International Labour Organization (ILO)
1. In the past year, has the governing body of your organization taken any decisions to advance sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ensure that no one is left behind? If yes, please briefly mention these decisions taken by your governing body in 2024 and provide the respective symbols.
In 2023 and 2024, the Governing Body and the International Labour Conference (ILC) adopted key decisions and resolutions to advance these goals:
In March 2023, the Governing Body decided to place on the agenda of the 113th Session (2025) of the ILC an item on decent work in the platform economy for standard-setting. For more information and documents on the issue, see the webpage on Digital Labour Platform.
In November 2023, following the adoption by the ILC of the Resolution concerning a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all, the Governing Body adopted a Strategy and Plan of action on a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all. For more information on the strategy and plan of action, see GB.349/INS/3/3.
In March 2024, the Governing Body adopted conclusions from the Meeting of Experts on wage policies, establishing a clear definition and methodologies for calculating living wages (GB.350/POL/1). This decision aims to ensure that workers and their families can achieve a decent standard of living while considering national economic contexts and enterprise sustainability.
In March 2024, the Governing Body requested the Director-General to take into account its guidance to strengthen the promotion of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) and its operational tools, including in the context of relevant developments outside the ILO; and decided to continue implementing the regional follow-up outlined in Annex II of the Declaration, aligning it with the cycle of regional meetings (See GB.350/POL/5 and GB.350/POL/5/Decision).
Following the adoption by the ILC in June 2024 of the Resolution concerning decent work and the care economy, the Governing Body adopted in November 2024 a Plan of Action (GB.352/INS/3/2 and decision point). The ILC resolution and plan of action emphasize the importance of care policies and services to achieve gender equality, create decent jobs, and promote well-being for all. It calls for scaling up investments in care infrastructure, ensuring rights for care workers, and recognizing unpaid care work within economic frameworks.
Disability Inclusion Strategy (2024-27): The Senior Management Team endorsed in October 2024 the second strategy, which is in line with the UN disability inclusion strategy (UNDIS), further advancing disability inclusion in all areas of the organization, including employment, accessibility of premises, meetings and IT, communication, procurement, programmes and projects. In November 2024, the ILO Governing Body requested the DG to implement the 2024-27 Strategy (GB.352/INS/6).
In November 2024, the Governing Body decided to place on the agenda of the 114th Session (2026) of the International Labour Conference an item for a general discussion on advancing the transformative agenda for gender equality at work.
In November 2024, following the adoption of the ILC Resolution concerning fundamental principles and rights at work in June 2024, the Governing Body adopted a plan of action on fundamental principles and rights at work. For more information on the plan of action, see GB.352/INS/3/1.
In November 2024, the Governing Body approved the 2026-29 Strategic Plan which is set to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and prioritizes social justice and decent work through a renewed social contract, stronger labour institutions, and support for workers and businesses transitioning to formality and the green and digital economies. For more information, see GB.352/PFA/1.
In November 2023, the Governing Body approved key messages for the Second World Summit for Social Development, set for 4–6 November 2025 in Qatar. They reflect the views of the tripartite constituents on the priorities to be addressed by the Second World Summit and call for the development, in consultation with the social partners, of a renewed global social contract with a human-centred approach, based on the three core themes of social development, namely poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work for all, and social inclusion. For more information, see GB.352/INS/21/1(Rev.2).
2. During 2024, what actions have your entities taken to improve coordination among UN system entities across policy and normative activities as well as with ECOSOC subsidiary bodies with a view to increase impact and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda?
1.The ILO co-chaired from October 2022 to July 2024 the Interagency Network on Human Rights, LNOB and Sustainable Development in the context of the first thematic priority of the SG’s Call to Action for Human Rights (C2A) on “rights for sustainable development”. In this context, awareness-raising and communication campaigns emphasized the centrality of human rights and labour rights for sustainable development. This included two very well attended interagency side-events at the HLPF and ECOSOC sessions of July 2023 and May 2024. Two self-assessment checklists on mainstreaming HRBA, LNOB and GEWE in CCAs and CFs were rolled out in the field in collaboration with DCO in the course of 2023 while preparatory steps are taken for the update by the network of the 2021 interagency review of HRBA, LNOB and GEWE integration in CCAs and CFs.
