Message by Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office on the occasion of International Youth Day and International Year of Youth
Today the ILO joins with the UN family to celebrate the launching of the second International Year of Youth. Dialogue and mutual understanding, the themes of this international year, will be instrumental in shaping viable policies that respond to the need and aspirations of young people for decent work and of societies for the creativity, dynamism and vigour of youth. Many young men and women around the world have had the opportunity to realize their potential and are making tremendous contributions in workplaces, communities and societies. READ MORE

We join with an estimated 350 million indigenous and tribal peoples in more than 70 countries in observing this Day. There has been some progress in addressing respect for the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples and ensuring that they are able to pursue their lives and livelihoods in dignity. The ILO’s Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007 have helped to provide direction in this regard. (9 August 2010)

Youth employment in crisis: Questions and answers on the situation of youth on the labour market
Young people have been disproportionately affected by the global crisis that broke out in the autumn of 2008. This trend has exacerbated earlier challenges and there is concern that unless action is taken, the situation of youth will become unsustainable, putting social cohesion at threat. Interview with Raymond Torres, Director of the International Institute for Labour Studies and Steven Tobin, ILO economist, co-authors of a new report entitled "Youth employment in crisis". READ MORE

Message by Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office, on the occasion of World Day against Child Labour, 12 June 2010
This World Day against Child Labour comes at a critical juncture in the global campaign against child labour and the goal of ending its worst forms by 2016. The message emerging from the ILO’s latest Global Report1 is clear: if current trends continue, the 2016 target will not be reached. A renewed effort to end child labour is urgently needed. As millions of people around the world get ready for the action of the football World Cup in South Africa, we make an urgent appeal to “go for the goal and end child labour”. READ MORE

Statement by the Director-General of the International Labour Office on the occasion of World Environment Day, 5 June 2010
Human well-being and economic activity are intrinsically linked with the fate of the natural world: many species, one planet, one future.  Too often, physical, human and social capital have been short-changed and natural capital neglected, indeed destroyed. It is the manifestation of a world that is out of balance.  Abuse of the natural environment for short-term gain impoverishes communities and societies; the impact is eventually global. READ MORE