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Promoting Decent Work for Families: The Search for effective practices
The 45th Commission on Social Development (CSD)
United Nations
February 7, 2007
Summary overview
Many people have no access to
“decent work.” What, then,
are effective practices to guarantee such decent work?
This panel, composed of
Florence
Denmark
, Zahra Nuru and Stefani Ankins, addressed this question in this side
event of the Commission on Social Development.
They attempted to determine ways toward getting decent work.
Chair: Eva Sandis
Speakers:
Florence
Denmark, from the NGO Committee on Aging
Zahra Nuru, from the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least
Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and
Small
Island
Developing States (OHRLLS)
Stefani Ankins, from VIVAS
Summary of presentations
Florence
Denmark, Chair of the NGO Committee on Aging, began with a focus on older
persons. Recalling the Madrid
International Plan of Action on Aging, she pointed out that employment
opportunities concern “all persons who want to work.” Addressing the
question of decent work means dealing with workers of all agees.
Even if rich countries face more aging challenges now due to their
reaching the demographic transition, Dr.
Denmark
suggested that developing countries and particularly in rural areas, have
many older persons as well. She noted that in developing countries, people
often work into very advanced age because they do not receive pensions.
Furthermore, older persons now care for their grandchildren
orphaned by the HIV-AIDS pandemic. In the main, Dr.
Denmark
said that older persons make up a very heterogeneous group-- rich, poor,
strong, vulnerable and so forth. But undoubtedly, older persons should be
taken into account and have the chance to take part in any decision
making. Finally, she stressed that older persons are a resource for
societies. For instance, in some developing countries, within refugees’
camps, older persons may contribute to the peace effort as formal or
informal leaders of their community. She proposed promoting more social
understanding that places elderly into the community—not isolated from
it. Valuing part-time and volunteer work helps validate older persons’
contributions.
The second speaker, Zahra Nuru, the
UN Representative of the OHRLLS, talked about vulnerable countries
specifically. The UN recognizes about 50 countries as “least developed
countries,” including 34 based in
Africa
, or two-thirds of the continent. These 50 countries embrace 800 million
people. To define them, different criteria have been taken into account
such as low-income or human resource weaknesses (nutrition, health,
education, economic vulnerability and so on). Decent work is a concept
linked to ideas such as social progress, human dignity, freedom, equity or
security. At present, Nuru said, migration has reached unprecedented
levels worldwide and involves new risks for the workforce, such as the
distortion between available skills and the available work. And as she
told the audience, globalization and its unregulated dynamic are leading
to great challenges.
The third speaker, Stefanie Ankins,
told the audience about a survey launched by the NGO Committee on Social
Development entitled, “Survey of effective practices of full employment
and for decent work,” which aims at building a body of knowledge and
making meaningful recommendations to governments. To read more information
about this survey, see: csocdsurvey@gmail.com
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