ILC 2018: General Discussion on effective development cooperation

The 2018 International Labour Conference (ILC) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) took place on 28 May - 8 June 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. The yearly Conference brings together representatives of governments, workers and employers from each member state of the ILO (more information here).

This year, a major focus was placed on effective development cooperation in support of the Sustainable Development Goals. Ahead of the discussion, the ILO prepared a report, entitled Towards 2030: Effective development cooperation in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (available here), which presented the work and framed the exchanges. Mody Guiro, workers’ delegate from Senegal, and spokesperson for the Workers’ Group lead the engagement of the unions in the committee.

The workers’ group welcomed the adopted report (available here). Particular highlights include:

  • the normative mandate of the ILO, as well as international agreements related to the development effectiveness agenda are recognised as key principles governing ILO development cooperation in the preamble;
  • the recognition of transparency and accountability as fundamental criteria to be respected in particular when talking about innovative finance instruments and the role of private sector in development;
  • the reaffirming of the ILO role in promoting decent work in the supply chains with multinationals;
  • the underlining of the need to uphold a balanced approach amongst the four strategic pillars of the decent work agenda and the importance of supporting the organisational capacity of constituents;
  • the provision of a solid and clear-cut positioning of constituents on the UN reform, preserving the unique character of the ILO role, in political, institutional and operational levels.

These conclusions should guide the work of the ILO in the coming years, specifically on the ILO involvement in the UN reform process, the development of a new development cooperation strategy beyond 2018, and contribute to the ILO centenary discussions at the ILC next year.

Further information: