Towards a Common Understanding? Employment and Decent Work in Fragile Settings

An ILO-CCDP event hosted by the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform with the participation of the Permanent Representatives of New Zealand and Sierra Leone. The event was opened by the Coordinator of the ILO’s Fragile States and Disaster Response Group, Donato Kiniger-Passigli and the Head of Research at the CCDP, Oliver Jütersonke, and closed by the Chief of Cabinet at the UNOG, Mr David Chikvaidze.

An ILO-CCDP event hosted by the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform with the participation of the Permanent Representatives of New Zealand and Sierra Leone, H.E. Amanda Ellis and H.E. Yvette Stevens, the Director of the ILO’s Employment Policy Department, Azita Berar Awad, the Director of the UNDP Office in Geneva, Neil Buhne, the Associate Director of the World Economic Forum, Isabel de Sola, and the Director of SpringFactor, Marije Balt. The event was opened by the Coordinator of the ILO’s Fragile States and Disaster Response Group, Donato Kiniger-Passigli and the Head of Research at the CCDP, Oliver Jütersonke, and closed by the Chief of Cabinet at the UNOG, Mr David Chikvaidze.

How do labour markets support and/or undermine societal peace and stability? What employment and decent work tools can we use to prevent and mitigate the drivers of violence and fragility? And how can we make sense of the complex relationship between socio-political dynamics in fragile settings, and natural and ecological disasters?
These questions inspired the joint initiative on “Employment and Decent Work in Fragile Settings” lead by the ILO and the Graduate Institute’s Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP). On 15 January 2015, an expert panel met at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva to discuss with approximately 110 representatives from the diplomatic community, UN agencies, academia, the private sector and civil society key findings of the ILO-CCDP joint initiative.

Donato Kiniger-Passigli opened the event with Dr Oliver Jütersonke to present key findings of the research that was undertaken with approximately 50 staff members of the ILO based in Geneva and field offices. Starting with an exploration of the exogenous and endogenous factors that may trigger and/or exacerbate fragility, Dr Jütersonke outlined the type of institutional approach that an organisation such as the ILO may leverage to prevent or respond to a fragility through employment and decent work tools.
Ambassador Ellis then took the floor and skilfully moderated a panel discussion with an expert group.

Emphasising that the conditions of fragility are unique in each country, Ambassador Stevens, spoke about the challenges posed by fragility in her native Sierra Leone. Facilitating the socio-economic reintegration of child soldiers and developing strong infrastructure to be able to respond to crises across the country such as the current Ebola pandemic, are key issues that need to be addressed in the country’s development strategy.

Azita Berar Awad pointed out that labour market deficits are commonly found at the root causes of conflict and fragility. Employment and decent work tools are therefore part and parcel of the necessary solutions and require approaches that include the building of local and national institutions. The ILO’s rights-based agenda is particular important to facilitate such work and will be further strengthened by the on-going revision of Recommendation 71 “Transition from War to Peace” that will define the normative framework to address employment and decent work related challenges in fragile settings.

Reflecting upon his own experience in fragile settings, Neil Buhne gave an example of UNDP’s work in Somalia. Through the financial support of a large, international shipping company, UNDP implemented a Cash-for-Work programme that rehabilitated productive assets on the coastline such as harbours, targeting youth at risk of being recruited by pirates. Albeit being implemented at the local level, Neil stressed that this project had a larger impact and tackled fragility and its consequences for the global economy.

In asserting that “there will be more Abujas and San Salvadors than Genevas in the future,” Isabel de Sola, highlighted that countries in fragile situations are the frontier markets of the future in terms of human capital and natural resources. The private sector tries to strategically position itself in these environments and should be included as partner in initiatives championed by the international community. It is therefore important to understand and respect the different perspective that, e.g. companies and UN agencies may have – organisations such as the WEF offer platforms to create a common understanding among these different stakeholders.

Finally Marije Balt addressed the often problematized “youth bulges” and argued that through innovative approaches, youth and their entrepreneurial spirit can be mobilised as a force for good. Especially small and medium entrepreneurs have the potential to be “peace drivers” as they are forward looking and in need of the rights conditions to conduct business.
David Chikvaidze closed the event by summarising the discussion and stressing that at a time when characteristics of fragile settings are increasingly complex and national and international actors are engaging in often times overlapping or contradicting responses, initiatives such as the present one are increasingly important. He invited the audience and their respective organisations to participate in the on-going consultation phase of the ILO-CCDP joint initiative and to contribute to finding a common understanding of employment and decent work in fragile settings.