ILO Caribbean Director addresses labour market transformation during regional UN meeting
Event provided opportunity to assess progress and emerging priorities for achieving SDGs.
8 March 2024
Dr Joni Musabayana, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, was among several officials who gathered in Barbados from 6 to 7 March 2024 for the UN Annual Coordination meeting for the region.
Co-hosted by the Government of Barbados and United Nations System in the Caribbean, the two-day hybrid event brought together high-level Government representatives from 15 countries, CARICOM and the OECS, heads of UN specialized agencies, as well as Resident Coordinators from five jurisdictions - Guyana, Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
During the meeting, Dr Musabayana and other officials reviewed and deliberated regional progress to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They assessed the effectiveness of the UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (MSDCF) programming in line with national priorities, as well as gaps and opportunities for SDG acceleration. It was also an opportunity to reaffirm UN commitment to providing support to countries through strategies for strengthening cooperation and impact.
During the discussions, Dr Musabayana emphasized development cooperation as essential for finding solutions to world of work issues and promoting decent work. “Caribbean labour markets are undergoing profound transformation driven by global megatrends – digitalization, artificial intelligence, demographic shifts and climate change. These evolving conditions are affecting lives and livelihoods. The push towards CARICOM regional integration is now more urgent than before. With the heads of State adopting a free movement policy, the ILO in partnership, the whole UN family stands ready to support the Caribbean region in maximizing the benefits from this transformation while ensuring the achievement of SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth for All,” said Dr Musabayana.
The event also served as a timely opportunity to convene Caribbean UN and Government partners ahead of the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States , which will be held in Antigua and Barbuda from 27 to 30 May 2024. The conference will be hosted under the theme Charting the Course Toward Resilient Prosperity and will feature the participation of Dr Musabayana and other ILO officials.
More information about the Annual Coordination Meeting is available on the UN Barbados and Eastern Caribbean website .