UN TO HELP ANGOLA ACHIEVE ‘WATER FOR ALL’

The United Nations has joined forces with the Angolan Government to achieve universal access to water to boost health and curb poverty in the Southern African nation.

Under the "Water for All" scheme – also known as the Joint UN Programme on Water and Sanitation – that was launched last week in the capital, Luanda, Angola has committed to providing water for 80 per cent of urban and 50 per cent of rural dwellers by 2012, with targets raised to 100 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively, by 2020.

The multi-year programme is a joint initiative of the Government, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) and the non-governmental organization Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Clean, piped water is prohibitively expensive for many Angolan families, forcing them to rely on unsafe water, which, along with poor sanitary conditions, contributes to nearly 90 per cent of deaths from diarrhea.

UNICEF has underscored children's right to water and a clean environment, as enshrined ini the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

At the launch of the new initiative, Jocelline Bazile-Finley, UN Resident Coordinator, said that it will help Angola reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on ensuring environmental sustainability and "will also contribute to reducing poverty."

Some 120,000 people are set to benefit directly from the initiative, funded by the Spanish Government, while 400,000 others are expected to impacted positively.
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GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS LEADERS GATHER TO TACKLE GLOBAL JOBS CRISIS – UN

GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS LEADERS GATHER TO TACKLE GLOBAL JOBS CRISIS – UN
New York, Jun 3 2009 10:00AM
A United Nations International Labour Organization (<"http://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm">ILO) meeting, drawing Heads of Governments and industry, kicked off today, seeking to find ways to address the impact of the global economic and financial crisis on employment and social protection.

This year's ILO annual <"http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_106614/index.htm">Conference, to be held from 3-19 June, will discuss how to protect workers, families and enterprises from the turmoil and how to promote speedy economic and employment recovery.

According to the agency, during the 2007-2009 period, between 210 million and 239 million persons would be unemployed, representing global unemployment rates of 6.5 and 7.4 per cent respectively, or increases of between 39 and 59 million unemployed people since 2007.

"We are seeing an unprecedented increase in unemployment and the number of workers at risk of falling into poverty around the world this year," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said last month.

"This is cause for grave concern. To avoid a global social recession we need a global jobs pact to address this crisis, and mitigate its effects on people. The choice is ours and the time to act is now."

ILO projections indicate that 200 million workers are at risk of joining the ranks of people living on less than $2 per day between 2007 and 2009.

Further, the number of unemployed youth is expected to increase by between 11 and 17 million from 2008-2009, with the youth unemployment rate projected to increase from around 12 per cent in 2008 to up to 15 per cent in 2009.

UN LABOUR AGENCY RAISES ESTIMATES OF WORLD UNEMPLOYMENT

UN LABOUR AGENCY RAISES ESTIMATES OF WORLD UNEMPLOYMENT
New York, May 28 2009 6:00PM
The International Labour Organization (ILO) today revised upwards its estimates of worldwide unemployment, and called for a "global jobs pact" to address the current crisis.

In statistics released today, the <"http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_106525/index.htm">ILO said it estimated that in the period of 2007 to 2009 between 210 million and 239 million persons would be unemployed, representing global unemployment rates of 6.5 and 7.4 per cent respectively, or increases of between 39 and 59 million unemployed people since 2007.

Three months ago the ILO projected that global unemployment was likely to increase by between 24 million – an unemployment rate of 6.3 per cent – to 52 million people – or 7.1 per cent – for the same period.

"We are seeing an unprecedented increase in unemployment and the number of workers at risk of falling into poverty around the world this year," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.

"This is cause for grave concern. To avoid a global social recession we need a global jobs pact to address this crisis, and mitigate its effects on people. The choice is ours and the time to act is now."

The ILO said projections indicate that 200 million workers are at risk of joining the ranks of people living on less than $2 per day between 2007 and 2009.

