Thank you Chair. I am speaking on behalf of the Government of Norway.
In the field of technical cooperation and capacity building there is a need to strengthen the dimension of FPRW. This debate will also be useful leading up to the discussion on development cooperation at the conference next year. Priority should be given to Decent Work Country Programmes in the countries making an effort to give effect to all areas of FPRW. Norway supports including the promotion of FPRW as a mandatory component of each Decent Work Country Programme, and we emphasize the need for inclusion of the social partners in the development and implementation of DWCP.
At country level, the Office should work towards enhanced cooperation with other UN agencies, in particular UNDP, and deliver as One UN. Further cooperation with the World Bank should also be developed.
Regarding standards-related activity, Norway believes there is no need to develop new instruments. The necessary normative framework is already in place. Our focus should be to ensure successful and effective implementation, in which technical assistance from the ILO is of great value.
Norway welcomes the research carried out by the Office, and appreciates that new estimates on child labour and forced labour will be published in 2017. We are also pleased to learn that a process has been started in order to produce estimates on discrimination, and hope this will include data on discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Following this research, it could be useful to also develop estimates on freedom of association and collective bargaining.
On allocation of resources, funding should be made available to the Office’s important work on non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Norway has funded some of the ILOs research in this area, and hope that it will be given further priority.
To further enhance funding mobilization to development cooperation, the Office should continue their efforts in diversification of funding sources, including expanding domestic funding for the ILO’s technical assistance, increase contributions from emerging development partners, and expand engagement with the private sector.
Thank you