IISD RS @ Thematic Event on Employment and Inclusive Growth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 14 June 2013, New York City, US

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16 June 2003

Thematic Event on Employment and Inclusive Growth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

14 June 2013 | New York City, United States of America

The Thematic Event on Employment and Inclusive Growth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda took place on 14 June 2013 at the Japan Society in New York.

The event was part of the consultation on growth and employment, one of 11 global thematic consultations initiated by the UN in preparation for the post-2015 development agenda. Led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the overall consultation on growth and employment has focused on four specific areas: sustainability and growth; development-led globalization; growth, diversification and structural change; and jobs and livelihoods.

The meeting included sessions assessing: the main outcomes of the post-2015 global thematic consultations on growth and employment; pathways to setting targets and measuring progress; and the renewal of a global partnership for inclusive growth. It also invited feedback on the draft thematic report on growth and employment, and provided substantive recommendations on how the post-2015 development agenda can deliver inclusive growth, decent work, social protection and productive employment for all. The results of the growth and employment consultation will feed into the UN’s overall post-2015 process.

Participants expressed the need for an ambitious growth and employment goal supported by specific targets in the post-2015 development agenda. They called for inclusive growth, the smooth transition toward decent jobs and integration of informal work into the formal sector. Participants noted the need to ensure that fragile states and countries emerging from conflicts have the capacity to support small enterprises and create jobs, allowing for a more stable social contract to emerge. They also urged the creation of quantitative targets, better collection of data, improved capacity for tracking progress, and formulation of workable, clear and measurable targets. Participants highlighted the need to address inequalities, reform unfair tax systems, revitalize Official Development Assistance, improve international trade and financing rules, and integrate sustainable development considerations in decision- and policy-making.

More information on the growth and employment consultation, including the draft thematic report for comments, can be found here.

A view of the room during the event.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Olav Kjørven, Assistant Secretary-General and Director, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP.

Ambassador Tsuneo Nishida, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations.

Shamshad Akhtar, Assistant Secretary-General for Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UNDESA.

Telma Viale, Special Representative to the UN and Director, ILO.

Main Outcomes of the Global Thematic Consultations

The panel on outcomes of the thematic consultations, chaired by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Professor of International Affairs, The New School, USA.

Aurelio Parisotto, Senior Economist, ILO.

Selim Jahan, Director of the Poverty Practice, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP.

Pierella Paci, Lead Economist, Office of the Special Representative of the World Bank to the United Nations.

Martha Chen, International Coordinator, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing.

Adam Greene, Vice President, Labor Affairs, Corporate Responsibility & Governance, U.S. Council for International Business, and International Organisation of Employers.

Alison Tate, Director of External Relations, International Trade Union Confederation.

Pathways to Setting Targets and Measuring Progress

The panel on targets and measurements, chaired by Degol Hailu, Senior Policy Advisor and Team Leader, Economic Governance, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP, with panelist Pedro Martins, Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute, appearing via Skype.

Robert Johnston, United Nations Statistics Division, DESA, retired.

Stephen Pursey, Director, Department for Multilateral Cooperation, ILO.

Sergei Soares, Chief of Staff, Institute of Applied Economic Research, Brazil.

Rizwanul Islam, independent expert.

John Serieux, Professor of Economics, University of Manitoba, Canada, chatted with the Chair before the panel.

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Professor of International Affairs, The New School, USA.

A Renewed Global Partnership for Inclusive Growth

The panel on global partnership, chaired by Ambassador Yusra Khan, Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations.

Pingfan Hong, Acting Director, Developent Policy and Analysis Division, UNDESA.

Richard Kozul-Wright, Head, Unit of Economic Cooperation and Integration Among Developing Countries, UNCTAD.

Sameer Dossani, International Advocacy Coordinator, ActionAid.

Wrap-up and Closing Remarks

Olav Kjørven, Assistant Secretary-General and Director, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP.

Stephen Pursey, Director, Department for Multilateral Cooperation, ILO.

Around the Meeting

James Collins, NGO Committee on Aging.

Fatma Gül Unal, UN Women.

Abraham Joseph, MDG Global Watch.

James Heintz, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Zehra Aydin, UNEP.

Uyanga Gankhuyag, UNDP.

Jean D'Cunha, UN Women.

Noema Chaplin, President, International Federation "Collaboration."

A view of the Japan Society, venue of the event.

The lobby of the Japan Society.

Your IISD Reporting Service team at the Thematic Event. (L-R) Dan Birchall, Digital Editor; Hugh Wilkins, Team Leader; Stefan Renckens, Writer.

Funding for coverage of this Consultation has been provided by the
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Related Links

Event resource

Thematic consultation website and background documents

IISD RS resources

IISD RS summary and analysis of the Third Session of the Open Working Group (OWG) of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 22-24 May 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

IISD RS summary report of the Second session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 17-19 April 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

IISD RS summary report of the First session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 14-15 March 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

IISD RS archive of sustainable development meetings

SDG - A mailing list focused on internationally-relevant activities related to setting the post-2015 development agenda

Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Post-2015 Development Agenda Activities

SDG - A mailing list for news on sustainable development policy

Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of International Activities Preparing for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development

Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news


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