Regional Office

Countries
Bahrain
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

ILO Regional Office for Arab States
Economic and social conditions vary from one Arab country to another. Some have enjoyed periods of relative stability necessary for social peace, dialogue, and development, while others have suffered from social and civil unrest and regional conflict.

Moreover, in terms of per capita income, Arab states are characterized by features that distinguish them from other regions. For example, while oil-producing countries are sparsely populated and enjoy the relatively high returns from oil exports, other less developed countries are densely populated and suffer from poverty, unemployment and social differences.

It is against this backdrop that ILO and the Regional Office for Arab States have a role to play in enhancing national capacities and strengthening social dialogue. This enables independent employers' and workers' organizations to participate with governments to come up with solutions to economic and social problems.

The 1994 return of the Regional Office for Arab States to Beirut, after a 23-year absence due to security considerations, constituted an important step in resumption of activities. It has allowed the agency to better understand the needs of its social partners and to devise programs and projects which not only contribute to the development of Arab societies but have allowed it to cope with emerging political, economic, and social challenges.

The program for technical cooperation set up by the Regional Office and the multidisciplinary team approach have focused on helping its constituents to alleviate poverty, promote employment, develop human resources, end discrimination with respect to employment and occupation, ensure equality in treatment and opportunity in employment, expand the coverage of social security to cover excluded groups, eliminate child labour, improve capacities of labour administration, further vocational training, rehabilitate the disabled, establish independent employers and workers organizations, strengthen the mechanism of collective bargaining, set up viable structures for social dialogue and encourage ratification of international labour standards.

In its efforts to achieve these objectives, the Regional Office and its multidisciplinary team cooperate with international and regional organizations and institutions. They have taken into consideration decisions, conclusions, and recommendations of Arab and Asian meetings. Furthermore, the Regional Office, within the scope of its technical cooperation program, has helped its constituents confront existing problems and anticipate future challenges. It seeks to strengthen its working relationship with the Arab Labour Organization, the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in the Arab states, the Executive Bureau of the Council fo Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council States, the Arab Fund for Ecomomic and Social Development, and the Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA).