The Director-General of the ILO, Gilbert F. Houngbo, proposed the Global Coalition for Social Justice as a key initiative to intensify collective efforts to address social justice deficits.

The initiative received strong support at the 111th session of the International Labour Conference in June 2023 and the Coalition was established by the ILO Governing Body in November 2023. Since then, 100 partners have formally signed up in support. The ISSA has officially joined in January upon invitation by the ILO Director-General.

“We need to advance social justice, now, for everyone, everywhere. The Global Coalition provides us with a unique and timely opportunity to achieve impact together”, says ISSA Secretary General Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano.

Since the creation of the Association in 1927, the ISSA has worked side by side with the ILO and other international partners to support the expansion of social security systems around the world. The Global Coalition is a natural continuum of this cooperation, since social security is one of the fundamental pillars to delivering on the promise of social justice.

Populations around the world are experiencing various forms of crises, rising inequalities and persistent social protection coverage gaps. It is therefore vital to put social justice at the centre of international cooperation and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

With its membership of 330 social security institutions and government departments from 163 countries around the world, the ISSA will play an active role in the Global Coalition through institutional commitment, knowledge sharing and promoting social justice.