"Good social policy is good economic policy, in Africa as elsewhere," commented Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office, to the Ministerial Meeting of the Labour and Social Affairs Commission of the Organization of African Unity, which concluded its 22nd Session on 23 April in Windhoek (Namibia). Somavia heralded the key role played by Governments, employers' organizations and trade unions in the region in achieving tripartite African unity around development needs and the creation of decent work for all.

He stressed the need to advocate the integration of labour, economic and financial strategies so that social policy is recognized as a productive factor. "The ILO stands behind Africa's efforts to negotiate and implement policies of adjustment that are more socially sensitive," he assured delegates. It is time, he urged, to take human beings into account in the globalization equation.

Somavia paid tribute to the efforts made by the OAU Labour and Social Affairs Commission to reach common African positions on issues of crucial importance for Africa and the world. The Commission's concerns dovetailed neatly, he noted, with the strategic objectives of the ILO: to promote and realize fundamental principles and rights at work, to create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment and income, to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all, and to strengthen tripartism and social dialogue.

As the first ILO Director-General from a developing country (Chile), Somavia stressed the importance of development and the need to see social expenditures as investments that ultimately increase productivity and economic performance. With the issues of gender and development cross-cutting the four ILO strategic objectives, he noted, there was a fresh blueprint for enhancing and refocusing the Organization's technical cooperation activities on the continent.

Welcoming the enthusiastic reception the OAU meeting had given to the joint ILO-UNDP "Jobs for Africa" Programme, Somavia pledged to seek its expansion to more countries in the region. "There are few workers' rights without work," Somavia emphasised, noting that enterprise and job creation are crucial to the development of opportunities under decent conditions as part of poverty reduction. He added that the ILO stands ready to assist on a range of issues addressed by the meeting, including the critical role of human resources development and sound labour relations as a basis for social cohesion and good governance in Africa.

He thanked the OAU delegates for their endorsement of the new ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which aims at promoting and realizing freedom of association and collective bargaining, as well as the elimination of forced labour, child labour and employment discrimination. ILO constituents from Africa had been key players in shaping this Declaration and its arrangements for follow-up. Somavia highlighted the increasing number of African countries having ratified the ILO core Conventions.

The ILO Director-General welcomed the support expressed by the OAU Ministers for a draft Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, to be discussed at the International Labour Conference in Geneva this coming June. He heralded the engagement of African constituents to take a common ethical stance on this complex issue, and urged them to actively participate in the adoption and implementation of the new Convention. He recalled that the deliberations to date have been ably chaired by the Minister of Labour of Côte d'Ivoire, Professor Atsain.

The contribution of women to peace efforts and socio-economic development had been highlighted by the OAU meeting, and rightly so, Somavia observed. African women, he noted, have played a significant role in establishing coping mechanisms for survival in the face of great difficulties, and his own proposals for the ILO placed gender at the heart of all its activities.

Somavia's statement echoed the message delivered to the Commission on 22 April by his Excellency Sam Nujoma, President of Namibia, who had stressed the importance of tripartite social dialogue, the ILO Declaration, social cohesion and an encompassing social security system.

Somavia recalled with emotion having seen the Namibian flag raised alongside the UN flag when he attended Namibia's independence celebration in 1990 as his country's Ambassador to the United Nations. While in Windhoek, the Director-General Somavia also held talks with H.E. President Nujoma and several Namibian Government Ministers. On 22 April, he addressed Members of Parliament.