2.As co-chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), the ILO prepared with UNCTAD the Secretary-General’s 2024 Report on the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and presented it at the Second Committee of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The ILO co-organized hybrid and online UNTFSSE events. The UNTFSSE adopted its Strategic Action Plan (2024-2026), specifying a lead role for the ILO on promoting policy coherence and improving statistics on the SSE. The ILO also took the lead in revising the UNTFSSE terms of reference and actively engaged with UN system entities to strengthen their UNTFSSE participation. As member of the United Nations Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), the ILO played a key role in the activities related to the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC2025), including at its official launch at the 2024 Global Cooperative Conference. The ILO also coordinated the establishment of a UNTFSSE technical working group on SSE statistics and a COPAC technical working group on measuring the economic contribution of cooperatives.
3.Policy Alignment and Joint Initiatives: The ILO worked closely with UN Women and the International IOM and as part of the UN Network on Migration to promote gender-responsive policies and fair migration frameworks, integrating these into broader sustainable development strategies.
4.Strengthening Capacities: The organization worked on capacity-building programs with other UN bodies to improve member states' ability to implement labor-related SDG targets effectively, particularly focusing on gender equity and decent work opportunities. For example the ILO collaborated with UN Women and OECD to advance target 8.5 of the SDG. Several events and technical meetings were held in 2024.
5.Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC): The ILO works with UN Women and OECD through EPIC to close gender pay gaps and promote equal remuneration. By supporting countries in adopting wage transparency and pay equity legislation, EPIC drives systemic changes toward Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Recent initiatives include expanding country commitments to equal pay, with new members like Chile and Turkey joining.
6. The ILO is also leading the Global Accelerator for Jobs and Social Security for Just Transitions which is active in 17 pathfinder countries.
7.In the area of artificial intelligence, the ILO has been collaborating with the UNSG Envoy on Technology and the High-Level Advisory Body on AI, and it has partnered with the International Telecommunications Union in the AI for Good initiative. The ILO recently launched a Global Observatory on AI and Work in the Digital Economy.
8. In 2024, the ILO supported through financial means and the participation of resource persons, the delivery of the UN System Staff College course on the UNSDCF Guiding Principles: HRBA, GEWE & LNOB (Second Edition). This course was delivered in May-July 2024 to more than 150 UN staff, including from the ILO, in countries where UNSDCFs are being rolled out in the 2024-25 biennium. The ILO also delivered in July 2024, in collaboration with its International Training Centre in Turin, an e-course on Labour Rights as Human Rights to programming officers and other technical specialists from all regions.
9. Given the compounding and interlocking crises which jeopardize the realization of the 2030 Agenda, the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) and UN Treaty Body Chairs reinitiated as of 2022 a regular exchange and reinvigorated their traditional ties. The first exchange took place in December 2022 and resulted in a joint statement released in February 2023 to mark the third anniversary of the Call to Action for Human Rights. In December 2023, the first thematic meeting took place to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and ILO’s Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87). The participants emphasized the important links that connect the effective enjoyment of human rights, both fundamental civil liberties and economic, social and cultural rights, with the fight for democracy and civil liberties and against poverty and inequalities. They underlined that freedom of association cannot be exercised in the absence of all other fundamental civil liberties enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They also highlighted that freedom of association is an enabling right that opens the way for the exercise of a host of other human rights. For more information, see the extract of the General report of the 2023 Report of the CEACR on the exchange.
3. In the past year, has your organization organized any intergovernmentally mandated conferences, forums or events that contributed to the achievement of the SDGs, or has been in the process of planning and organizing any such mandated events to be held next year?
1.The UN General Assembly mandates ILO to facilitate the observance of the International Day of Care and Support on 29 October, together with OHCHR and UN Women. In 2024, several events were held in New York, Geneva and Brussels. These actions contribute to SDG 5, 8 and 10.
2.EPIC organized a high-level event during G20 meetings in Brazil, focusing on accelerating progress toward SDG Target 8.5 on equal pay.
4. In the past year, has your organization published or planned to publish any analytical work, guidance or reference materials, or toolkits to guide and support the implementation of SDGs at national, regional and global levels? Please select up to three to highlight, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs.
