GCSPF e-Newsletter # 53 – May 2021

On April 2021 the Civil Society 7 Summit released the “Civil society’s recommendations to the G7” that include the Global Fund for Social Protection under “Global sustainable economic recovery after the pandemic” and link back to the Global Coalicion Concept. Read more

The US Coalition of the GCSPF sent a letter and a briefing on “Expanding social protection: benefits for workers, businesses, and communities” to the US government to support the global fund at both the G7 and G20. Read more

The side event “Building Roofs and Raising Floors Through Inclusive Digital Technologies and a Global Fund for Social Protection” organised by the GCSPF and GCAP was chosen by UN DESA to post and promote on their platform.

High level speakers from Governments, United Nations, civil society and academia considered the value and urgency of the proposal for a Global Fund for Social Protection to deliver to all the right to social protection, in the context of the impact of Covid 19, diverse and interconnecting perspectives on social protection, homelessness and how digital technology can extend social protection floors to those who are living without roofs. You can watch the full event recording online here. Read more

For the first time in its history the International Labour Conference is taking place virtually, and it will be divided into two segments during the course of the year.
Items on the agenda in June include a special outcome document on the ILO response to COVID-19 , the discussion of the reports of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and the Director-General, the ILO’s programme and budget for 2022-23 , the recurrent discussion on social protection , and consideration of the reports on the application of labour standards during the pandemic and related country case discussions.
The second segment of the Conference will take place from 25 November to 11 December, with an agenda that includes thematic discussions on inequalities and the world of work, as well as skills and life-long learning. Read more

Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter
A global fund for social protection should be set up to increase the level of support to low-income countries, thus helping them both to establish and maintain social protection floors in the form of legal entitlements, and to improve the resilience of social protection systems against shocks. Such a fund is affordable, whether funding comes from official development assistance or from other sources, including unused or new special drawing rights. Moreover, social protection should be seen as an investment with potentially high returns, since it leads to building human capital, has significant multiplier effects in the local economy, and contributes to inclusive growth and to resilience in times of crisis. International support, therefore, should be seen as launching a process that will allow recipient countries to gradually increase the levels of domestic resource mobilization: rather than creating a new form of dependency, it would ensure a predictable level of support to countries that are committed to establishing social protection floors and whose ability to finance social protection would improve in time. Read more

On March 2, 2021, USP2030 members and interested partners came together for the 2nd Membership Assembly. It took place at a critical moment allowing for a reflection on the unprecedented developments over the past year. The debates focused on two key issues for USP2030 and universal social protection – financing and delivery mechanisms – that have gained considerable traction during the crisis, and were also reflected in the discussions on the USP2030’s next steps. Read more