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- The ILO director-general will lead the Organization’s participation at the Conference, highlighting the importance of decent jobs and universal social protection for sustainable development.
GENEVA, Switzerland, (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization, (ILO) will bring its call for greater investment in social justice to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), taking place in Sevilla, Spain, from 30 June to 3 July.
The conference offers a unique opportunity to reform global financing systems and address the funding gaps that hinder progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This year’s conference will also lay the groundwork for the Second World Summit for Social Development, scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar, from 4 to6 November 2025.
The ILO delegation, led by director-general, Gilbert F. Houngbo, will emphasize the need for integrated financing strategies that enable countries to invest in people by strengthening social protection systems and floors and enhancing the creation of decent work, thereby contributing to sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Such efforts are pivotal to achieve SDG 8 and for the fulfilment of SDG target 1.3, which calls on countries to implement nationally appropriate social protection systems for all, for reducing and preventing poverty.
Houngbo, will play a central role in the Conference, moderating the first high-level roundtable on 30 June from 15:00 to 18:00 CET that brings together heads of state and government, ministers of finance and foreign affairs, and heads of multilateral banks to discuss how domestic resource mobilization can drive investment in people by increasing social protection coverage and improving job creation through sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The high-level discussion at 15:00 CEST can be viewed on ILO Live.
Later that evening, the director-general will participate in the official launch of the Sevilla Platform for Action on Financing Social Protection. This new initiative aims to support countries in developing bold, context-specific financing strategies to close social protection gaps. The launch, which will take place from 18:30 to 19:00 CEST, will feature high-level interventions from the ILO, the Government of Spain, and key representatives from South Africa, India, and Brazil, followed by a press conference.
On Tuesday, 1 July, the director-general will also moderate a high-level joint special event From Seville to Doha: Financing Inclusive and Sustainable Social Development co-hosted by the ILO with the governments of Spain and Qatar and UNDESA. The event will explore how the commitments made at Sevilla can translate into concrete financing strategies for social development, with a particular focus on full and productive employment and decent work. It will also serve to galvanize political momentum toward the 2025 World Summit for Social Development in Doha by reinforcing the need to elevate the social agenda that puts people at the centre of financing frameworks.
The ILO will also participate in the following side events:
- Monday 30 June | 16:30–18:00 | From pledge to practice: Mobilizing resources to finance social protection coverage extension in a challenging context
Organized with the government of Mexico and USP2030, this event will explore concrete strategies to mobilize resources for expanding social protection coverage in line with paragraph 27i of the FfD4 outcome document. - Wednesday 2 July | 16:30–18:00 | Financing Frameworks for Just Transition
Co-organized with Brazil’s ministry of finance and other partners, this event will present approaches to align financial systems with socially inclusive climate action. - Thursday 3 July | 10:30–12:00 | Financing Decent Work
Organized with UNEP-FI, this session will launch draft guidance on how financial institutions can support decent work. - Thursday 3 July | 12:30–14:00 | Leveraging Social Investments: Financing for Jobs & Social Protection
Co-hosted by the governments of France, Uzbekistan and Senegal, together with the ILO, the UN Joint SDG Fund and partner UN agencies of the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, this event will focus on how social investments in jobs and protection systems can drive inclusive growth and resilience.