Resource Name | Macroeconomic diagnostics for decent jobs, social protection and just transitions
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Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 1, 8 |
Publishing entity/entities | ILO |
Target audience | Policy makers |
Description (max 150 words) | This Practitioner’s guide has been developed to assist evidence-based and stakeholder-driven policy dialogue at country level. Finance ministries, central banks and other core macroeconomic players are critical to advancing decent jobs, social protection and just transitions agendas. And equally important is the engagement of labour, social and sectoral ministries, and business and worker representatives in determining fiscal space and other macro-policy choices. The focus is on country-specific and global evidence to inform a broad-based policy dialogue that supports the convergence of the macro and the wider socioeconomic agendas. |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) |
Resource Name | Global Employment Trends for Youth |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 1, 4, 8 |
Publishing entity/entities | ILO Employment Policy Department |
Target audience | Policy makers, development partners |
Description (max 150 words) | This report represents the 20th anniversary publication of the ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth (hereafter “GET for Youth”). For two decades, the GET for Youth report has striven to provide timely and relevant information on how well young people are doing in their ambitions to attain decent work. In so doing the report has investigated the where, why and how of young people’s labour market vulnerabilities, and highlighted the policy measures and interventions that aim to support youth job creation and effectively set young people on the pathway to a bright future of work. As an anniversary edition, this edition of the GET for Youth looks back on what has been achieved since the dawn of the twenty-first century while also looking ahead to what may lay in store for youth employment in an era characterized by crises and uncertainties. |
Language(s) | English, French, Spanish |
Website (if applicable) |
Resource Name | Care Policy Portal and Investment Simulator |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 1,4, 5 and 8 |
Publishing entity/entities | ILO |
Target audience | Governments, employers’, and workers’ organizations, civil society, academia |
Description (max 150 words) | The ILO Global Care Policy portal is a knowledge hub on data and resources on care leave policies and services. It presents over 60 legal and statistical indicators on maternity protection, paternity leave, parental leave and other care leave and non-discrimination policies, as well as childcare and long-term care services in more than 180 countries. It uses international labour standards as benchmarks and builds on ILO policy research since 1994. The portal also offers a Care Policy Investment Simulator, the largest online policy-simulation tool on how to close care policy gaps in 4 policy areas (childcare-related paid leave, breastfeeding, early childhood care and education services and long-term care services) and calculate the related benefits in terms of job generation; reduction in gender employment and earning gaps; and return on investments. Finally, the E-library contains global reports, technical notes, as well as regional and country briefs on care policies. |
Language(s) | English, French and Spanish |
Website (if applicable) |
Resource Name | Enhancing the social dimension in transition finance: towards a just transition |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All |
Publishing entity/entities | ILO |
Target audience | G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group, transition finance ecosystem stakeholders |
Description (max 150 words) | This report reviews how social dimensions are incorporated in frameworks that guide transition finance. It includes an overview of socio-economic challenges faced by the steel and cement sectors, and how financial institutions can become enablers of shifting from transition finance to just transition finance. It provides information and action-oriented recommendations in the context of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group, with the aim to support stakeholders in the transition finance ecosystem to accelerate a transition that is just. |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) |
5. The United Nations has defined six key transitions, or transformative entry points, that can have catalytic and multiplier effects across the SDGs and which have been guiding the UN development system work since the 2023 SDG Summit. In the past year, how has your organization contributed to these transformative actions and how various actors are being rallied behind them to mobilize further leadership and investment to bring progress to scale? Please provide any relevant links.
The Global Accelerator is a key vehicle through which the Jobs and Social Protection transition can be implemented at country level. The Jobs and Social Protection transition, and the Global Accelerator, is linked to all other transitions as it supports societal adaptation to ongoing economic transformations through the equitable management of climate change, energy transition and bridging the digital divide. Policies to boost renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, forestry and biodiversity, sustainable construction and infrastructure (digital public infrastructure), and developing the necessary human capital (transforming education) can lead to the creation of sustainable/green jobs. Yet, the transition can have negative impacts on certain job sectors or leave workers with inadequate protection due to the disruption of traditional industries, rapid workforce restructuring, skill gaps and retraining challenges, temporary job displacement, and increasing geographical and sectoral disparities. The creation of decent jobs in agricultural value chains can contribute to the improvement of food systems. Education systems make important contributions to ensuring labour market access, especially for youth and women, reducing inequality and strengthening social cohesion.
These linkages are reflected in the UN Joint Programmes supported by the first funding round of the Global Accelerator, which, in addition to a main focus on Jobs and Social Protection, contribute to the following transitions:
Food systems: Cabo Verde, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal
Energy access and affordability
Digital connectivity: Albania, Cambodia, Colombia, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Rwanda, Uzbekistan,
Education: Cambodia, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Indonesia, Malawi
Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution: Colombia, Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, Senegal, Uzbekistan
The ILO’s work is also the basis for the Jobs and Social Protection transition beyond the GA. The ILO is the lead PUNO in a proposal from Türkiye under the Integrated Policy and Capacity Building funding round. It is a PUNO in four proposals under the digital transition funding round, one proposal under the food systems transformation funding round, and one proposal under the integrated policy and capacity building funding round.
