Social Safeguards for Employment Intensive Approaches: Operationalising the Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus in Afghanistan

The Guidance Note on Social Safeguards for Employment-Intensive Approaches provides practical guidance for integrating social safeguards into employment-intensive and cash-for-work projects, helping to generate income and livelihoods to address urgent local needs arising from crises in Afghanistan. By promoting decent work, social safeguards play a vital role in supporting inclusive recovery, strengthening social cohesion, and building community resilience. By embedding principles such as fair wages, occupational safety, gender equality, and the elimination of forced and child labour, these projects help communities transition from dependence on humanitarian aid toward self-reliance and long-term resilience.

The document was developed through the initiative of the ILO-EIIP team in Afghanistan to enhance coherence among stakeholders and partners engaged in employment-intensive and cash-for-work programmes, particularly in advancing decent work through social safeguards. The initiative was initially presented to UNCT members and, based on their recommendations, further discussed in the Decent Work and Social Protection Working Group—led by the ILO—and finalized in consultation with UN agencies.