Co-ordinating  government policies will make crisis response more effective. A wide array of international regulatory co-operation approaches can be used to align government responses, including international evidence gathering and sharing to aid in the design of emergency rules, aligning regulations or using mutual recognition to expedite administrative processes and facilitate the trade of essential products, such as protective equipment, for example. International organisations provide essential platforms to promote such co-operation

La integridad pública es clave para responder de forma contundente a lacrisis delCOVID-19, asegurandoque la accióngubernamentalbeneficiaa quienes lonecesitan. Esta crisis crea oportunidades para diversastrasgresionesa laintegridad y podría intensificar el fraude y la corrupción, particularmente en la contratación pública, en los paquetes de estímulo económico y en las organizaciones públicas. Esto podría socavar significativamente la acción gubernamental. Se necesitan medidas de corto y largo plazo para abordar estos riesgos, centrándose enestrategiasde contratación, los recursos de las funcionesde auditoría interna y las estrategias de integridad de las organizaciones públicas, entre otroselementos. Este documento analizalos principales desafíos a la integridad y recomienda medidas que pueden ayudar a los gobiernos a garantizar una respuesta y recuperación efectivas antela crisisdel COVID-19. Integridad pública para una respuesta y recuperaciónefectivasante el COVID-19

Most Latin American and Caribbean countries have been hit by the Covid-19crisis in the context of low potential growth, high inequalities and rising social discontent. Policy reactions to the crisis have been bold, but further measures will be needed. In the immediate term, the priority must be to prevent contagion and support most vulnerable families, workers and firms. In the phasing out of the containment and lockdown measures, continued income support to stimulate consumption and support inclusiveness, as well as investment efforts to promote activity are fundamental to spur a swift economic recovery. In the medium term, the aftermath of this crisis must be turned into an opportunity to redefine the social pact, putting well-being at the center, based on stronger social protection systems, better healthcare, more robust and inclusive public finances and implementing inclusive development strategies. Co-coordinating a global response to address the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in the region remains vital.

Fragile contexts are beginning to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of these countries are insufficiently prepared to cope with the spread of the disease and its consequences across the multiple dimensions of fragility. The most vulnerable have difficulty in accessing hospitals and rely on poor public services. Confinement measures are hardly applicable and the mobilization of security actors to enforce them creates further risks. The crisis highlights social inequalities and governance issues in many contexts. While the pandemic has created new peace dynamics, most conflicts continue unabated as peace keeping missions and humanitarian response are extremely constrained

Policymakers often have a linear view of the world, where pulling the right levers will get the economy and society back on track after shocks and crises. This paper argues that such an approach ignores how systems interact and how their systemic properties shape this interaction, leading to an over-emphasis on a limited set of characteristics, notably efficiency. The emphasis on efficiency in the operation, management and outcomes of various economic and social systems was not a conscious collective choice, but rather the response of the whole system to the incentives that individual components face. This has brought much of the world to rely upon complex, nested, and interconnected systems to deliver goods and services around the globe. While this approach has many benefits, the Covid-19 crisis shows how it has also reduced the resilience of key systems to shocks, and allowed failures to cascade from one system to others. A systems approach based on resilience is proposed to prepare socioeconomic systems for future shocks

Ongoing lockdowns and major disruptions to health services during the COVID-19 pandemic could result in seven million unintended pregnancies in the coming months, according to data released on Tuesday by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners.

Francia, depositaria de la convención de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE), recibió el 28 de abril el instrumento de adhesión de Colombia, que se convierte así en el 37.o Estado miembro de la organización.

Francia se congratula de poder contar con Colombia como nuevo socio en esta organización. Compartimos los mismos objetivos: promover políticas públicas que fomenten la prosperidad, la igualdad de oportunidades y el bienestar para todos, apoyándonos en la experiencia compartida de sus miembros y de los socios clave. El contexto de la pandemia de COVID-19 y sus consecuencias económicas y sociales harán que esta cooperación internacional sea aún más necesaria. Los valores comunes compartidos con Colombia, especialmente en lo que respecta a la preservación del medioambiente y la promoción del multilateralismo, no podrán sino reforzar la colaboración entre nuestros dos países en el marco de este foro.

