UN Rights council approves Egyptian resolution on right to work

GENEVA - 23 March 2018: The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday unanimously approved a key resolution submitted by Egypt, Greece, Romania, Indonesia and Mexico on the right to work.

The decision comes at a time when the world faces high rates of unemployment, especially among the young people in the developing states, Egypt's Envoy to the United Nations in Geneva Alaa Youssef said.

The resolution outlines the different aspects of the right to work including the impact of the international environment, the private sector's role and the importance of vocational and educational training.

Also, it highlights the importance of protecting the labor task force from discrimination, arbitrary dismissal, he added.

The decision sheds light on the minimum limits of social protection as defined and elaborated under national laws, which are considered the basic guarantees of the social security necessary for providing an adequate standard of living, he noted.

It focuses on the root causes that contribute to lowering the participation of women in commercial activities and the enhancement of their access to the means of production, including the possibility to obtain credit and financial assistance, he said.

The decision calls for stepping up the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat sexual harassment in the workplace as one of the factors that have a negative impact on the right of women to work, he underlined.