ILO attends TICAD 7 and the Special Conference on Peace and Stability in the Sahel Region

TICAD 7 Plenary Meetings (28-30 August, Yokohama, Japan)

From 28 to 30 August, 2019, the ILO attended the Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD) 7 Plenary Meeting in Yokohama, Japan, an event organized by the Government of Japan, the United Nations, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, and the African Union Commission (AUC).
Prime Minister of Japan H.E. Shinzo Abe and the President of Egypt H.E. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (AU Chair) co-chaired the conference. TICAD’s overarching theme this year was Advancing Africa’s Development through People, Technology, and Innovation with the following three pillars:

• Pillar 1: Accelerating Economic Transformation and Improving Business Environment through Innovation and Private Sector Engagement
• Pillar 2: Deepening Sustainable and Resilient Society
• Pillar 3: Strengthening Peace and Stability

The ILO made an intervention in the Plenary Session 5 on “Strengthening Peace and Stability ”. The intervention highlighted ILO’s involvement in development cooperation in Africa in the context of fragility, pointing to the fact that the very foundation of the ILO lies in the aftermath of the devastating World War I, to promote social justice. It also highlighted the adoption of Recommendation No. 205 of Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience, as well as the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, calling for collective actions among all the stakeholders in fragile contexts.

The ILO shared a statement for the Plenary Session 4 on “Deepening Sustainable and Resilient Society.” The statement elaborates on the pertinence of the aforementioned Recommendation No. 205 in response to natural disasters, calling for a just transition for all towards environmentally sustainable and resilient development in both urban and rural areas. Similarly, the ILO also shared a statement for the Plenary Session 2 on “Accelerating Economic Transformation and Improving Business Environment through Innovation and Private Sector Engagement” which presents the ILO’s study results on a business enabling environment particularly for SMEs in Africa.

Special Conference on Peace and Stability in the Sahel Region (August 28)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a Special Conference on Peace and Stability in the Sahel Region on 28 August, on the margins of TICAD 7 plenary meetings. High-level Ministers, representatives from donor and partner countries and organizations, including H.E. Mr. Taro KONO, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and H.E. Amb. Smail CHERGUI, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union Commission, and Dr. Maman Sambo Sidikou, Permanent Secretary from the G5 Sahel. participated in the event. The ILO made an intervention during the meeting, highlighting the importance of job creation particularly for youth in the region who suffer from the lack of employment opportunities. The intervention is captured in theCo-chair’s summary report.

TICAD 7 Side Event: ILO Future of Work High-level Dialogue on Jobs4Youth: A Human-Centered Agenda to Boost Investment and Productivity in Africa (August 29)

With the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the ILO organized a High-Level Side Event entitled "Future of Work Dialogue on Jobs4Youth – A Human-Centered Agenda to Boost Investment and Productivity in Africa". The event, which took place on August 29, 2019 from 15:30 to 17:00, attracted more than 100 participants.
The event gathered the following high-ranking officials both from national and international institutions:

• H.E. Ms. Toshiko Abe, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan;
• H.E. Mr. Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of South Africa;
• H.E. Mr. Lamin Jobe, Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration andEmployment of the Republic of The Gambia;
• Mr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD);
• Ms. Amira Elfadil Mohammed, The Commissioner for Social Affairs of the African Union Commission (AUC);
• Mr. Maman Sambo Sidikou, Permanent Secretary of G5 Sahel;
• Ms. Sainabou Jammeh, Managing Director of Community Road Development and Maintenance (CODEM) and the Japan-funded ILO project beneficiary;
• Ms. Izumi Ohno, Director of the JICA Research Institute;
• Mr. Guy Ryder, Director-General of the ILO; and
• Ms. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, the ILO’s Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Africa.

For more details, please refer to the report of the event.