Humanitarian situation in Venezuela
Press statement by Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany and Poland

The EU members of the Security Council reiterate their concerns about the sharply deteriorating crisis in Venezuela and its destabilizing effects across the region, including its severe humanitarian consequences.

Sarajevo – A 1,000-bed camp for homeless migrants has begun operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with IOM support. The new facility, in the northern city of Bihac will remain open for the duration of the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

The International Labour Organization warns that without adequate safeguards for returning workers there could be a second wave of the virus.

The consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for the labour market are likely to be severe. Many firms are struggling to stay afloat during the often strict confinement measures, and large numbers of workers have already either been involved in various forms of short-time work schemes or laid off. Public and private employment services (PES) will play a crucial role in preventing the labour market from seizing up during the crisis and in promoting a fast recovery once confinement measures start to be lifted. They will need to provide support on an increasingly virtual (i.e. not face to face) basis to an unparalleled inflow of job seekers. This will include ensuring that benefits are paid out without delay, providing information, and seekers to stay active even if there are fewer vacancies. In the short-term, the economic impact of the pandemic is shifting labour demand across sectors and regions, and it remains to be seen if this will lead to more permanent re-allocation of labour across sectors and regions. Therefore, the PES in each country will not only be facing a surge in the number of jobseekers but also the need to potentially reallocate many of them across occupations, sectors and regions. This requires providing them with good labour market information and support for skills development. In order to fulfil these particularly challenging tasks, PES need to be agile and quickly adapt to the new situation. This policy brief provides guidance on how this can be done

We need to be aware of the long-term consequences on the health of all workers. One can expect a drop out of personnel, not only due to infections with COVID-19, but also due to stress, frustration and isolation.

Big health inequities due to pandemic and economic recession are to be expected. For white coat workers, it will be mainly the mental health toll as a result of the high work load during the crisis. For white collar workers, their mental health will instead suffer from the effects of isolation and quarantine. Finally, for blue collar workers, job insecurity and loss of income could lead to mental health issues.

En un momento en el que el mundo se está movilizando para combatir la propagación del virus COVID-19, muchos países dentro y fuera de Europa han implementado medidas extraordinarias para gestionar sus fronteras, limitando los viajes por vía aérea y los movimientos transfronterizos. ACNUR, la Agencia de la ONU para los Refugiados, ha pedido hoy a los países europeos que, en estos tiempos difíciles, mantengan las buenas prácticas y redoblen sus esfuerzos para fortalecer los sistemas de asilo en Europa.

This note provides evidence on the importance of local action to help address the short-term and long-term consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. It estimates that the share of jobs potentially at risk during confinement ranges from 15% to 35% across regions within 30OECD and 4non-OECD European countries. It explains why the local role is essential for the recovery, and explores the potential game changing nature of this outbreak for local development going forward

El presente análisis se centra en las accionesinmediatas que pueden adoptar los distintos gobiernos con el fin de asegurarse de que las medidas excepcionales implementadas antela crisis causadapor el coronavirus (COVID-19) no echen por tierrasus esfuerzos porencontrar una solución eficaz a los problemas medioambientales másapremiantes, si no por el contrario mejoren la salud ambientaly laresilienciade las sociedades

This policy brief discusses how competition policy can help address the immediate challenges raised by the COVID-19 crisis whilst looking to the post-pandemic future and the contribution of markets to medium and long-term economic recovery. It describes competition principles that governments can follow when designing support measures for the economy, including exit strategies. The note also outlines actions competition authorities can take to address the practical, theoretical and evidentiary challenges of the current crisis

This note examines how governments across the OECD are managing public servants in response to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. It summarises the principles underpinning the most common measures taken across the OECD, and identifies initial opportunities for managing and harnessing change. The content of this note was developed through a Special Session of the Working Party on Public Employment and Management held on15 April

Secretaria Ejecutiva del organismo, Alicia Bárcena, participó en webinar de la Fundación EU-LAC, en donde instó a generar con Europa un “nuevo green deal” para un mundo más democrático, menos desigual y más sostenible.

On the cusp of Vaccination Week in the Americas, countries need to take innovative safety measures to strengthen flu and measles vaccination to avoid an added burden of vaccine-preventable diseases, says PAHO

CAF -Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina- apoya a la región de manera ágil y oportuna mediante una serie de instrumentos financieros y técnicos que complementan las medidas que están aplicando los gobiernos.