The first visit to Senegal by the Director-General of the ILO will be an opportunity to discuss with the Senegalese authorities, employers and trade unions the main current issues in the world of work and to present his project for a Global Coalition for Social Justice.
Mr. Houngbo will meet with the Ministers in charge of Labour, Employment and Vocational Training, Handicrafts and the Informal Sector. He will also meet with the social partners (Employers' and Workers' Organizations) and the UN System "Country Team".
Issues to be discussed include: decent employment, in particular for youth and women, labour migration and protection of migrant workers, extension of social protection, formalization of the informal economy, crises and social dialogue, and respect of international labour standards. Mr. Houngbo is also expected to speak about the Global Coalition for Social Justice, an initiative that aims to create a global dynamic involving a wide range of stakeholders to contribute to the reduction and prevention of inequalities and to ensure that social justice is a priority in national and global policymaking and activities in development cooperation and in financial, trade and investment agreements.
The ILO Director-General will also visit the artisanal village of Soumbédioune, on the western coast of Dakar, where he plans to meet with the artisans who are beneficiaries of the ILO-Belgium project "Building robust national social protection systems to cover workers in the informal economy and their families, facilitate their access to health care and enable them to face the challenges of tomorrow" in Senegal.
The press are invited to cover the various activities of this visit. The ILO Director-General will hold a press conference at the end of his visit on Friday 27 January from 7.30 pm to 9 pm at the Raddison Blu Hotel in Dakar.
