President Berset attends ILO summit on social justice in Geneva
Geneva, 14.06.2023 - ‘Social justice for all’ is one of the core concerns of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva. Now, for the first time, a summit of heads of state and government has been explicitly dedicated to this topic. President Alain Berset represented Switzerland at the opening on Wednesday, 14 June.
"New technologies, climate change, migration and demographic challenges affect us all. We need international cooperation at all levels to build a global coalition for social justice", said Mr Berset. "This means mobilising the entire multilateral system." With its tripartite structure that includes states and employers' and workers' organisations, the ILO has unique means to strengthen social justice.
At the two-day summit in Geneva, strategies to improve coordination within the international community will be discussed. Switzerland supports the call of ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo, who was elected last year, to deepen global cooperation in this area. Achieving a coherent policy within the ILO and closer communication with other international organisations have long been among Switzerland's goals. In particular, Switzerland is calling for more intensive cooperation with the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO) - among other things with regard to labour provisions in free trade agreements.
In his speech, Mr Berset emphasised that social development, justice and peace are interdependent - both within and between states. He touched on ongoing issues that are being raised in Switzerland by women's rights strikes, for example. In addition, growing social tensions are threatening cohesion worldwide. These developments, as well as other current international issues, were also raised at bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
Federal Councillor Parmelin at ILO Labour Conference
The Social Justice Summit is taking place in parallel with the ILO's 111th International Labour Conference (ILC), which will continue until Friday, 16 June. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin represented Switzerland at the ILC on Tuesday. Among other things, the ILC is dedicated to vocational education and training. Switzerland supports the adoption of an ILO recommendation on high-quality apprenticeship training. Switzerland attaches particular importance to the involvement of social partners in the design and implementation of policies, frameworks, systems and programmes.
Switzerland has been a member of the ILO since it was founded in 1919 after World War I, along with the League of Nations. At that time, social justice was already considered a prerequisite for universal and lasting peace.
Today, the ILO is a UN specialised agency based in Geneva. Its main objective is to promote social justice and human rights in the workplace. As its fifth largest donor, Switzerland is an important partner of the organisation, and supports ILO projects to strengthen workers' rights and productivity in various countries and sectors.
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