Beirut, 19 December 2023--The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) has announced its institutional membership in the Global Coalition for Social Justice that was established by the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization during its last session, in November 2023.
The Global Coalition on Social Justice seeks to intensify collective efforts to urgently address social justice deficits and to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Decent Work Agenda. It creates a collaborative space for action, advocacy, and dialogue, in which partners shape individual and collective opportunities for concrete actions and tangible outcomes. Ultimately, the Coalition seeks to achieve a greater balance amongst the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, to significantly reduce inequalities and poverty, and to meet essential needs and opportunities worldwide.
The Global Coalition’s thematic focus includes addressing inequality, discrimination and exclusion; realizing labour rights as human rights, ensuring human dignity and meeting basic needs; expanding access to and capabilities for productive and freely chosen employment and sustainable enterprises; providing protection and building resilience; strengthening just transitions and the social dimension of sustainable development, trade and investment; and reinforcing institutions of social dialogue.
In this regard, UN Under-Secretary General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti underlined that joining the Global Coalition for Social Justice offers a great opportunity to work collaboratively with governments, employers' and workers' organizations, UN agencies, and various stakeholders. She noted that ESCWA has dedicated significant effort and resources to advancing policy options, capacity building solutions and advocacy for social justice in the Arab region. She added that ESCWA is convinced of the centrality of social justice to the Agenda 2030 and sustainable development at large.
For his part, ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo said that Joining the Coalition offers an opportunity for ESCWA to increase the scale and impact of its actions by working jointly with others in a more coherent and coordinated manner, identifying new opportunities and partnerships with other participants and potential sources of funding, and increasing visibility of its actions and initiatives to advance social justice by benefiting from a broader network of actors to showcase and highlighting progress and impact.
Chief of the Social Justice Section at ESCWA Oussama Safa will serve as the focal point for contact and engagement with the Secretariat of the Coalition.
