Panel Discussions
Three panel discussions were held in the course of the coordination segment. Two panels were dedicated to the theme of the segment and focused on progress made by the UN system in integrating the goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all into its programmes and activities:
Panel 1 - UN Chief Executive Board presentation on employment and decent work: “Toolkit for mainstreaming employment and decent work”, 6 July (4-6 p.m.)
The UN Chief Executive Board (CEB) had requested the International Labour Organization (ILO) to develop a toolkit to promote employment generation and decent work in the UN system organizations. The panel discussion provided an opportunity to present the Toolkit, endorsed by the CEB at its meeting in April 2007, and to discuss next steps in the adoption and use of the Toolkit by the UN system organizations.
- Issue note on the panel “Toolkit for mainstreaming employment and decent work”
- Informal summary of the panel discussion
Panel 2 - United Nations system role in promoting employment and the decent work agenda in national strategic frameworks: the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, 9 July (10 a.m.-1 p.m)
The 2006 ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration requested the UN system organizations to mainstream the goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all in their policies, programmes and activities. The panel discussion focused on the role and support of the UN system in making employment and decent work central to national strategic frameworks, such as national development strategies (NDSs), including poverty reduction strategies (PRSs), UN Common Country Assessments (CCAs) and the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAFs). The panel focused on the experience of Latin America and the Caribbean and helped provide a better understanding of the work of the UN system in this area both at the regional and country level.
- Issue note on the panel: “The role of the United Nations system in promoting employment and the decent work agenda in national strategic frameworks: the case of Latin America and the Caribbean”.
- Informal summary of the panel discussion
Panel 3 - Working Together to Promote the Goals of Decent Work and Full Employment for All: Dialogue with the Chairpersons of the Functional Commissions, 10 July (3-6 p.m.)
The panel discussion, structured as a dialogue between the ECOSOC bureau and the chairpersons of the functional commissions was ordered around the main objective of strengthening the ECOSOC and two core issues in the UN Development Agenda: 1. Eradication of poverty and hunger, including through the global partnership for development, and 2. The role of the UN system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all. The overall aim was to promote a more unified approach in the contributions of the functional commissions to the follow-up of the UN conferences and summits.
The panel provided a forum for a free-flowing dialogue on progress, challenges and opportunities encountered by the functional commissions and other subsidiary bodies of the Council in advancing and assessing the implementation of the outcomes of the major UN conferences and summits, including the 2005 World Summit.
The panel discussion produced several important proposals on how the subsidiary bodies could strengthen their contribution to the Council's new functions, notably the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum.