Changes in the geopolitical and economic balance of power have brought out the importance of the Global South in the development process and enabled new actors to shape the development agenda. Innovative responses to global challenges are coming from emerging powers of the South, who are in turn becoming strategic partners for other developing countries. South–South arrangements generate development responses through policies and processes that better fit their needs. Promoting sustainable and decent work for all is central to the ILO’s mandate and South-South and triangular cooperation have a key role to play in this regard.
The combined output of the world’s largest emerging economies – China, India, and Brazil – almost equals the combined GDP of all G7 member countries. In such a context, working jointly with emerging partners from the South is essential for the ILO to advance in the achievement of decent work for all, drawing on its tripartite structure which provides a unique platform for consensus building with an integrated approach.
The ILO emphasized its commitment to the promotion of South-South and triangular cooperation through its strategy: South-South and triangular cooperation: The way forward in 2012 and its 2018 summary: ILO South–South and triangular cooperation and decent work: Recent developments and future steps. The integration of new partners and the enhancement of cooperation between countries of the South are among the key goals included in this strategy, based on the principle of solidarity and non-conditionality. The ILO recognizes that cooperation between equals has enormous potential to scale up the impact of development initiatives in the world of work.
This Good Practices Collection is part of this commitment. It is targeted at UN agencies, governments, workers, employers, and civil society to help them learn from initiatives based on Southern solutions that have proven effective in promoting decent work. South-South and triangular cooperation provide an important mechanism to leverage resources and expertise – in particular by facilitating the transfer of knowledge and experience relevant to the world of work in the Global South. In this regard, the need to systematize the collection and dissemination of relevant projects is of the utmost importance.
