The general director of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, will present a historical report on global social justice during the high -level week of the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) in New York. The innovative report, entitled The State of Social Justice: a work in progress, represents the first comprehensive review of how the world is being performed in terms of social justice, inclusion and equity, using a unique set of indicators and new data to evaluate progress and gaps.
The launch of the Houngbo report occurs at a critical moment in which world leaders are converging to evaluate global advances to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030. With many of these lagging objectives, the report will serve as a timely tool to boost action, providing deep information on how social justice can be strengthened as a basis for peace, economic growth and sustainable development.
The ILO chief will be in New York from September 22 to 27, where he will not only present the historical report but will also actively participate in a series of high -level events. It is expected to attend the official opening of the UNGA and play a key role at the SDG moment, an interactive dialogue between global leaders aimed at reviewing progress in the SDGs and identify urgent strategies to close the existing gaps.
In addition, Houngbo will join the discussions in the Global Education Forum and the UN forum of the UN 2025 sector, where the heads of state, CEO, investors and senior UN officials deliberate on ways of mobilizing private capital to finance sustainable and inclusive development. Their presence in these sessions underlines the ILO commitment to build solid associations with public and private actors to accelerate progress towards decent work and social justice worldwide.
The upper members of the ILO delegation will also participate in a series of thematic events in the UNGA. These include round debates and dialogues to empower women entrepreneurs in the Global South, promote decent job opportunities linked to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, examining the implications of artificial intelligence in economic growth and jobs, and mobilizing collective action to address the challenges facing young people around the world.
The General Assembly of this year, with the theme “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights”, is particularly significant, since it marks eight decades of the UN existence at a time when the multilateral system faces unprecedented pressures. Global conflicts, economic inequality, climate change and other crises have tried international cooperation, which makes discussions about social justice even more urgent.
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With the world currently outside the track to meet the SDGs, the presentation of the ILO State of Social Justice is expected to generate a renewed debate and the commitment between world leaders. The report aims to shed light on systemic barriers to justice and equality, while providing a road map to build more equitable and resilient societies.
As custodian of the decent labor agenda, ILO sees social justice as the cornerstone of peace and sustainable development. The participation of Houngbo in the UNGA indicates a renewed global effort to place the equity, inclusion and equity in the center of the international policies agenda, hoping that governments, companies and civil society take collective measures to transform the lives of millions of people around the world.
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