Widespread calls for Global Fund for Social Protection by ILO, ISSA, UN Commissioner for Human Rights 2:19am 1st Nov, 2012   “Underwrite the poor like we underwrote the banks” – UN experts call for Global Fund for Social Protection.    “Nearly 80 per cent of the world’s poor do not have access to social protection to shield them from the effects of unemployment, illness, or disability – not to mention crop failure or soaring food costs. Yet, if we were to dedicate 2 per cent of global GDP to securing this human right, basic social protection could be provided to all of the world’s poor,” stated Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, and Magdalena Sepúlveda, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.    “Following this summer"s drought in the US, food prices are dangerously high for the third time in five years, and hunger remains at unacceptably high levels, as today’s FAO figures* show. The right to food is denied every time prices spike and people are no longer able to put food on the table. Food and other basics must not be left to the mercy of economic cycles – the world"s poorest citizens must be able to fall back on basic social protection,” said Mr. De Schutter.    In a briefing note launched today, the UN experts call for the creation of a Global Fund for Social Protection (GFSP), to be housed under existing international agencies such as the World Bank or established as an independent body, and funded by donations from developed countries.    The dual functions of the GFSP would be to (a) close the funding shortfall for putting in place a social protection floor in least developed countries (LDCS); and (b) help underwrite these schemes against the risks of excess demand triggered by major shocks by (i) advising LDCs on suitable private reinsurance options, (ii) subsidising premiums where necessary, and/or (iii) acting as the reinsurer of last resort in cases where private schemes are not extensive or affordable enough.    The UN experts explained that many developing countries face human, technical and financial constraints and thus cannot afford the surging expenditure on social protection that is required in the wake of catastrophes such as droughts, floods or disease epidemics that afflict large population groups, while simultaneously slashing a State"s tax and export earnings.    “International support for social protection measures becomes even more relevant in the context of the global economic crisis and its severe impact on the LDCs. International solidarity is needed,” they urged, stating: “When the global financial crisis struck, Governments stepped in to prop up banks that were deemed too important to fail. The same logic must now be applied to basic social protection, which is too crucial to be denied.”    They stressed that in doing so, States would be answering the calls of the ILO, UNICEF, the G20 and the World Bank to make social protection global, fulfilling their human rights obligations, transforming the shape of their development aid, harvesting the multiplier effects of supporting incomes in developing countries, and continuing the promise of the Millennium Development Goals beyond their expiration in 2015.    The UN experts proposed that the GFSP be discussed and developed in the Social Protection work-stream of the FAO"s Committee on World Food Security (CFS), which convenes next week in Rome, and in the remit of ILO work on the social protection floor.    * Access the report via the link below.    Sep 2012    Poorest countries lack proper safety nets, says World Bank.    Three out of five people in the developing world lack a proper safety net to protect them from the shockwaves caused by the global financial crisis and rising commodity prices, the World Bank has said.    Announcing a new focus on social and labour protection, the bank said that in the world"s poorest countries 80% of the population were left without assistance during tough times.    "Safety nets can transform people"s lives and provide a foundation for inclusive growth without busting budgets".    "Effective safety net coverage overcomes poverty, and promotes economic opportunity and gender equality by helping people find jobs and cope with economic shocks, and improving the health, education, and well-being of their children."    The bank"s analysis shows that 66 million children around the world go to school hungry, making it harder for them to concentrate and learn. It added that many of the 2.8 million newly-born babies that die in their first week of life each year could be saved by expanding and improving pre- and post-natal care for mothers.    Development ministers will be asked to look at ways of helping countries cope with crises and ingrained poverty. Proposalss include cash transfers, food assistance, public works programmes and the waiving of fees for health and education.    The bank said growth in many developing countries had pulled millions of people out of poverty, but warned that progress had yet to benefit the majority in the poorest nations, who faced "unemployment, disability and illness, and struggle to protect themselves against economic shocks, persistent poverty, natural disasters, or other crises".    Outlining a four-pronged approach, the bank said it wanted: social safety net coverage extended to the most vulnerable; coherent national plans that could be scaled up in times of crisis; better access to jobs; and a sharing of knowledge between developing countries of policies that work.    July 2012    The pressing need for adequate social protection floors for the world’s most vulnerable communities was underlined, during the inaugural session of the Social Protection Interagency Board, co-chaired by the International Labour Organization and the World Bank, and involving a number of international organizations, including the International Social Security Association (ISSA).    The establishment of the Social Protection Interagency Board was agreed by the G20 in 2011, and is mandated to promote social protection as a top priority in global, regional and national development agendas, and to improve UN inter-agency coordination in support of country-led social protection measures, in close consultation with other international organizations that provide social protection financing and technical advisory services.    The first meeting of the Board follows soon after the adoption by the 101st International Labour Conference in June 2012 of an historic Recommendation on social protection floors (SPFs). The Recommendation calls on ILO member states to include SPFs as an element of their national social security systems, and to implement social protection floors within strategies for social security extension that progressively ensure higher levels of social security to as many people as possible.    The Social Protection Floor Initiative, coordinated by the ILO, seeks to introduce nationally-defined sets of basic social security guarantees, which ensure basic income security and access to essential health care and other social services for all people.    Addressing the meeting, ISSA Secretary General, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, outlined the organizations strategies to promote the extension of social security coverage, with an emphasis on strengthening the scope and administrative efficiency of social security institutions.    The Secretary General pointed to several recent initiatives of the Association in this area, including a comparative study of the extension of social security in the BRICS countries; a handbook to promote the protection of the self-employed; and a regional approach to improve the protection of migrant workers in Eurasian countries.    Among the participants at the inter-agency meeting were representatives of the ILO, the World Bank, UNICEF, UNDP, UNDESA, WHO and the OECD, as well as of several donor governments and international NGOs.    June 2012    The social protection floor initiative, spearheaded by the ILO, seek to introduce nationally-defined sets of basic social security guarantees, which aim at ensuring basic income security and access to essential health care and other social services for all, especially the poorest and most vulnerable groups.    Addressing the International Labour Conference (ILC) meeting in Geneva on 6 June, the ISSA Secretary General Hans-Horst Konkolewsky recognized the important potential of the Recommendation to improve the lives of billions of people, even at a time when social security is facing major economic pressures.    “This ILC comes at an historic turning point for social security. The world is more than ever keenly aware of the potential of social security to combat poverty and contribute to economic growth and social cohesion,” the Secretary General stated.    “At the same time, investment in social security is questioned when government budgets face considerable pressures,” he said.    Referring to the ILO Recommendation as a “unique opportunity for social security development”, the Secretary General reiterated that “the ISSA strongly supports the adoption of this Recommendation as an indispensable instrument in promoting social security extension and guiding national actors in achieving progress towards social security for all.”    http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12644&LangID=E    http://www.issa.int/Observatory/In-Focus/In-Focus-International-strategies-to-extend-social-security-coverage    http://www.socialprotectionfloor-gateway.org/    http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/social-security/lang--en/index.htm
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