GB.350/POL/4(Rev.1)/Decision
Decision concerning the report on crisis-related ILO work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
13 March 2024
The Governing Body:
(a) took note of the developments outlined in document GB.350/POL/4(Rev.1), including the grave repercussions in the Gaza Strip on jobs, livelihoods and enterprises and the way forward outlined in paragraphs 29-36;
(b) reiterated its most profound concern at the dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and the severe impact that it is having on workers, employers and the civilian population, particularly women, children and others in vulnerable situations, as well as at the extremist settler violence and economic situation in the West Bank;
(c) took note of all relevant resolutions on the Middle East and recalled Security Council resolutions 2720 (22 December 2023) and 2712 (15 November 2023), and the decision it had adopted concerning document GB.349/POL/4(Rev.1), which included a call for all parties to facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip;
(d) stressed the need to respect the ILO's fundamental principles and rights at work and relevant international labour standards and the importance of taking all necessary measures to promote social justice and advance decent work for all Palestinians;
(e) stressed the importance of ensuring the access, safety and security of ILO staff to deliver on the ILO mandate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
(f) welcomed the ILO's readiness to engage in broader United Nations recovery and reconstruction efforts;
(g) recalled the relevance of the Director-General's annual reports to the International Labour Conference on the situation of workers in the occupied Arab territories and urged all parties to facilitate the annual mission to Israel and the occupied Arab territories;
(h) requested the Director-General to continue offering his good offices to support Palestinian workers' access to their workplaces in conditions of occupational safety and health, as well as to strengthen efforts to address long-term priorities as highlighted in several of the Director-General's annual reports to the International Labour Conference, such as the issue of social security funds and permit system reform;
(i) requested the Office to engage with the relevant authorities to report on dismissals of Palestinian workers due to the current crisis, as well as any restrictions on their access to the labour market, and to report back on this matter to the Governing Body;
(j) supported all efforts to mobilize resources for the continued implementation of the emergency response programme, calling on Member States to urgently fund the programme;
(k) requested the Director-General to convene a resource mobilization meeting, on the margins of the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference, in June 2024, to prepare for the operational execution of the emergency response programme and to meet the urgent needs of the Palestinian constituents;
(l) recommended to the International Labour Conference that at its 112th Session, the Appendix to the Report of the Director-General on "The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories" be discussed in the framework of a special sitting in accordance with the same modalities and conditions as those applied in all similar special sittings on the same subject in the past, with a view to providing specific guidance to the Office and the Director-General on appropriate follow up actions to the findings of the report; and
(m) requested the Office to monitor the situation and assess its impact on the world of work and update the Governing Body on the ILO's efforts, including on the follow-up to the special sitting discussion at the 112th Session of the Conference, through the standing item on the enhanced programme of development cooperation in the occupied Arab territories at its 352nd Session (October-November 2024).
(GB.350/POL/4(Rev.1), paragraph 37, as amended by the Governing Body)
(a) took note of the developments outlined in document GB.350/POL/4(Rev.1), including the grave repercussions in the Gaza Strip on jobs, livelihoods and enterprises and the way forward outlined in paragraphs 29-36;
(b) reiterated its most profound concern at the dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and the severe impact that it is having on workers, employers and the civilian population, particularly women, children and others in vulnerable situations, as well as at the extremist settler violence and economic situation in the West Bank;
(c) took note of all relevant resolutions on the Middle East and recalled Security Council resolutions 2720 (22 December 2023) and 2712 (15 November 2023), and the decision it had adopted concerning document GB.349/POL/4(Rev.1), which included a call for all parties to facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip;
(d) stressed the need to respect the ILO's fundamental principles and rights at work and relevant international labour standards and the importance of taking all necessary measures to promote social justice and advance decent work for all Palestinians;
(e) stressed the importance of ensuring the access, safety and security of ILO staff to deliver on the ILO mandate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
(f) welcomed the ILO's readiness to engage in broader United Nations recovery and reconstruction efforts;
(g) recalled the relevance of the Director-General's annual reports to the International Labour Conference on the situation of workers in the occupied Arab territories and urged all parties to facilitate the annual mission to Israel and the occupied Arab territories;
(h) requested the Director-General to continue offering his good offices to support Palestinian workers' access to their workplaces in conditions of occupational safety and health, as well as to strengthen efforts to address long-term priorities as highlighted in several of the Director-General's annual reports to the International Labour Conference, such as the issue of social security funds and permit system reform;
(i) requested the Office to engage with the relevant authorities to report on dismissals of Palestinian workers due to the current crisis, as well as any restrictions on their access to the labour market, and to report back on this matter to the Governing Body;
(j) supported all efforts to mobilize resources for the continued implementation of the emergency response programme, calling on Member States to urgently fund the programme;
(k) requested the Director-General to convene a resource mobilization meeting, on the margins of the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference, in June 2024, to prepare for the operational execution of the emergency response programme and to meet the urgent needs of the Palestinian constituents;
(l) recommended to the International Labour Conference that at its 112th Session, the Appendix to the Report of the Director-General on "The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories" be discussed in the framework of a special sitting in accordance with the same modalities and conditions as those applied in all similar special sittings on the same subject in the past, with a view to providing specific guidance to the Office and the Director-General on appropriate follow up actions to the findings of the report; and
(m) requested the Office to monitor the situation and assess its impact on the world of work and update the Governing Body on the ILO's efforts, including on the follow-up to the special sitting discussion at the 112th Session of the Conference, through the standing item on the enhanced programme of development cooperation in the occupied Arab territories at its 352nd Session (October-November 2024).
(GB.350/POL/4(Rev.1), paragraph 37, as amended by the Governing Body)