UN-EU Partnership Report 2007

Page 68

Selected policy frameworks guiding the partnership in rural development and fair globalization › 2005 UN World Summit Outcome document, stating the world’s commitment “to make the goals of full and productive employment and Decent Work for all, including for women and young people, a central objective of our relevant national and international policies as well as our national development strategies, including poverty reduction strategies, as part of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals”. › European Commission communication: “Promoting Decent Work for all -

the EU contribution to the implementation of the Decent Work Agenda in the world”: adopted in 2006 to help promote the decent work agenda both inside

and outside the EU. It recognises the importance of taking into due consideration each country’s own economic and social reality, and of incorporating a wide range of stakeholders, to help partner countries take ownership and tackle priorities at national and regional level. › International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: comprehensive international agreement in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims at guaranteeing food security through the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of the world’s plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as the fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from its use. › International Plant Protection Convention: created by the UN in 1952 with the aim to prevent the international spread of pests and plant diseases.

Fair globalization, enterprise development and decent employment

I

n the face of increasing interdependence, the Commission underlines the need to complement the Lisbon strategy - initially conceived as a way of mobilizing stakeholders within the EU to respond to the challenges by combining economic competitiveness, employment and social cohesion - with a strong external dimension to contribute to the shaping of globalization. The Commission advocates for the decent work concept and promotes its implementation through internal and external EU policies promoting international labour standards. In 2007, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee strongly supported the decent work agenda, and the Commission was a major partner for the United Nations in developing the concept and implementing development support that promoted decent work.

cise their own choices for a decent life. In 2007, the two institutions supported the organization of an open exchange of views among 400 participants from governments, labour and employers, parliaments, academia and civil society on approaches to decent work. It was one of the most substantive and wide-ranging discussions on fair and inclusive globalization and decent work to take place since the report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization launched an international dialogue on the need for a fair and equitable globalization in 2004.

Everyone has the right to work…

Securing fair globalization is a collective responsibility and requires a convergence of commitments and will from many actors. In this context, the UN and the Commission work together to expand the benefits of globalization, which should give all women and men the rights, opportunities and capabilities they need to exer-

(extract from Art. 23, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

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Improving Lives


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