African Development Week 2016
ILO calls for effective governance on Migration, Youth and Gender Empowerment
In line with Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the 2030 Agenda, ILO's Deputy Director-General for Field Operations and Partnerships, Gilbert Houngbo, called for effective governance to transform Africa through decent work for sustainable development.
ADDIS ABABA (ILO News) – Migration, Youth and Gender Equality today are linked, directly or indirectly, to the world of work and the quest for decent work opportunities, emphasized ILO Deputy Director-General for Field Operations & Partnerships, Gilbert Houngbo, at the UN-Africa Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM-Africa) Plenary session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This calls for a more effective governance to foster better regional integration and development, underscored Gilbert Houngbo, who was co-chairing with Mustafa S. Kaloko, African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, a High-Level panel on “Freedom of movement, migration, youth and gender empowerment in the implementation of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs”.
“Labour migration is a phenomenon that concerns all regions of the world and the vast majority of migrants are in search of better job opportunities”, Houngbo underscored. ILO’s 2015 Global Estimates on Migrant Workers shows that migrant workers account for 150.3 million of the world’s approximately 232 million international migrants.
For Mustapha S. Kaloko, migration offers more opportunities than challenges. He called for better incorporation of migration planning into national and regional development policies, strategies and programmes.
According to Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General at the International Organization on Migration (IOM), "migration is an empowering factor for individuals and societies". She highlighted the vital role of the AU/ILO/ECA/IOM Joint Labour Migration Programme (JLMP) in promoting effective governance on labour migration, including facilitating effective skills mobility in Africa and providing key labour migration statistics to improve the evidence base for programmes and policies.
A message echoed by Khabele Matlosa, Director at the African Union Commission of Political Affairs, who cautioned participants that there is no strong migration policy in the absence of reliable data.
But, how do you translate existing youth and gender empowerment policies to tangible outcomes, Houngbo underscored calling for more and better skills development for young women and men in Africa.
Global and regional partnerships should aim at promoting employability through training and education which respond to labour market needs, entrepreneurship development and innovation as well as enhanced wage employment opportunities for young women and men, he sustained.
According to the 2016 ILO WESO report, youth unemployment rate is higher for young women (12.5% in 2015) than young men (9.8% in 2015). There have been improvements in overall education attainment for the youth but a significant number of young women and men are not in employment, education or training (NEET) in Sub Saharan Africa.
The ILO Deputy Director-General for Field Operations and Partnerships, Gilbert Houngbo, and the Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa, Aeneas Chuma, attended high-level meetings of the 2016 RCM-Africa on 2-3 April 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
RCM-Africa, is a platform for the UN system to support the African Union (AU) and its organs in the implementation of appropriate policies to promote Africa’s development in accordance with the purpose and principles of the Constitutive Act of the AU and its NEPAD programme. Furthermore, through the mechanism, the UN supports the AU and its member States in building the capacity to implement global, and continental development goals.
The two-day coordination meeting is held prior to the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the Economic Commission for Africa dedicated this year to better harmonize Agenda 2063 for Africa and Agenda 2030 for sustainable development.
This calls for a more effective governance to foster better regional integration and development, underscored Gilbert Houngbo, who was co-chairing with Mustafa S. Kaloko, African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, a High-Level panel on “Freedom of movement, migration, youth and gender empowerment in the implementation of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs”.
“Labour migration is a phenomenon that concerns all regions of the world and the vast majority of migrants are in search of better job opportunities”, Houngbo underscored. ILO’s 2015 Global Estimates on Migrant Workers shows that migrant workers account for 150.3 million of the world’s approximately 232 million international migrants.
For Mustapha S. Kaloko, migration offers more opportunities than challenges. He called for better incorporation of migration planning into national and regional development policies, strategies and programmes.
According to Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General at the International Organization on Migration (IOM), "migration is an empowering factor for individuals and societies". She highlighted the vital role of the AU/ILO/ECA/IOM Joint Labour Migration Programme (JLMP) in promoting effective governance on labour migration, including facilitating effective skills mobility in Africa and providing key labour migration statistics to improve the evidence base for programmes and policies.
A message echoed by Khabele Matlosa, Director at the African Union Commission of Political Affairs, who cautioned participants that there is no strong migration policy in the absence of reliable data.
Translating policies to tangible outcomes
Both Agenda 2063 for Africa and Agenda 2030 for sustainable development reaffirm the consensus on the crucial importance of youth employment and gender equality to achieve the three dimensions of sustainability – economic, social and environmental -, underlined Gilbert Houngbo, Deputy Director-General at the International Labour Organisation (ILO).But, how do you translate existing youth and gender empowerment policies to tangible outcomes, Houngbo underscored calling for more and better skills development for young women and men in Africa.
Global and regional partnerships should aim at promoting employability through training and education which respond to labour market needs, entrepreneurship development and innovation as well as enhanced wage employment opportunities for young women and men, he sustained.
According to the 2016 ILO WESO report, youth unemployment rate is higher for young women (12.5% in 2015) than young men (9.8% in 2015). There have been improvements in overall education attainment for the youth but a significant number of young women and men are not in employment, education or training (NEET) in Sub Saharan Africa.
The ILO Deputy Director-General for Field Operations and Partnerships, Gilbert Houngbo, and the Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa, Aeneas Chuma, attended high-level meetings of the 2016 RCM-Africa on 2-3 April 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
RCM-Africa, is a platform for the UN system to support the African Union (AU) and its organs in the implementation of appropriate policies to promote Africa’s development in accordance with the purpose and principles of the Constitutive Act of the AU and its NEPAD programme. Furthermore, through the mechanism, the UN supports the AU and its member States in building the capacity to implement global, and continental development goals.
The two-day coordination meeting is held prior to the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the Economic Commission for Africa dedicated this year to better harmonize Agenda 2063 for Africa and Agenda 2030 for sustainable development.