Media Update: United Nations Pakistan, 14 September 2023
19 September 2023
This Media Update includes:
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UNIC - PRESS RELEASE : United Nations organizes eight of 12 dialogues about sustainable development in Quetta, Balochistan
UNIC
PRESS RELEASE
United Nations organizes eight of 12 dialogues about sustainable development in Quetta, Balochistan
More than 1,000 local leaders living in 12 major cities outside of the federal and provincial capitals will discuss development priorities across the country.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 14 September 2023 - Today the eighth of a series of 12 dialogues on sustainable development was held in Quetta, Balochistan, by the United Nations and the district administration.
In total, more than 1,000 local leaders living in 12 major cities across six provinces and territories are discussing the development challenges which they face, and how they impede economic and social progress in their districts. The dialogues are being held in the different languages spoken across Pakistan.
“These dialogues bring the United Nations closer to the people and the local governments that we serve, said Julien Harneis, UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan. “We are actively listening to their concerns and their ideas. They will work together, and with us, on accelerating progress to bridge inequalities and reduce poverty. We will share their suggestions with the federal Government as we focus on returning to sustainable development.”
In Quetta, the discussions focused on four topics chosen by the participants ahead of the event: governance, digital transformation, youth employment and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
Nearly 100 local leaders -- women and men, including youth -- participated together with senior officials from Quetta, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, and other UN staff.
The 12 dialogues are engaging local leaders around development issues such as access to basic social services; gender equality and women’s empowerment; climate change; sustainable, inclusive economic growth and decent work; and basic social services. All are key to Pakistan’s progress towards the achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Seven SDG dialogues have already taken place in Bahawalpur, Multan and Rawalpindi, Punjab; Hyderabad and Sukkur, Sindh; and in Mardan and Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The dialogues will help inform discussions ahead of the global SDG Summit which the UN is organizing to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, halfway of the 2030 deadline. The Government of Pakistan will participate in the event in New York on 18 and 19 September 2023.
The SDGs, also known as Global Goals, are 17 objectives designed to help bring about peace and prosperity for people all over the world. They are an urgent call for action by all countries to work together towards ending poverty while improving health and education, reducing inequality, spurring economic growth and tackling climate change.
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Note to editors
About the SDGs: Urdu: https://pakistan.un.org/ur/sdgs, English: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
§ About Pakistan’s SDG Secretariat: www.sdgpakistan.pk
§ About the global SDG Summit: https://www.un.org/en/conferences/SDGSummit2023
§ About the UN in Pakistan: Urdu: https://pakistan.un.org/ur, English: https://pakistan.un.org/en
§ Cooperation framework between the UN and Pakistan:
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For more information, please contact the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Pakistan:
Catherine Weibel: catherine.weibel@un.org, +92 300 854 0058
Mahvash Haider Ali: mahvash.ali@un.org, +92 319 071 2828
ILO
PRESS RELEASE
ILO forecasts Pakistan unemployment up 1.5 million since 2021
New labour market brief highlights how prolonged crises are cumulating in extreme labour market distress.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (ILO News) – Deflated job growth and rising unemployment could push Pakistan’s progress toward decent work back by decades, according to a new labour market update issued by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The brief examines the labour market trends in Pakistan and presents estimates of the impacts of the lingering crisis on employment outcomes in the near term.
According to ILO estimates, in 2023, Pakistan's employment-to-population ratio has fallen well below its pre-crisis trendline at 47.6 per cent while the number of unemployed persons is expected to reach 5.6 million—a surge of 1.5 million since 2021.
The report also highlights that the female unemployment rate, which is historically at least 1.5 times that of male rates, could reach a high of 11.1 per cent.
The increasing labour market challenges reflect the cumulation of Pakistan’s economic distress, following from the shock of the COVID-19 crisis, the 2022 floods and exacerbated by the recent macroeconomic turmoil. Pakistan's recent agreement with the IMF, securing a USD 3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in July 2023, aims to avert a debt default and shore up investor confidence. However, the SBA and the squeeze on public financing required in its implementation are likely to add further stress to labour market prospects, at least in the short term.
“Pakistan is facing a multitude of challenges that are taking a heavy toll on its labour markets while driving greater informality and out-migration. The ILO, through its Fourth Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), is dedicated to addressing the plight of workers and struggling enterprises and to finding solutions that will help to increase the security of their livelihoods through these difficult times,” said Geir Tonstol, ILO Country Director for Pakistan.
He further said that ILO would reinforce social dialogue as an instrument for social stability and develop integrated provincial-level inclusive recovery strategies for decent job creation, with a particular focus on women and youth.
The brief highlights a series of possible steps that could support labour-market recovery and mitigate a worsening of decent work deficits in Pakistan in the near-term. These include provincial-level recovery strategies for decent job creation, with a particular focus on women and youth; maintaining government spending on jobs and social protection programmes focussing on the poor and most vulnerable; supporting small and medium-sized enterprises; prioritizing
labour-intensive climate adaptation programmes; and reinforcing social dialogue as an instrument for social stability.
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