Inclusive Development News

The International Year is an opportunity to Act, Inspire and Scale-up and there are many initiatives already underway, including a call for the submission of action pledges, a song competition, and cartoon competition, amongst many more. Watch the launch event here. and visit the website of the International Year here.

Conjointement organisé par Oxfam France et l’AFD, ce webinaire a constitué un temps d’échange et a permis de construire une réflexion commune sur la place de la lutte contre les inégalités au sein de la politique de développement française. Le trouver ici.

This report explores the state of the discussion among those who advocate for the living wage, the living income, and the child labour-free zones, based on the literature published by those organisations. It also reflects on some of the implications for children’s work in African agriculture. Find it here.

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action has produced a note on offers guidance and information to practitioners and policy-makers on child labour issues during and after COVID-19 and what actions can be taken. Find it here.

Read a paper from the World Bank, assessing whether consumption taxes reduce inequality in developing countries. The paper combines household expenditure data from 31 countries to shed new light on the redistributive potential and optimal design of consumption taxes. Find it here.

Read a synthesis paper from the INCLUDE platform, commissioned by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that provides a synopsis of lessons learned, comparative analysis of results, and more, of the Local Employment in Africa for Development (LEAD) programme, and is based on four independent evaluations. Read it here.

Read an article - Inequality kills - on the impact of the coronavirus on the global south, by Stefan Peters for International Politics and Society. He outlines the risk of massive political unrest and instability is looming unless action must now be taken quickly and decisively. Read it here.

This report examines the implementation of the Convention No. 169 and the current social and economic situation of indigenous peoples across the world. Find it here. Also available in ES and FR.

The COVID-19 crisis is different from previous economic crises and has laid bare entrenched gender inequalities. The COVID-19 crisis is impacting women and men differently. Find the brief here.

Esta reseña de políticas destaca cómo los jóvenes, especialmente las mujeres, están siendo gravemente afectados por la pandemia COVID-19. El informe hace un llamado a medidas de política urgentes, integrales y específicas para hacer frente a la pandemia mundial. Lea más. Disponible en francés. e inglés.

Covid-19 and responses to the pandemic have created new needs for social protection. Read a CSP blog on groups who are most at risk and in need of social assistance most urgently here.

This is a third-party monitoring report on the incidence of child labour and forced labour in the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan in 2019. The European Union supported the monitoring work. Find it here.

The potential of skills development and recognition for regulated labour mobility in the IGAD Region - A scoping study covering Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. Find it here.

More African governments than ever before are delivering social assistance to the poor and to vulnerable populations. The report maps and analyses the recent growth of social assistance. Find it here.

Read a report from Human Rights Watch that details the plight of children whose parents or guardians have been killed. The increased poverty and trauma have led many children to leave school or compelled them to work. Some were forced to live on the streets. Find it here.

The report is part of a series of evidence synthesis papers led by INCLUDE, to take stock of existing evidence on themes relevant to youth employment. This report ‘Workplace Based Learning and Youth Employment in Africa’ reviews and synthesises literature on the evidence on workplace-based learning interventions in Africa. Read it here.

The paper from the Asian Development Bank assesses the size, ownership structure, and financing capability of small and medium-sized enterprises and how they drive their participation in global value chains. Find it here.

There was a Week of Action around this year’s World Day Against Child Labour (12 June). This year is the International Year on the Elimination of Child Labour. Read our June article on child labour here with information on the alarming new data on child labour and information on what was happening in the context of the International Year, including a High Level Dialogue between the European Commission, ILO and UNICEF, the announcement of the winners of a song contest, and much more.

Investment not only needs finance but also people with the right skills. The new VET Toolbox service supports local people in 11 countries in Sub-Saharan African in acquiring relevant skills. The VET Toolbox presented this new service during an online launch event on 8 June 2021. Find the videos and background documents from the launch here, including a video message from Commissioner Urpilainen. An animated video “VET Toolbox: Relevant skills for all” was produced to present the services of VET Toolbox aiming at increasing local benefits of European investment. Video on the new Toolbox service.

This is the 9th module offering a short self-paced introduction to key concepts of vocational education and training. It is available on INTPA Academy and you can enrol here (registration required).

An Expert Workshop was hosted by DG INTPA and the International Trade Centre (ITC) to discuss and co-create accompanying support measures to forthcoming EU legislation on mandatory due diligence and supply chain sustainability. Read about the workshop here.

Better Work is an alliance to improve working conditions, business practices and environmental sustainability in the garment industry. The launch event featured Marjeta Jager, Deputy Director General for DG INTPA and Cécile Billaux, Head of Unit, Micro-Economic Analysis, Investment Climate, Private Sector, Trade, and Employment, DG INTPA. Find the programme here and watch a recording of the event here. The event was linked to the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sectors.

A new report commissioned by DG INTPA on ending child labour and promoting sustainable cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana has been published. The report presents the overall challenges related to ending child labour, assesses the situation of child labour in cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and puts forward a comprehensive set of recommendations for all stakeholders. Read the full report here and the executive summary in English here and in French here.

The Investment Climate Reform Facility (ICR-Facility) has published a first report in a series: Business Environment Reforms to Support Women-Owned Businesses in ACP Countries: Legal, Administrative and Policy Reforms to Access Finance and Manage Businesses. Find out more information on the ICR-Facility here.

Find the guide “Buying social: a guide to taking account of social considerations in public procurement” by the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs in all EU Languages here. Find more information here.

The report has been recently published and assesses the EU’s imported goods in 2019 and reveals that close to 100EUR per European of EU imported goods was tainted with child labour. The study was commissioned by MEP Saskia Bricmont. Read the report here.

The international cartoon competition on forced labour has received cartoons from more than 200 artists from 65 countries. The competition is being organised by the ILO and the NGO Human Resources Without Borders (RHSF). The winners will be announced soon here.

Domestic workers remain among the most vulnerable workers, including in the EU. The event attracted several high-level speakers, including Commissioner Nicolas Schmit. The discussion focused on the current situation, the progress made since the adoption of Convention 189 and the next steps which are necessary to improve domestic workers' working and living conditions. Watch a recording of the event that took place on 28-29 June here.

The UN Global Compact has launched a campaign on “Living Wages” in supply chains, delve into the interactive website here.

Beyond Your Clothes is raising awareness on working conditions and the environmental impact and detrimental effects of fast fashion. The #BeyondYourClothes interactive website has been developed with EU support and is in various European languages. Visit it here.