Following a comprehensive three-year consultation and drafting process, jointly led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), a new policy will be implemented in the field. The policy will contribute to lasting peace in volatile post-conflict settings – through gainful employment and steady incomes. The United Nations Policy for Post-Conflict Employment Creation, Income Generation and Reintegration, its Resource and Technical Platform and the Policy Briefing Paper were officially presented on 4 November at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).

The policy was developed to scale up and to maximize the impact, coherence and efficiency of employment and reintegration support provided to post-conflict countries by UN agencies. It resulted from an unprecedented consensus and the commitment of 19 UN agencies, funds and offices which participated in the consultative process and a Working Group established in November 2006 by the UN Secretary-General.

The crucial link between employment and peacebuilding received full recognition at the conclusion of the interagency consultation process, which culminated with the UN Secretary-General’s approval of the United Nations Policy for Post-Conflict Employment Creation, Income Generation and Reintegration, presented today to the diplomatic community, civil society representatives and the press.

“We have found that employment and income generation are vital to short-term stability, reintegration, socio-economic growth and sustainable peace,” said Miguel Bermeo, Senior Deputy Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery. Alfredo Lazarte-Hoyle, Director of ILO/CRISIS remarked that “jobs and self-employment opportunities provide communities and individuals the means for survival and recovery.”

By following this comprehensive approach, the UN will be in a better position to scale up and maximize the impact of employment and reintegration support. A UN task force to oversee the roll-out process, involving operational agencies including the World Bank and the IMF under the joint leadership of ILO and UNDP, has been established by the UN Secretary-General. ILO and UNDP are establishing a UN Joint Support Team (JST) to be hosted in ILO HQ which will spearhead the roll-out of the United Nations Policy for Post-Conflict Employment Creation, Income Generation and Reintegration in five initial countries emerging from conflict: Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste. This will contribute to a long lasting peace in these countries.