The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted the Resolution E/2009/L.24 on the Jobs Pact, encouraging the UN Member States to take on key elements of its policy framework in their efforts to address job growth in their countries.

The United Nations Chief Executives Board for Coordination – the UN Body that furthers coordination and cooperation on a whole range of substantive and management issues between UN agencies, funds and programmes – endorsed nine joint initiatives to address the social disruption set off by the global financial and economic crisis. Recognizing that the most serious repercussions are being felt by those who were least responsible – the poor in developing countries – the Initiatives are intended to ensure coherent inter-agency action on issues of concern related to the crisis.

The International Labour Organization is leading Initiative 5 on the Global Jobs Pact with the cooperation of 13 other UN/Bretton Woods agencies and the UN Regional Commissions¹. It is co-leading Initiative 6 on a Social Protection Floor with the WHO, joined by 17 agencies and the Regional Commissions.

Significant support of the Pact came out of the 64th UN General Assembly² in September 2009. The Resolution A/C.3/64/L.9/Rev.1 on the Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly reaffirms the importance of incorporating employment creation and decent work in macroeconomic policies and invites the ILO to strengthen its social protection strategies, including assistance to countries in building social protection floors and policies on extending social security coverage.

The UN Commission on Social Development in its Resolution E/2009/26 - E/CN.5/2009/9 decided to keep full and productive employment and decent work for all under review and requested UN Secretary-General to include a section on the implementation of ECOSOC resolution 2008/18³ in his report on the main theme of social integration to be submitted to the Commission for Social Development at its forty-eighth session.

The Commission has invited ILO to strengthen its social protection strategies, including the assistance to countries in building social protection floors and policies on extending social security coverage. In its most recent Resolution on social integration submitted in February 2010, the Commission commended the adoption of the Jobs Pact and acknowledged the responsibility of the ILO toward its members in the implementation of the Pact.

¹ FAO, IMO, ITU, UNCTAD, UN-DESA, UNDP, UNEP, UNFPA, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WIPO, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNODC, UN-Habitat, IMF, World Bank and UN Regional Commissions

² The UNGA 2^nd Committee (Economic and Financial) and 3^rd Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) reviewed in-depth the policy measures proposed by the ILO and endorsed the Global Jobs Pact.

³ ECOSOC Resolution section refers to the linkage between full employment and decent work for all and social integration, and the impact of the current world financial and economic crisis on full employment and decent work for all and social integration.