The number of unemployed youth is expected to increase by between 11 and 17 million from 2008 to 2009. The youth unemployment rate is projected to increase from around 12 per cent in 2008 to a range of 14 to 15 per cent in 2009.

Mr. Somavia said past experience suggested a considerable lag of four to five years on average in the recovery in labour markets after economic recovery. There was a risk of the global jobs crisis persisting for the next several years, he said.

He aid the ILO's annual International Labour Conference, to be held in Geneva from 3 to 19 June, was to consider the emergency global jobs pact which "aimed at placing employment creation and social protection at the centre of recovery policies."

"The aim of the pact is to make sure that both the extraordinary stimulus measures together with other government policies better address the needs of people who need protection and work, in order to accelerate combined economic and employment recovery," he said.

The ILO also said that between 2009 and 2015, some 300 million new jobs will have to be created just to absorb the growth in the labour force.
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VICTIMS OF FORCED LABOUR LOSE OVER $20 BILLION PER YEAR IN EARNINGS, FINDS UN STUDY

VICTIMS OF FORCED LABOUR LOSE OVER $20 BILLION PER YEAR IN EARNINGS, FINDS UN STUDY
New York, May 12 2009 1:00PM
Victims of forced labour lose an estimated $20 billion ever year in unpaid earnings, according to a new report by the United Nations labour agency, which calls for increased action to eradicate the scourge.

The report by the International Labour Organization (<"http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_106219/index.htm">ILO), entitled "The Cost of Coercion," also details the growing number of unethical, fraudulent and criminal practices that can lead people into situations of forced labour, and charts progress in tackling the crime.

"Forced labour is the antithesis of decent work," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "It causes untold human suffering and steals from its victims. Modern forced labour can be eradicated, providing there is a sustained commitment by the international community, working together with government, employers, workers and civil society."

The report estimates that the "opportunity cost" of coercion to the workers affected by these abusive practices, in terms of lost earnings, now reaches over $20 billion. "This presents a powerful economic argument, as well as a moral imperative, as to why governments must now accord higher priority to these concerns," the agency stated in a news release.

Based on a 2005 ILO study, at least 12.3 million people worldwide were in some form of forced labour or bondage, of which 8.1 million were exploited by private agents, outside the sex industry.

"Our main concern is with the human cost of coercion, both to the victims and their families in terms of the untold misery they endure through forced labour, and to society at large," said Roger Plant, head of ILO's Special Action Programme to combat Forced Labour.

"In the midst of a global economic and financial crisis, in which there is a real risk that the poorest and most vulnerable will bear most of the cost, we want to draw public attention to a less publicized but equally serious crisis on labour markets," he stated.

The current report shows a mixed picture of global efforts to combat forced labour. While most countries have introduced legislation that deals with forced labour as a criminal offence and the issue itself is no longer hidden or taboo, others are finding it difficult to identify cases of abuse, let alone define the adequate policy responses.

"We must never forget that forced labour is a serious criminal offence that requires criminal punishment" said Mr. Plant.

"But we must also remember that forced labour is often poorly defined in national legislation, making it difficult to address the multiple subtle ways in which workers can be denied their freedom. The challenge is to address these problems in an integrated way, through prevention and law enforcement, using both labour and criminal justice."
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UN LABOUR CHIEF CAUTIONS AGAINST LOWERED STANDARDS ON WORLD SAFETY DAY

Marking this year's World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the head of the United Nation's labour arm warned against a relaxation of standards due to the global economic crisis.

"Unsafe work is a human tragedy," Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said in a statement issued to mark the Day, observed annually on 28 April.

"We must be particularly vigilant to ensure that strategies for adjustment and economic recovery do not follow a low road which devalues human life and safety in the workplace," he added.

The ILO Programme on Safety and Health at Work (SafeWork) estimates that nearly 1 million workers suffer a workplace accident and more than 5,500 workers die each day due to accidents or disease encountered at their place of employment.

