Thank you, Chair!
1. It is a great privilege for China to represent ASPAG to address the Committee of the Whole. ASPAG thanks the Office for preparing the document.
2. At the outset, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all members of the Working Party for their concerted efforts and spirit of compromise to reach consensus. ASPAG also appreciates the efforts of the Office to accommodate different views and opinions during the Working Party discussion and presenting the GB with the draft key messages.
3. Chair, profound changes unseen in a century are unfolding today at an accelerated pace, and the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. With intertwined traditional and non-traditional security issues, and sluggish world economic recovery, humanity is facing unprecedented challenges. No country can stay unaffected. Greater solidarity and cooperation of the international community is not a choice, but a must to advance social progress and social justice. ASPAG welcomes the Pact of the future adopted by the Future Summit this September and the UNGA resolution to convene the Second World Summit for Social Development in 2025. We thank Qatar for hosting this high-level international event.
4. We fully support the continued relevance of the three interrelated themes of the Copenhagen Summit, namely poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work for all, and social inclusion in which ILO has a big role to play. Meanwhile, we believe the Qatar Summit would be a good opportunity to renew the social contract with a human-centered approach at the core to inform the follow-up actions for realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, embedded in the three themes.
5. Sustainable poverty eradication has always been a priority of ASPAG. As indicated in the key messages, we strongly support putting decent jobs, sustainable enterprises and economic development at the heart of poverty reduction strategies. Furthermore, we fully agree that the establishment and promotion of universal, adequate, comprehensive and sustainable social protection systems are powerful tools to prevent and reduce poverty. It is worth highlighting a milestone that, as shown in the data in the World Social Protection Report 2024–26, 53.6% of the population in Asia Pacific have been covered by at least one social protection benefit higher than the average at the global level for the first time.
6. Full and productive employment and decent work for all, as an essential mandate of ILO, should be articulated in the key messages to the Qatar Summit. In this respect, we stress that pro-employment strategy combined with enhanced coordination between employment policy and other macroeconomic policies is a key to achieve full, productive and high-quality employment. Quality education, skills development and lifelong learning as well as accessible public employment services are significant facilitators to create decent jobs for youth. In addition, a strong call for international cooperation is critical to respond to the opportunity and challenge brought by the future of work including but not limited to technical innovation, demographic shifts and climate changes.
7. We strongly support social inclusion as outlined in the priorities. Ensuring that no one is left behind is essential for achieving social development and social justice. Persistent inequalities, both within and between countries, remain a significant barrier to sustainable development, particularly in developing and least developed countries.
8. As indicated in the UN Pact for the Future, ASPAG acknowledges the importance of just, democratic, equitable and representative of today’s world to ensure that all Member States, especially developing countries, can meaningfully participate in global decision-making in multilateral institutions and better integrating the voice of developing countries in global decision-making. It is crucial to ensure the needs and interests of developing nations be fully considered. The unique challenges faced by small island developing states, in particular, must be acknowledged and addressed to ensure progress.
9. Chair! I would like to take this chance to reassure ASPAG’s support to the work of the working party and ask for a GB endorsement of the key messages. We are ready to constructively engage in future discussions on this agenda item.
Thank you, Chair!