High-level event

Panel discussion: Social protection at the crossroads – in pursuit of a better future

High-level panellists from the UN, ILO, ITUC, IOE, UNICEF and OHCHR discussed the findings and recommendations of the ILO World Social Protection Report 2020-22.


As social protection is a pivotal element of the COVID-19 crisis response, the ILO is to hold a high level panel to discuss the recommendations of its latest flagship report, the World Social Protection Report 2020-22. The discussion, organized in partnership with socialprotection.org, will unpack the trends and challenges reviewed by the report, as well as the policy recommendations it advances and the near and longer-term policy priorities.

Panellists

  • Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Office
  • Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR
  • Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF
  • Philip Alston, John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
  • Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation
  • Roberto Suárez Santos, Secretary-General of the International Organisation of Employers
Moderator: Nozipho Tshabalala
Interpretation in Arabic, English, French, International Sign Language, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

High-level panellists will address the following questions:

  • The pandemic has exposed deep-seated inequalities and significant gaps in social protection coverage, comprehensiveness and adequacy across all countries. How do these gaps undermine sustainable development, decent work and social justice?
  • COVID-19 provoked an unparalleled social protection policy response that provided urgently needed support to many, yet many challenges remain. What lessons can be derived from this response?
  • Socio-economic recovery remains uncertain. What role should social protection play and where are the current policy windows for governments to strengthen their social protection systems?
  • What can countries do to establish universal social protection for all by 2030?
  • How can governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, UN agencies and other stakeholders work together to achieve this 2030 goal at country, regional and global levels?