Translating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into Action: Integrating trade, investment and decent work policies - An ILO contribution to UNCTAD XIV, July 2016

The 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stress that all three dimensions of sustainable development – economic growth, environmental protection and social justice - are of equal importance and must be pursued together as mutually supportive through an integrated approach to policy development and implementation. UNCTAD XIV provides a major opportunity for member States to examine how trade, investment and decent work policies can be integrated more effectively and thus make a significant contribution to translating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into action.

Conference paper | 15 July 2016
While investment in human and physical infrastructure, including universal access to public health and education services, transportation and communication networks are all important, the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda provides a crucial component of such a comprehensive and integrated approach, to ensure that trade and investment contribute to inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.

A closer look at recent developments in the world of work sheds light on why this shift is a timely necessity.