Background
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Background
- The Social Protection Floor Initiative
- UN contribution to the Social Protection Floor in Thailand and Asia Pacific Region
I. Context and justfication
The Social Protection Floor (SPF) Initiative
The social protection floor is the basic level of social protection that should be guaranteed to all residents in all countries world wide. The social protection floor is achieved when:
- all residents have access to a nationally/provincially defined set of affordable essential health care services;
- all children enjoy income security through transfers in kind or in cash ensuring access to nutrition, education and care;
- all those in active age groups who cannot (or should not, in case of pregnancy) earn a sufficient income enjoy a minimum income security through social transfers in cash or in kind or employment guaranteed schemes ; and
- all residents in old age and with disabilities have income security at least at the level of the nationally defined poverty line through pensions for old age and disability or transfers in kind.
Although most Asian countries have already fairly developed social protection mechanisms in place, and are not starting from scratch, there is evidence that in many cases the basic entitlement to the social protection floor is not yet met. This situation is shared in most developing and middle- income countries in the world.
Concerned about these facts, the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), adopted in April 2009 the Social Protection Floor Initiative (SPF-I), as one of its nine joint crisis initiatives to cope with the effects of the economic crisis. The SPF concept has become widely recognized and accepted at various international, regional and national conferences over the course of 2009 - 2011 including the G20 and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) summits. A new recommendation “that would provide flexible but meaningful guidance to member States in building Social Protection Floors” is presently being prepared by the ILO and will be adopted at ILO 2012.
Against this background the Social Protection Floor Advisory group led by Mrs Bachelet has prepared a report entitled “Social Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalization” that will serve as a background document for the G20 discussions on the social protection floor and helps to prepare constituents for the discussion on the possible recommendation on social protection floors at the 2012 ILC. The conclusions and recommendations of the “Bachelet report” on the social protection floor and the principles of the upcoming recommendation on social protection floors need to be shared in Asia in order to collect feedback from countries on their experience related to the social protection floor as well as their expectations & needs regarding the future recommendation.
UN Contribution to the SPF Initiative in Thailand and AP-region
Many UN agencies and other development partners are supporting countries in the promotion and development of nationally defined social protection floors, through knowledge sharing, capacity building, Assessment Based National Dialogue exercises, as well as technical support for the implementation or further extension of social protection schemes.
This support can be provided through collective or coordinated approach on the part of UN agencies. This is the case in Thailand where a UN Social Protection Floor Joint Team was created in March 2010. It includes UNRCO, ILO, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, UNESCO, UNDP and UN Women. Among other joint activities the SPF Team has conducted an assessment of social security and social protection situations in Thailand, leading to recommendations and key actions that were included in the UNPAF (United Nations Partnership Framework) action plan on social protection 2012-2016. UN member agencies of the SPF Team are now considering the development of a joint program to be able to deliver, jointly, the joint activities of the UNPAF action plan.
At regional level UN ESCAP recently released (with technical inputs from ILO – notably concerning the SPF framework and social security staircase) a key policy document for the region “The promise of protection: Social protection and development in Asia and the Pacific” that needs to be further promoted in the region.
UNDG-Asia Pacific has developed in close partnership with ILO, UNICEF, UNDP and other UN agencies a Social Protection Issues Brief that aims to provide the United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) and United Nations Development Group (UNDG) in the Asia-Pacific region with a joint UN position on social protection in Asia-Pacific and potential entry points for UNCTs in supporting the development of national strategies for social protection and their implementation.
II. Purpose of the conference
- Share in Thailand the conclusions and recommendations of the Social Protection Floor Advisory group’s report entitled “Social Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalization”.
- Share and disseminate the UNESCAP regional study “The promise of protection: Social protection and development in Asia and the Pacific”.
- Present Thailand’s vision and experience in the field of the extension of social security and the social protection floor.
- Engage in an open discussion on key cross-cutting issues related to social security extension and the implementation of the social protection floor.
III. Participants
- Approximately 120 participants will attend the meeting. They will include:
- 60-70 participants from Thai government (relevant ministries: health, labour, social development, finance, etc.), civil society, workers and employers representatives, the Academia
- 40 participants from UN agencies working in Thailand (particularly UN SPF Team) and at regional level on social protection issues (ILO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNWOMEN, UNESCO, UNAIDS, UNESCAP), the World Bank, IMF
- 10-20 representatives from other development partners and donors
- Permanent representatives to UNESCAP from Asia Pacific countries.
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