The collaboration between ILO and FAO on emergency response and early recovery has been particularly significant for the promotion of early recovery activities that protect and enhance the livelihoods of affected populations. Both agencies have in fact embraced the principle that saving livelihoods saves lives; in other words they are committed to livelihoods oriented early action to i) stop a situation deteriorating and before people resort to harmful coping strategies such as selling off assets, forced migration and sex working, where increased vulnerability and irreversible destitution occur; ii) provide urgent support to restore self-reliance thereby reducing the need for prolonged and expensive relief and iii) promote sustainable recovery in ways that reduce people’s vulnerability (i.e. do not recreate the precariousness that existed before the crisis and contributed to the severity of its impact).

Collaboration in this area between FAO and ILO started in August 2005 in the framework of the meetings of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s (IASC) Working Group on Early Recovery (WGER). As a part of the UN response to the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, ILO and FAO teams started to work together to address issues of common interest, such as damage and needs assessment, advocacy, capacity building, development or adaptation of operational tools and methodologies, to develop a joint approach to donor sensitization and resource mobilization. In line with this and in order to ensure the commitment of the two agencies' respective senior management, a draft Policy Note and a Joint Letter of Intent will be signed by respective Heads of Agencies.

Livelihood Assessment Toolkit

As a result of its active participation in the Working Group on Early Recovery (WGER), FAO and ILO have developed the Livelihood Assessment Toolkit as a key inter-UN agencies early recovery assessment tool. The Toolkit will be used by a number of agencies in the aftermath of rapid onset natural disasters. It is expected that the use of the Toolkit will enhance UN response to rapid onset disasters, by using a livelihood perspective and strengthening the link from relief to rehabilitation and development.

The Toolkit is articulated around four units: each unit can be used separately for different objectives as well as together as a system: Unit 1 - Overview and Key concepts - can be used for awareness building / advocacy and also for the theoretical part of a training programme; Unit 2 - Livelihood Baseline and Contingency Plan-  as part of overall disaster preparedness; Unit 3 - Initial Livelihood Impact Appraisal - specifically tailored to the flash appeal and Unit 4 - the Livelihood Assessment - aimed at more in-depth understanding and creation of a "road map" for livelihood recovery. An additional Unit focusing on Livelihood Response Planning - with more detailed guidance on how to turn assessments into roadmaps, programmes and strategies, will be developed in the future. 

Inter-agency working group on post-disaster needs assessment

Closely linked with the development of the guidelines, ILO and FAO also participate in an inter-agency technical working group on post-disaster needs assessment. This working group will focus on areas essential for improving collaboration, formulating concepts and good practices while identifying essential tools for organizing and disseminating critical information of essential thematic areas, including livelihoods, during the capacity building, assessments and monitoring stages.

On the occasion of the International Recovery Platform (IRP) retreat, held in Turin on 20-22 November 2006, areas of FAO collaboration with Delnet, a Local Development Support Programme run by ILO's International Training Center, were explored. One area that was identified is the training course on Disaster Risk Reduction within a framework of Sustainable Local Development that the Delnet Programme launched on a pilot basis in Central America in conjunction with the Programme on Crisis Response and reconstruction of the ILO (ILO/CRISIS), within the framework of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR). FAO is currently reviewing ILO's training material on the importance of integrating disaster risk prevention in local planning.

UN system wide policy paper on the peacebuilding role of decent work

Since 2006 the ILO and UNDP/Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) co-lead an inter-agency task force - including FAO together with UNHCR, UNIFEM and the World Bank amongst its many members – with a view to drafting a UN system-wide policy paper on post-conflict employment creation, income generation and reintegration in post-conflict settings and a corresponding operational guidance. It will contribute to a common understanding on how best to work together to stimulate employment in these complex and often difficult situations. It underscores a number of key principles that should be followed in all instances and highlights a number of the most common and important challenges and opportunities that can be faced. The policy strategy will lead to more integrated, coordinated and effective operation by UN programmes, funds and specialized agencies as a means of stimulating employment, raising incomes and fostering the reintegration of various groups, including youth, in post-conflict contexts.

The policy strategy, which is also a contribution to the work of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), is closely linked to the goals and targets contained in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document and the 2006 ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration on Employment Generation and Decent Work for all, which recognizes decent work as a pillar of peacebuilding activities in the UN system and beyond.

The paper provides a very good opportunity to give clear expression to the role and importance of decent work and employment generation in consolidating peace and in so doing, will make an important contribution to our shared understanding of the decent work concept in post-conflict settings.

Contacts

FAO Focal Point: TCER-Chief, TCER (TCER-Chief@fao.org)

ILO Focal Point: Donato Kiniger-Passigli, CRISIS (kiniger@ilo.org)