioned above, it is expected that this document will be completed and approved by July 1998.
14. Ecuador		Completed	March 1997
15. El Salvador	May 1995	Completed	December 1997	By common accord of the constituents.(**)
16. Grenada	1994	Ongoing	1998	No response from constituents.
17. Guatemala	May 1995	Completed	December 1997	By common accord of the constituents.(**)
18. Guyana	1998	Ongoing	February 1998	Draft statement prepared; will be discussed and finalized with the Government and social partners early in 1998 following the outcome of the general elections held in Guyana on 18 December 1997.
19. Haiti		Pending		There have been three ministers of labour during the period. Counterparts still in need of reinforcement as a result of several years of civil strife in the country.
20. Honduras	May 1995	Completed	December 1997	By common accord of the constituents. (**)
21. Jamaica	1995	Ongoing	1997	Draft statement submitted in November 1997 and discussed in tripartite meeting. To be finalized in early 1998 (after elections).
22. Mexico	November 1996	Ongoing	February 1998	A first draft was completed in November 1996. The draft was submitted to the national counterparts but no consensus was reached. It was decided to draft a new document taking into account the previous one and new developments in the country. A new draft is well advanced; a consensus is expected.
23. Nicaragua	May 1995	Completed	December 1997	By common accord of the constituents. (**)
24. Panama	May 1995	Completed	December 1997	By common accord of the constituents. (**)
25. Paraguay	1995	Ongoing		A new Minister of Justice and Labour was appointed in late 1996. Another ministerial change occurred in late 1997. As it is unlikely that the socio-economic context and development priorities will change in the near future, the existing draft could be revised with some minor adaptations.
26. Peru		Completed	December 1995
27. Saint Lucia	1997	Ongoing	April 1998	A Regional Objectives Statement (ROS) is foreseen. (*)
28. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1997	Ongoing	April 1998	A Regional Objectives Statement (ROS) is foreseen. (*)
29. Suriname	1997	Ongoing	April 1998	A Regional Objectives Statement (ROS) is foreseen. (*)
30. Trinidad and Tobago	August 1996	Completed	First quarter 1998
31. Uruguay	August 1996	Completed		It would be advisable to revise the Country Objectives now, since these were established only for 1996-1997 and the majority of activities have now been completed, account being taken that 1999 will be an electoral year in Uruguay.
32. Venezuela		Completed	June 1995

(*) A Regional Objectives Statement (ROS) is expected to be endorsed by all Caribbean States and territories in a meeting of ministers of labour due to take place in April 1998. The ROS incorporates two objectives of a regional nature and two objectives responding to priorities common to all Caribbean States.

(**) By common accord of the constituents, Country Objectives have taken the form of a Subregional Plan. This is particularly appropriate in the planning and technical cooperation context, since virtually all projects and programmes are subregional in their scope. It also reflects the high-level initiatives in the region for Central American integration. As implementation of Subregional Plan I has been completed, preparations for Subregional Plan II are under way and are expected to be completed and approved by July 1998.
 

Completed:	17	Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Ongoing:	14	Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname.
Pending:	1	Haiti.

Arab subregion

Country or area	Country Objectives status	Planned or actual completion date	Comments
1. Bahrain	To be undertaken	1998	Heavy workload of ILO/ARMAT, namely difficulties in adjusting work programmes of the ARMAT specialists, which comprise technical advisory services, the organization of seminars and meetings and technical backstopping for operational projects. Planned remedial action: full integration of this work item in ARMAT work plan for 1998; some preparatory work by programme unit of ROAS; flexible modality, as appropriate, in undertaking this exercise, including splitting into subsectors.
2. Iraq	To be undertaken	1998	Same comments as for Bahrain.
3. Jordan	Completed	November 1995
4. Kuwait	Completed	December 1995
5. Lebanon	Completed	March 1995
6. Oman	Completed	September 1995
7. Qatar	To be undertaken	1998	Same comments as for Bahrain.
8. Saudi Arabia	To be undertaken	1998	Same comments as for Bahrain.
9. Syrian Arab Republic	To be undertaken	1998	Same comments as for Bahrain.
10. United Arab Emirates	To be undertaken	1998	Same comments as for Bahrain
11. West Bank and Gaza	Completed	May 1995
12. Yemen	To be undertaken	1998	Same comments as for Bahrain.
13. Territories under the Palestinian Authority	Completed	May 1995

 

Completed:	5	Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Territories under the Palestinian Authority.
To be undertaken:	7	Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
Multidisciplinary team:	ARMAT	Beirut.

