Germany, Belgium and Spain have pledged 21 million euros for the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, an ILO-coordinated initiative that aims to support the creation of millions of decent jobs and extend universal social protection to billions who are currently not covered.
The pledges were made at a special session at the UN Action Weekend in New York, on the eve of the SDG Summit, which takes place every four years, to review the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Global Accelerator plays a key role in achieving the SDGs by building on partnerships between UN agencies, the private sector, social partners, the World Bank, and other international financial institutions (IFIs). These partnerships are further leveraged with the commitments of the development partners.
It is one of twelve ‘High Impact Initiatives’ (HIIs) being presented during the SDG Action Weekend, with the aim of sharing knowledge, coordination, and collaboration to step up progress of the SDGs.
Gilbert F. Houngbo said that the Global Accelerator is built around International Labour Standards and will improve the lives of workers and their families by helping to align national policies. In turn, this will create a positive multiplier, a virtuous circle that will boost the overall social and economic impact of national policies and actions.
Spain has pledged 10 million euros to the UN Joint SDG Fund Window on Decent Jobs and Universal Social Protection and 1 million euros to the joint financing mechanism of the United Nations and the World Bank.
Speaking on the occasion, Pilar Cancela Rodriguez, Spain’s Secretary of State for International Cooperation, said, “Spain commits to supporting efforts to increase and ensure significant investments in the expansion of universal social protection and decent work, leaving no one behind. The Global Accelerator must focus on projects and programmes that guarantee that decent employment, universal social protection and just transition are being prioritized above all. People should come first, always.”
Belgium announced a 3-million-euro contribution from its end. Caroline Gennez, Belgium’s Minister of Development Cooperation and Major Cities, added, “The Global Accelerator is about the true spirit of cooperation and partnership, about co-creation and implementation at country level, and it is grounded in firm political commitment. My country strongly believes that the Global Accelerator has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of millions of people around the world, not in the least those most vulnerable and at risk.”
Germany pledged 7 million euros earlier this year, complementing Spain and Belgium’s financial commitments. Dirk Meyer, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), said, “We have a mechanism that is being fed now from existing funds at the UN and the World Bank. We tried to accelerate and foster this idea with seed money in 2023 by the German government and we have preparations for a stronger funding in the next years. With this joint governance, with this associated financing mechanism to address further donor…we are quite optimistic that we’ll find more donors to help building up this new mechanism.”
These financial commitments will provide assistance to the design and implementation of the Global Accelerator in pathfinder countries, where the Accelerator will be implemented initially. Representatives of Albania, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malawi, Namibia, Nepal and Uzbekistan attended the SDG Action Weekend and shared the relevance and added value of the Global Accelerator’s approach in their current national contexts.
The Global Accelerator was launched in September 2021 by the UN Secretary-General. Its overall objectives and principles are described in its implementation strategy, co-created by 12 UN agencies.
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