23 May 2014: Member States, UN officials, and representatives of international organizations and Majors Groups convened to discuss how sustained, inclusive growth aimed at creating decent, quality jobs for the millions of unemployed, underemployed and informally employed people around the world can contribute to reducing poverty in the post-2015 era. The High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) took place on 23 May 2014, in New York, US.

Participants at the meeting on ‘Achieving poverty eradication through full employment and decent work for all in the post-2015 development agenda’ stressed the importance of integrating historically excluded groups like women, youth and minorities, while creating a more even distribution of income and wealth.

Michel Tommo Monthe, UNGA Vice-President, recalled that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on halving extreme poverty was attained in 2010, with 700 million poor people “lifted out of destitution.” However, he noted, there had been uneven progress within and among countries, and 1.2 billion people still live on less than US$1.25 per day, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Calling for action to provide universal access to jobs and social protection floors, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said investment in education, skills development and health care not only will help equip people for decent jobs and income, but also boost purchasing power. Investing in the green economy will create jobs for those most in need, promoting renewable energy and stopping global warming, he added. He also called for more and better information, especially on gender and wages, and on the duration, security and quality of employment.

Jose Molinas Vega, Minister Executive Secretary of the Technical Planning Secretariat of Paraguay, highlighted the importance of investing in early childhood development and education, which should focus on a child’s first 1,000 days, as well as on eradicating illiteracy. He also noted that promoting creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation in society should be central in the education system, and those efforts should be supported by transparent and credible public policies to combat poverty and bolster decent work.

Benin, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), called for preferential treatment of those countries, as well as strong support for micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses. Representatives of Canada and Netherlands stressed the important role of the private sector, noting that it provides more than 90% of jobs in developing countries. [Event Website] [UN Press Release] [IISD RS Sources] [UNGA Summary]