Ghana appoints four national focal points to promote the MNE Declaration in engagements with local and foreign enterprises and investors

Ghana is the first country to designate the national investment promotion agency as one of the national focal points to promote the MNE Declaration and the application of its principles.

On 30 December 2021, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations officially appointed four national focal points for the promotion and application of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) in Ghana. The four national focal points represent the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, the Ghana Employers Association and the Trades Unions Congress of Ghana.

A singular feature of this appointment is that the Ghana Investment Promotion Center is joining efforts together with the Ministry of Employment and labour Relations and the social partners to promote the MNE Declaration among foreign investors. This is making Ghana the first country to designate the national investment promotion agency as one of the national focal points to promote the MNE Declaration and the application of its principles.

The MNE Declaration is the only ILO instrument that provides direct guidance to national and multinational enterprises on social policy and inclusive, responsible and sustainable workplace practices. It is the only global instrument in this area that was elaborated and adopted by governments, employers and workers from around the world. To encourage the uptake of the MNE Declaration principles by all parties, the ILO Governing Body adopted a range of operational tools, including the appointment of national focal points on a tripartite basis.

The ILO is assisting governments, employers and workers from around the world to build their capacity to promote the MNE Declaration and to apply its principles. To date, eight ILO Member States have designated national focal points for the promotion of the MNE Declaration in accordance with annex II of the ILO MNE Declaration (four are from the African continent). Each country set-up is unique, reflecting the national process leading up to the appointment of national focal points and taking into account the national context.

Ghana currently benefits from the development cooperation project “Trade for Decent Work” financed by the European Union and Finland, which include a component on the promotion and application of the MNE Declaration. In this context, sensitization workshops on the MNE Declaration were organized for government officials, employers and workers’ representatives in the country. A national dialogue on the promotion of the MNE Declaration is foreseen in 2022.