Statement by the Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations, Ambassador Martin Garcia Moritán.

18 May, 2016

 

Good morning,

It is a pleasure to take part in this breakfast meeting together with representatives of Belgium, Switzerland and the ILO, on the important issue of "Partnerships on Decent Work for Sustainable Development". I look forward to a fruitful exchange of views and sharing of practices on a subject that is very dear to many of our countries.
As we all know, the major challenge ahead of us is to be able to fully implement the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Among these, the promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all is of particular importance.

In order to achieve such an ambitious goal, the forging of strong decent work multi-stakeholder partnerships with non-state entities and economic actors, such as multinational enterprises and trade unions, will be essential. In this sense, emerging partnerships with a strong inter-agency component and association with the business sector, trade unions and civil society will be necessary if we are to successfully implement decent work outcomes.

The idea of partnerships for decent work is related to a larger issue that became evident with the emergence of the 2030 Agenda. That is, the realization that no one actor can realize the SDGs and that an essential feature of the goals is that they are interlinked. In this sense, while the 2030 Agenda recognizes that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development, it highlights the need for multi-stakeholder partnerships, involving private sector, civil society organizations and philanthropic institutions, as means for delivering the SDGs.

Of course, these partnerships should not be only about funding. They should involve the sharing of other kinds of resources, such as the exchange and pooling of knowledge and information, publication and research projects, campaigning and advocacy, meetings and other events, capacity building and training, temporary placement of personnel, and other kinds of resources. In this framework, it is evident that civil society, academia and trade unions all have important roles to play, many of which are still to be developed.

The development of multi-stakeholder partnerships for the promotion of economic and social progress should also take into account the social responsibilities of business and their contribution to the decent work agenda. In this sense, Corporate Social Responsibility, understood as a self-regulatory mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and national or international norms, is one of the important ways in which enterprises affirm their principles and values. Of course, many of these CSR initiatives, including codes of conduct, refer to principles deriving from international labor standards developed by the ILO, and they should be supported as mechanisms that can facilitate the forging of decent work partnerships with other relevant actors.

Finally, we should bear in mind that partnerships are not necessarily limited to one country. They can be developed between different countries and under different cooperation frameworks that promote the exchanging of capacities, knowledge, technologies and resources between all relevant stakeholders.
Let me conclude by thanking you once again for being here at such an early hour to discuss decent work multi-stakeholder partnerships created under the ILO Public Private Partnerships policy framework to support to the SDGs implementation. My country will continue to support these initiatives that aim to ensure decent work for all full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Thank you.