Mustapha Kaloko, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs and Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General

GENEVA - With more than 18 million new jobs needed every year in Africa, the International Labour Organization (ILO) called for a strong commitment to job creation ahead of an Extraordinary Summit on Employment, Poverty Eradication and Inclusive Development in September in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Dubbed “Ouagadougou +10”, the Extraordinary Summit will aim to catalyse action by governments, employers and workers, as well as regional and international stakeholders, for new commitments and contributions that will help Africa shift towards a concrete roadmap for the decade 2014-2024.

“We call upon Members States, as well as partners to think and do things differently,” said Mustapha Kaloko, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, inviting the ILO and other partners to play a more active role in implementing the Ouagadougou Plan of Action 2014 and Africa’s economic transformation agenda.

The Plan of Action is proposing a revised policy framework for the next decade on labour, employment and social protection. Ouagadougou +10 Summit is also aiming at concrete, time-bound and results-oriented actions with strong partnership.

African leaders are expected not only to make a comprehensive review of progress and constraints in the implementation of the 2004 Ouagadougou Declaration and Plan of Action but also propose and adopt new policies and programs on employment, poverty eradication and inclusive growth for sustainable development.

The region’s growth has increased significantly over the past decade but it has not translated into job creation and poverty reduction. Informality and vulnerable employment remain the reality for the vast majority of young workers in Africa with, according to ILO estimates, a total of 214 million working poor living in the region.

“Ouagadougou +10 is therefore a priority for the Organization,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder and “our role is to support African countries in partnership with the African Union” and the strong mobilization of the tripartite constituents.

“The multi-faceted challenge for the region is to make sure that the economic growth is sustained and better shared, while efforts are geared toward effective follow-up and accountability in the implementation of the Ouagadougou+10 process,” Ryder added.

The Summit will provide an opportunity for the African continent to reach a consensus that will hopefully allow the issues of employment and poverty eradication to be included in the post-2015 development agenda of the United Nations.

The Summit will take place on 6 and 7 September 2014 at the International Conference Centre of Ouaga 2000. It will be preceded by a ministerial meeting (Foreign Affairs, Labour, Finance, Youth on 4 September 2014) and by the meeting of permanent representatives committee and ambassadors (3 September 2014).

There will also be a Social Partners’ Forum scheduled for 1-2 September 2014 in Ouagadougou that will address the theme: “Sustainable Development and the African Common Position on the post-2015 development agenda: the perspective of the social partners”.

The call to action was made during an information session on Ouagadougou +10 by Guy Ryder on the margins of the ILO’s annual International Labour Conference in Geneva. The session was moderated by Aeneas Chuma, ILO Regional Director for Africa, and attended by more than 500 African tripartite delegates and development partners.

For more information or interview requests, please contact the Regional Communication team for Africa, Tel: +41 79 172 9139, guebray@ilo.org, and the AU Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org.