U.N. launches policy to increase employment in post-conflict

The United Nations on Wednesday launched a new policy in order to increase stable employment in post-conflict regions.

"We have found that employment and income generation are vital to short-term stability, reintegration, socioeconomic growth and sustainable peace," said Miguel Bermeo, Senior Deputy Director of UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.

The new policy -- the United Nations Policy for Post-Conflict Employment Creation, Income Generation and Reintegration -- represents the culmination of a three-year process led by the International Labor Organization and the United Nations Development Program. Nineteen U.N. agencies, funds and offices took part in the project.

The policy's purpose is to maximize the impact, coherence and efficiency of employment and reintegration support that U.N. agencies provide in post-conflict countries.

The U.N. Secretary-General has established a U.N. task force to oversee the policy's implementation. The ILO and UNDP are creating a U.N. Joint Support Team to initiate the policy in five countries emerging from conflict: Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste.

Source: Xinhua