ILO Director-General Guy Ryder and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

NEW YORK – In his first official visit to the United Nations, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his senior staff to discuss the role of the Decent Work Agenda in the post-2015 development framework.

The meeting comes at a time when wide-ranging discussions are taking place at the UN and around the world on the post-2015 development agenda. Last November, the ILO’s Governing Body called for placing decent job creation and social protection floors at the core of the sustainable development discussions.

In light of the ILO Call for Action on the Youth Employment crisis, Mr. Ryder welcomed the appointment of a Secretary-General Special Representative for Youth and ensured the ILO’s commitment to work closely with him to address what he called the greatest challenges of our time – youth unemployment.

In his Five-Year Action Agenda, the UN Secretary-General lists supporting youth in the areas of employment, entrepreneurship, political inclusion, citizenship and the protection of rights as a key priority for the coming years.

Mr. Ryder told Mr. Ban that the ILO remains committed to further strengthening its close ties with the UN. He also said the ILO will continue to work closely with the wider UN system in promoting inclusive, equitable and sustainable development, as well as decent work and the provision of social protection floors.