In their latest reports, SafeWork officials have expressed concern that the current economic crisis could have a significant impact on safety and health at work.

"It is expected that the number of workplace accidents and diseases and ill health due to unemployment will rise in light of the present economic crisis," Sameera Al-Tuwaijri, Director of the SafeWork Programme, said.

Dr. Al-Tuwaijri surmised that a decrease in public spending could compromise the capacities of labour inspectorates and other occupational safety and health services. In that case, he said, dangerous working conditions will increase, adding to the risk of accidents and ill-health.

To raise awareness of such issues, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is to be marked in scores of countries and hundreds of localities on all continents this year, ILO said, with events ranging from memorial ceremonies for fallen workers to the declaration of national days of occupational safety.

Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, the ILO has addressed safety and health at work since its founding in 1919, and standards for occupational safety and health were among the first it adopted, the Organization said.

In his statement today, Mr. Somavia said, "then, as today, the call to protect workers against sickness, disease and injury arising out of employment has been at the heart of the ILO's agenda, a major focus of standard-setting and other means of action."
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UN JOINS FORCES WITH WORLD’S PARLIAMENTS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The United Nations today launched a manual for parliamentarians across the world aimed at helping lawmakers end the global scourge of modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

"Around the world, millions of people, usually women and children, are trapped in a modern form of slavery called human trafficking," Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said at the launch of the handbook.

Trafficking in persons is a form of slavery, a human rights violation that constitutes a crime against the individual and the State, and it must be punished by legislative means, UNODC said in a news release.

"Twenty-first century abolitionists are now needed to enact laws and take measures to set victims of trafficking free and stamp out a crime that shames us all," stressed Mr. Costa, as he called on parliamentarians to put an end to human trafficking at the 120th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Addis Ababa.

According to a UNODC report published in February, based on information provided by 155 Member States, two out of every five countries covered by the report have yet to convict anyone on trafficking charges.

Although no UNODC figures are available for the number of trafficking victims worldwide, the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) has said that two million people become enslaved annually.

UNODC reported that only one victim out of every 100 trafficking cases is rescued, and at present there are 22,500 cases of people being recovered worldwide. Also, nearly 80 per cent of reported trafficking comprises sexual exploitation, but sweatshops and child exploitation are also prevalent.

"Combating Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians"– created in collaboration with IPU – contains a compilation of international laws and good practices developed to combat human trafficking, and offers guidance on how national legislation can be brought in line with international standards.

The handbook not only outlines measures to prevent the crime but also to prosecute offenders and to protect victims, and includes advice on how to report on human trafficking and how to enlist civil society in the cause.
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LEADERS MUST FOCUS STIMULUS EFFORTS ON JOB CREATION – UN LABOUR CHIEF

The head of the United Nations labour agency has urged governments to aim their economic rescue packages at forestalling a "prolonged and severe" jobs crisis that would lead to a massive increase in unemployment.

UN International Labour Office (ILO) Director-General Juan Somavia issued the call ahead of the meeting of so-called Group of 20 (G-20) summit to be held in London next week, where world leaders will discuss a common response to the current global economic crisis.

Mr. Somavia characterized international coordination to tackle the current global economic crisis so far as weak, adding that "the financial, trade, economic, employment and social roots of the global crisis are interlinked and so must be the policy responses."

An ILO International Institute for Labour Studies report, entitled The Financial and Economic Crisis: A Decent Work Response noted that 90 million new jobs will have to be created during 2009-2010 to absorb new entrants to the labour market and avoid a protracted period of unemployment.

"We need to implement a coherent and coordinated job-oriented recovery strategy, based on sustainable enterprises, as soon as possible," said the ILO head, warning that a delay in stimulus efforts would extend and deepen the jobs crisis, with employment only starting to recover from 2011.

Highlighting a need for global solutions to the crisis, he said that a lack of coordination diminishes the overall effect of stimulus measures, making each individual country reluctant to move faster than its trading partners and intensify the recession.

