The new director-general of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Gilbert Houngbo, poses in front of the institution’s headquarters in Geneva, on March 25, 2022, just after being elected as its head (AFP/Archives/Fabrice COFFRINI )
Togolese Gilbert Houngbo, the first African to head the International Labor Organization (ILO), on Friday showed his “determination” to make “decent work become a global reality”.
“It is for me a great pride and a lesson in humility to be here and to be the first African to receive [les] keys” of this specialized agency of the UN, declared Mr. Houngbo during a handover ceremony with the outgoing director general, the former British trade unionist Guy Ryder.
“It’s a testimony […] of the inexhaustible determination of an entire region to see the ILO continue its fight to make decent work a global reality”, added the former Prime Minister of Togo, according to the video images of the ceremony broadcast by the ILO.
“At a time of unparalleled uncertainty” and when “social justice seems like a distant prospect for many men and women”, he added, “our ambition must be to reconsider the social contract to enable workers to enjoy fair treatment and share in economic progress.”
Aged 61 and a native of a rural prefecture in Togo, Mr. Houngbo has spent the majority of his career in international organizations, where he is considered a seasoned senior civil servant.
Founded in 1919, in the aftermath of the First World War, the ILO’s main objectives are to promote rights at work, encourage the creation of decent jobs, develop social protection and strengthen social dialogue in the field work.
Until then, the organization had always been directed – with the exception of a Chilean – by Europeans and North Americans.
© 2022 AFP
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