 Asia and the Pacific

Country	Planned or actual starting date	Country Objectives status	Planned or actual completion date	Comments
1. Afghanistan		Pending		Pending.
2. Bangladesh		Ongoing	1998	Area Office Director has taken up the exercise and COs to be finalized in the near future.
3. Cambodia		Completed	October 1995	The Country Objectives will be updated in 1998.
4. China		Completed	March 1995
5. Fiji		Ongoing	November 1997	The Country Objectives for Fiji have taken the form of a programme document entitled "Employment Promotion through Human Resource Development programmes", and were discussed during a long process of consultation and approved at a tripartite meeting in November 1997.
6. India		Completed	1996
7. Indonesia		Completed	May 1994	The first Country Objectives completed in the region. The title of the Country Objectives for Indonesia is "Indonesia-ILO work plan, 1994-99 -- Towards sustained Economic Growth with Social Justice". The Country Objectives will be updated in 1998.
8. Iran, Islamic Republic		Ongoing		The Director of SAAT, New Delhi, will take a small team of experts to the Islamic Republic of Iran in early 1998 to identify core areas for the ILO programme, leading to Country Objectives. This was discussed with the Minister of Labour of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the Twelfth Asian Regional Meeting, December 1997.
9. Korea, Republic of		Not foreseen		Not foreseen.
10. Lao People's Democratic Republic		Completed	1997
11. Malaysia		To be undertaken		The Government and the social partners have recently shown interest in developing an integrated ILO programme in Malaysia. This may lead to the drafting of Country Objectives.
12. Mongolia		Completed	May 1995
13. Myanmar		Not foreseen		Not foreseen.
14. Nepal		Completed	May 1997	Country Objectives will be updated in May 1998.
15. Pakistan		Completed	1997	Finalized and operational.
16. Papua New Guinea	CO exercise started late (May 1997)	Ongoing	mid-1998
17. Philippines		Completed	April 1997
18. Singapore		Not foreseen
19. Solomon Islands		Ongoing	end-1998	Political and economic situation in the country.
20. Sri Lanka		Completed	April 1996	The Country Objectives will be updated in 1998.
21. Thailand		Ongoing	December 1997	Draft endorsed by National Tripartite Forum, Nov. 1997.
22. Viet Nam		Completed	May 1995	The Country Objectives will be updated in 1998.

Completed:	10	Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Viet Nam.
Ongoing:	6	Bangladesh, Fiji, Islamic Republic of Iran, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Thailand.
Not foreseen:	3	Myanmar, Republic of Korea, Singapore.
Pending	1	Afghanistan.
To be undertaken:	1	Malaysia.
SAAT:		South Asian Advisory Team, New Delhi

Europe

Country	Planned or actual starting date	Country Objectives status	Planned or actual completion date	Comments
1. Albania		Completed	1995	Operational. Updated through the report "Albania: social dimension of recovery -- assessment and proposals for action". (Sep. 1997).
2. Armenia	1998	To be undertaken		Preparatory work to start in 1998.
3. Azerbaijan		Completed	1997	Operational.
4. Belarus	1998	To be undertaken		Preparatory work to start in 1998.
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina	1999	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
6. Bulgaria		Completed	1993	Operational. Updated through regular programming.
7. Croatia	1998/99	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
8. Czech Republic	1999	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
9. Estonia	1998/99	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
10. Georgia	1998	To be undertaken		Preparatory work to start in 1998.
11. Hungary	1998/99	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
12. Kazakhstan	1997	Ongoing	1998	Pending finalization, to intervene as early as possible in 1998.
13. Kyrgyzstan	1997	Ongoing	1998	Pending finalization, to intervene as early as possible in 1998.
14. Latvia	1998/99	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
15. Lithuania	1998	Ongoing	1998
16. Moldova	1998	Ongoing	1998
17. Poland	1998/99	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
18. Romania	1998/99	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
19. Russian Federation		Completed	1995	Updated every year.
20. Slovakia	1998/99	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
21. Slovenia	1989/99	To be undertaken (*)		Assistance through regular programming.
22. Tajikistan	1998	Ongoing	1998	Sectoral programming mission first quarter 1998 at UNDP request.
23. Turkmenistan		Pending
24. Ukraine		Completed	1994	Operational. Updated through regular programming.
25. Uzbekistan		Completed	1997	Operational.
26. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia				Assistance provided without Country Objectives but through regular programming.

Completed:	6	Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
Ongoing:	5	Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan.
To be undertaken:	13	Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia.
Pending:	1	Turkmenistan.

(*) If the constituents agree.