Background
In times of multiple crisis and conflicts, there is a pressing need for increased coordination and collaboration between humanitarian support, development cooperation and peacebuilding. The decent work agenda is an essential element of this Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus were employment, decent working conditions, social dialogue, social protection and rights at work can contribute to inclusive development and lasting peace through increased resilience and by addressing the underlying factors of fragility that made the society and economy particularly vulnerable to external shocks in the first place. A two-fold approach to a crisis – implemented in collaboration with governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and international and national partners, and with the direct involvement of local populations and stakeholders – can stimulate and assist long-term socio-economic development in an inclusive and rights-based manner, as well as providing an immediate conflict-sensitive response centred on employment and livelihoods, including in rural areas and for forcibly displaced populations, and contributing to peace.

This approach reflects a historic commitment, as the ILO was founded after the First World War to promote stability and social justice through decent work for all – a commitment which was reaffirmed in the ILO’s Recommendation 205 on employment and decent work for peace and resilience. For Sweden, the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus is a priority and conflict-sensitivity and the HDP Nexus have been specified as one of the priority areas in its global collaboration with the ILO.

The session at the Stockholm Forum 2023
The session on “Operationalising the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus through Decent Work” will take place at the Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development, an annual dialogue-driven event that provides a neutral platform for interdisciplinary exchange among members of international communities in the development, humanitarian, peacebuilding and security spheres. The Stockholm Forum 2023 convenes around the theme “Seeking Solutions for Turbulent Times” and aims to tackle a complex reality permeated by interconnected crises.

The session will look at different dimensions of crisis response and will hold a particular focus on vulnerable groups, including forcibly displaced populations and workers in the informal economy and rural areas. Examples of lessons learned and good practices will be given from several countries.

Roundtable participants
Moderator: Dr. Johan Schaar, Associate Senior Fellow, SIPRI

Discussants
• Nieves Thomet, Peace and Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus specialist, ILO
• Love Theodossiadis, Acting Chief Economist, Sida
• Barbara Rijks, Chief of Mission Denmark/Sub-Regional Coordinator for the Nordic Countries, IOM
• Julius Jackson, Lead, Conflict and Peace Unit, FAO


The focus for this year’s Stockholm Forum is on personal meetings and genuine exchange under Chatham House rule. It will be held in person, by invitation only, and apart from the opening and closing sessions, the sessions will not be live streamed or recorded.