15 May 2012: In the latest installment of “Road to Rio” commentary by officials of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Magdy Martinez-Soliman, Deputy Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Development Policy (BDP), highlights that after waves of structural adjustments, sustainable growth and employment are firmly back in the development agenda and will be a key topic for discussion during the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

Writing on the occasion of a conference on the post-2015 development agenda in Tokyo, Japan, held from 15-16 May 2012, Martinez-Soliman stresses that due to the global financial and economic crises that have slowed growth, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of full, productive and decent work is unlikely to be met by 2015.

He notes that growth and employment are a challenge for both developed and developing countries, adding that the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC IV) recognized the need to support productive capacities to stimulate growth. According to Martinez-Soliman, the Group of 20 (G20) currently is discussing an agenda to promote sustainable growth after the crisis. He writes that many have come to realize that human capital – which can be promoted by growth and employment through inclusion, fairness and sense of dignity – and natural capital are more important than financial capital.

Finally, Martinez-Soliman calls for input on the question, “How can we generate growth and employment while protecting our planet?” [Publication: Road to Rio: Growth and employment need to be the heart of development]