Officials from the United Nations are repeatedly underlining the growing importance for member states to generate employment so as to tackle the twin evils of poverty and unsustainable-development which are the new objectives of the UN’s development agenda.
In the opening speech of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Vladimir Drobnjak, the Council’s Vice President, highlighted the fact that in today’s world the opportunity of getting employed in a decent work place is quite a challenge. This problem is not just specific to just one particular nation but is in fact faced by citizens of all worldwide.
Although many countries have tried to deal with this problem by enacting protection schemes, however they have invariably fallen short of their expectation. Moreover the economically weaker section have always been more vulnerable and have thus always been the most affected. Mr. Drobnjak called all nations to not discriminate and to adhere to international labour standards. Economic growth has to be inclusive and equitable so as to promote sustainable developments. This was an important point in the Ministerial Declaration of 2012 towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In the opening speech of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Vladimir Drobnjak, the Council’s Vice President, highlighted the fact that in today’s world the opportunity of getting employed in a decent work place is quite a challenge. This problem is not just specific to just one particular nation but is in fact faced by citizens of all worldwide.
Although many countries have tried to deal with this problem by enacting protection schemes, however they have invariably fallen short of their expectation. Moreover the economically weaker section have always been more vulnerable and have thus always been the most affected. Mr. Drobnjak called all nations to not discriminate and to adhere to international labour standards. Economic growth has to be inclusive and equitable so as to promote sustainable developments. This was an important point in the Ministerial Declaration of 2012 towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“This is not an easy task. It involves short-term trade-offs and long-term benefits. We will be exploring what these trade-offs are and how they are being addressed.”
Iceland’s Permanent Representatives, Deputy Secretary-General Einar Gunnarsson and Jan Eliasson also underlined Mr. Drobnjak’s thoughts. Sustainable development was indeed an “enormous and pressing” challenge for all nations all over the world. Job creation and creating decent working conditions are not easy tasks. Several obstacles need to be overcome in order to attain these two objectives.
Nations are plagued by under-employment, high unemployment, income disparities, access to social protection schemes, provisioning of better jobs, sustainable income levels and the existence of unorganized sectors which make the weaker sections, such as women, people with disabilities, young people and migrants more vulnerable to job risks.
“All these challenges need to be addressed if we are to build an equitable future where extreme poverty is eradicated, people are empowered and opportunity is a reality for all. We cannot realize sustainable development without making job creation and decent working conditions for all a priority in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.”
Mr Eliasson pointed out that as per statistical records as many 73 million young people are facing frustrating situations because of the employment crisis.
“Their frustration is understandable and undermines belief in government and national institutions. We must ensure that they get the relevant education and training for ‘employability.’”
As per Mr. Eliasson, a step towards solving this problem would be to create well-designed labour policies wherein the youth, women and people with disabilities all have equal access to employment opportunities. Investments must be made in the future oriented green economy. This will only increase our food security, improve public heath, create decent jobs, make cities more resilient and safeguard our natural eco-systems.
What is of critical importance is the fact that the solution to this problem should be holistic and should have an integral approach.
References:
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/ecosoc/integration-segment-2.html#more-14001