The International Labour Organization (ILO) on Friday, March 25, 2022 elected Mr Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo from Togo as its new Director-General.
Mr Houngbo who was elected by the ILO’s Governing Body, comprising representatives of governments, workers and employers, during their meeting in Geneva Switzerland is currently President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
With this election, Mr Houngbo becomes the 11th Director-General of the ILO, and the first African to hold the post in the Organisation’s over one hundred years of existence.
Speaking after his election, Houngbo said, “Although my origins are African my perspective is global. In an age, unfortunately of dividedness, my commitment to be a unifying Director-General stands firm
“I will be the Director-General of nobody and the Director-General of everybody. Governments, Employers and Workers alike, from all regions across the world, can rely and should rely on my total readiness to represent and advocate the views of all tripartite constituents of the organization.”
He promised to commit to representing what he called the voices of those“Who rely on us in ILO.
“I’m thinking about the four billion people around the world who do not have access to social protection. I’m thinking about the 200-plus million of women and men who face unemployment. The 160 million children in child labour. The 1.6 billion people in the informal sector. The enterprises, particularly the small and medium-sized enterprises that are facing supply chain disruption or closure due to crises’ including the pandemic, climate change and armed conflict.”
The new Director-General’s five-year term will begin on 1 October 2022.
The ILO’s Governing Body is composed of 56 titular members (28 Governments, 14 Employers and 14 Workers) and 66 deputy members (28 Governments, 19 Employers and 19 Workers).
The Employer and Worker members are elected in their individual capacity.
The ILO is the oldest specialized agency of the United Nations and was founded in 1919 with a mandate to promote decent work for all.
It has 187 member states as at 2021.
PIAK