6. Please provide strategies (policies, guidance, plan) and/or collective actions taken to implement the 2024 Ministerial Declaration of the Economic and Social Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the Council. Please note any challenges foreseen and provide any relevant links.
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7. What collective efforts is your entity undertaking to support countries in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the areas of Goal 3 (Good health and well-being), Goal 5 (Gender equality), Goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth), Goal 14 (Life below water) and Goal 17 (Partnerships), which will go under in-depth review at the HLPF in 2025? Please note any achievements, challenges and gaps and provide any relevant links.
The ILO is part of several multi-stakeholder partnerships. Here is the complete list.
Initiative/Partnership Name | Global Coalition for Social Justice |
Partners (please list all partners) | More than 320, including 22 international organizations and international bodies See the list |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All in particular SDG 8 |
Member States benefiting from it | All |
Description (max 150 words) | The Coalition aims to foster multilateral cooperation and partnerships, accelerating progress towards achieving the SDGs. It serves as a platform to generate political commitments, investments, and concrete actions that support social justice and align it with national priorities. Six key areas of immediate action were identified: 1) addressing inequality, discrimination and exclusion, 2) realizing labour rights as human rights, ensuring human dignity and meeting basic needs, 3) expanding access to and capabilities for productive and freely chosen employment and sustainable enterprises, 4) providing protection and building resilience, 5) strengthening just transitions and the social dimension of sustainable development, trade and investment, and 6) reinforcing institution of social dialogue. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions |
Partners (please list all partners) | ILO, UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, WFP, UNWOMEN, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Korea, Ireland, UN Joint SDG Fund, IOE, ITUC |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 17 |
Member States benefiting from it | 17 pathfinder countries, see complete list here: |
Description (max 150 words) | The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, launched in September 2021 by the UN Secretary-General, signals the UN system’s collective response for addressing the multiple challenges that threaten to erase development progress. The initiative aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support the creation of decent jobs, primarily in the green, digital and care economies, and to extend social protection to people who are excluded. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | The UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy |
Partners (please list all partners) | International Labour Organization (ILO) Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) The World Bank United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) United Nations Development Proramme (UNDP) United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN HABITAT) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) World Food Programme (WFP) World Health Organization (WHO) |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All |
Member States benefiting from it | All |
Description (max 150 words) | The UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) was created in 2013. On April 18, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development (A/RES/77/281), which provides an official definition for the SSE (adopted from the ILO’s ILC resolution concerning decent work and the SSE) and acknowledges that it can contribute to the achievement and localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. The UNSG report on the implementation of the UNGA resolution was published in 2024. The ILO currently serves as Co-Chair of the UNTFSSE together with UNCTAD. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) |
Partners (please list all partners) | International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) International Labour Organization (ILO) United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) International Trade Center (ITC) United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All |
Member States benefiting from it | All |
Description (max 150 words) | The Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) is a multi-stakeholder partnership of global public and private institutions that champions and supports people-centred and self-sustaining cooperative enterprises as leaders in sustainable development. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | ILO and ECLAC Regional Forum on Trade, Responsible Business Conduct, and Decent Work |
Partners (please list all partners) | ILO ECLAC |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 8 |
Member States benefiting from it | All 33 LAC Member States |
Description (max 150 words) | At the Forum, participants shared insights on how trade can foster decent work. Key topics included exploring the link between trade and labour rights, the relationship between trade and productivity as a driver for formalization, and the importance of a just transition that enables trade to contribute to sustainable growth. Practical cases of implementing responsible business conduct practices in supply chains at the national, regional, and global levels were also presented. The Forum featured over 20 speakers and panellists who shared research on the complex relationship between trade and productivity, the importance of fostering a conducive environment for positive impact, and the need to incorporate sustainability chapters in free trade agreements. The approach of using supply chains as a key tool to promote decent work was also discussed. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | Women in Digital Business Initiative |
Partners (please list all partners) | International Labour Organization (ILO) International Training Centre of the ILO Microsoft Philanthropies |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 3, 5, 8, 11 |
Member States benefiting from it | All |
Description (max 150 words) | The Women in Digital Business (WIDB) initiative is a global programme designed to equip women entrepreneurs with the digital skills required to thrive in an evolving AI-driven economy. Developed by the ILO, in partnership with ICTILO and Microsoft Philanthropies, the programme focuses on building digital and entrepreneurship skills for women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses online. |
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