December 2003

1. Article

   In Afghanistan, paving the way to a brighter future

   15 December 2003

   After more than two decades of war, road- and bridge-building has become an essential part of Afghanistan's reconstruction. The ILO Crisis Response and Reconstruction Programme is using labour-based methods to fix not only the streets in Kabul, but also pave the way to long-term job creation and decent work.

2. Press release

   Regional meeting concludes with pledge to strengthen ILO role in African development "Decent Work for Africa's Development"

   05 December 2003

   Xth African Regional Meeting concluded today with a broad set of recommendations on putting employment at the centre of Africa's development strategies and strengthening the organization's role in poverty reduction on the continent.

3. Press release

   ILO delegates lay groundwork for African summit on poverty and employment

   03 December 2003

   Xth African Regional Meeting.

4. Press release

   Xth African Regional Meeting Opens with Calls for Changes in International Policies on Poverty Alleviation

   02 December 2003

   centred approach to alleviating the continent's chronic poverty, and international policies must change to recognize this. That was the message heard by delegates to the International Labour Organization's Xth African Regional Meeting at its opening session this morning in the Ethiopian capital.

5. Press release

   Xth ILO African Regional Meeting - Addis Ababa, 2-5 December Africa meeting opens: Decent work for Africa's development

   01 December 2003

   With the challenges of reducing poverty and promoting job-centered development topping their agenda, African labour ministers and representatives of workers' and employers' organizations will open the International Labour Organization's Xth African Regional Meeting tomorrow in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

November 2003

1. Article

   Xth African Regional Meeting. Gender and poverty: Planting the "SEEDs" of change

   26 November 2003

   Many women in Africa are inordinately affected by poverty. But there are success stories. This article explains how the ILO Programme on Boosting Employment through Small Enterprise Development (IFP/SEED), and its team working on Women's Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality (WEDGE), can help plant the seeds of change for Africa's women workers.

2. Article

   Xth African Regional Meeting. Youth Employment: A leap to the future

   25 November 2003

   More than half of Africa's population is under 18 and is hard hit by unemployment. What's more, only 5 to 10 per cent of new entrants into the job market can be absorbed by the formal economy. This article explains how a new Youth Employment Network" ("YEN") – grouping the ILO, the World Bank and the United Nations – is working to help young people find more and better jobs on the continent.

3. Article

   Xth African Regional Meeting. Social security in Africa: A universal need

   21 November 2003

   The majority of Africa's workers today have no social security coverage – and the systems which do exist are threatened by such phenomena as weakness of governance and the impact of HIV/AIDS. This article explains new approaches which are being taken to remedy this, as part of the new ILO Global Campaign on Social Security and Coverage for All, launched this past June at the International Labour Conference.

4. Press release

   ILO Governing Body concludes 288th session

   21 November 2003

   Governing Body of the International Labour Office (ILO) concluded its 288th session today following two weeks of discussion over issues ranging from the social dimension of globalization to a new code of practice on workplace violence in the services sector and labour rights in Belarus, Myanmar and other countries.

5. Press release

   ILO Governing Body establishes Commission of Inquiry to examine violations of trade union rights in Belarus Latest report of ILO Committee on Freedom of Association cites Belarus, Cuba, Zimbabwe, others

   20 November 2003

   Constitution against the government of Belarus for non-observance of the fundamental freedom of association Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, the Governing Body decided to establish a special Commission of Inquiry to examine violations of trade union rights in the country.