Afghanistan’s first Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) was signed by representatives of the Afghan Government, employers' and workers' organizations, on 17 July 2010. The programme is recognized by the Afghan Ministerial Cabinet as a national programme in the government agenda. The DWCP-Afghanistan was created following consultations with the tripartite partners on priority areas for ILO action. In addition to the cross-cutting themes of social dialogue and gender equality, it has three country priorities:
Promoting productive employment through labour market indicators and skills development;
Promotion and application of international labour standards with a focus on the ILO core Conventions;
Strong and representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, (including sectoral employers’ and workers’ organizations),
contributing to national policy formulation processes and better industrial relations at all levels.
The main areas of intervention of the DWCP covers a five-year period and has a number of key outcomes. These include building capacity for generating and analyzing labour market information, increasing training and employment opportunities for women and men, building a conducive environment for micro and small enterprises and enhancing the economic empowerment of vulnerable groups (especially women, youth, ex-combatants, returning migrants and people with disabilities).
The other aims of DWCP includes strengthening national employment policy, applying international labour standards, improving labour administration (at national and subnational levels), boosting Afghanistan’s ability to develop social security policies, boosting the capacity of employers’ and workers’ organizations to take part in national policy formulation, and establishing mechanisms for social dialogue and industrial relations.
Supporting the development of national capacity the DWCP places the ILO’s knowledge and tools at the service of constituents, policy-makers and other stakeholders, with the aim of advancing Afghanistan's vision for work carried out in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. It contributes to the implementation of the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and the National Afghan Plan for Women’s Affairs (NAPWA) and supports the implementation of the country’s United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). It is also in line with the priorities identified by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Cluster and presented at the Kabul International Conference on Afghanistan, 20 July 2010.
The implementing partners of the programme will include the ILO constituents (at national and provincial levels) namely the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyred and Disabled (MoLSAMD) and workers' and employers' organizations, the Central Statistics Office, other relevant ministries, civil society organizations and local communities. Close collaboration with other UN Agencies such as UNHCR, UNOPS, UNDP and UNICEF as appropriate will also take place.
At the initial phase, 11 concept notes were developed in accordance with the DWCP country priorities and the concept notes were shared with the donor community in a series of bilateral meetings. For better and in depth discussion with the donors a mission of ILO Decent Work Team was called to Kabul and discussed the Decent Work Country Programme.