The ILO report also warned that trade protectionism would further depress world demand and that wage deflation or weaker workers' rights would not only aggravate the crisis, but be perceived as unfair and aggravate social problems.
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NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WOMEN TO SOAR AMID ECONOMIC CRISIS, WARNS UN AGENCY

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WOMEN TO SOAR AMID ECONOMIC CRISIS, WARNS UN AGENCY
New York, Mar 5 2009 6:00PM

The global economic crisis will plunge a further 22 million women into unemployment and make decent work for women increasingly more difficult to find in 2009, predicted a new United Nations report issued today.

The International Labour Office (ILO) launched its annual Global Employment Trends for Women (GET) report in advance of International Women's Day on 8 March, calling for "creative solutions" to close the gender gap.

"Gender inequality in the world of work has long been with us, but it is likely that it will be exacerbated by the crisis," warned the agency's Director-General Juan Somavia.

"In times of economic upheaval, women often experience the negative consequences more rapidly and are slower to enjoy the benefits of recovery," he said, adding that "before the crisis, the majority of working women were in the informal economy with lower earnings and less social protection."

The GET report noted that of the 3 billion employed people across the world, slightly over a 40 per cent are women, and that the global unemployment rate for women could reach 7.4 per cent in 2009, compared to 7 per cent for men.

The biggest difference in unemployment rates between men and women due to the economic meltdown will be felt by women in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the ILO report.

The new publication also projected that the ratio of women pushed into insecure jobs this year would be greater than men, with the global vulnerability employment rate ranging from 50.5 to 54.7 per cent for women and 47.2 to 51.8 per cent for men.

"Women's lower employment rates, weaker control over property and resources, concentration in informal and vulnerable forms of employment with lower earnings, and less social protection, all place women in a weaker position than men to weather the crises," said Jane Hodges, ILO Bureau for Gender Equality Director.
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GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN IMPERILS HUMAN RIGHTS – UN

GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN IMPERILS HUMAN RIGHTS – UN
New York, Feb 23 2009 2:00PM
The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution today highlighting the threat posed by the global financial and economic crises on the realization of human rights and development goals.

Adopted by a vote of 31 for and 14 abstentions, the resolution <"http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/68B23EF8AD14281EC1257566004856F4?opendocument">stressed the need to set up an equitable, transparent and democratic international system to broaden developing nations' participation in decisions regarding the economy.

The 47-member body, meeting in its <"http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/specialsession/10/index.htm">10th Special Session, also expressed grave concern that the twin crises could jeopardize progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight ambitious anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

Stressing that the worldwide recession does not detract from Governments' responsibilities in promoting human rights, the Council appealed to the international community to establish and improve safety nets to protect the most vulnerable people.

An open, fair and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system could accelerate strides in development and contribute to the attainment of human rights for all, it added.

Last week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that the world's poor and disadvantaged are bearing the brunt of the suffering resulting from the current global financial crisis and ensuing economic turmoil.

Navi Pillay appealed to States and the corporate world to ensure that their policies and practices do not jeopardize people's human rights, in an address to the Council's Special Session.

She warned that the downturn in economies around the world is likely to "undermine access to work, affordability of food and housing, as well as of water, basic health care and education."

In a related development, over 100 top Government officials and representatives of workers' and employers' organizations will convene tomorrow at a meeting of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on the more than 20 million people working in the financial sector worldwide.

According to an ILO report prepared for the two-day gathering, some 325,000 people in the sector have lost their jobs between August 2007 and February 2009. Nearly 40 per cent of these losses – totalling 130,000 jobs – were cut since last October, showing how job losses have gathered speed in recent months.

"As the global economy sinks further into recession, and financial institutions' assets experience even greater impairment, the industry's job losses can be expected to rise even faster," said Elizabeth Tinoco, Chief of ILO's Sectoral Activities Brance.