The manual developed by CRISIS and ACTRAV puts the emphasis on the importance of the role of trade unions in prevention and early warning and proposes measures and initiatives to be implemented by trade unions in cooperation with governments, employers and other players in civil society with a view to achieving peace, building upon it and undertaking reconstruction.

Since its foundation, the ILO has contributed to state building through social reform, by promoting democratic participation, social dialogue and fundamental rights. In more recent years, it has also highlighted the role of socio-economic programmes and policies in peace building and the recovery of countries involved in conflicts, violent social unrest, natural disasters and other types of crises, such as abrupt financial and economic downturns. Post-conflict, fragile and disaster-affected countries are characterized by instability, insecurity, poverty and inequality. The lack of employment opportunities and livelihoods, unemployment and underemployment, inequalities and lack of participation can in turn be catalysts for conflict, crises and fragility-aggravated poverty, unemployment and informality, creating a vicious circle leading to even greater fragility. Also, state fragility and the related instability may create “spill-over effects” and thus contribute to the destabilization of neighbouring states and regions. Nevertheless, ILO experience to date demonstrates that the promotion of employment and decent work in situations of fragility plays a key role in pulling individuals and societies out of crisis, and setting them on a sustainable development path.

Provides technical and operational information to promote effective response in four types of crisis situations: natural disasters, financial and economic downturns, armed conflicts and social and political transitions. Outlines the characteristics, causes and societal impact of each type of crisis and describes the ILO response in relation to pre-crisis preparedness and mitigation and response at the time of crisis and in the short and long-term. Focuses on the employment and decent work dimensions of crisis response.

This year’s A Region on the Move report aims to provide an overview of the main population movement trends in the East and Horn of Africa region (EHoA) in 2019. Home to an estimated population of 322 million, of which 42 per cent are under the age of 15, the region hosted 6.5 million international migrants at mid-year 2019. With more than six million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and more than three million refugees and asylum-seekers recorded by the end of the year, countries in the region continue to experience significant levels of internal and crossborder mobility, including intra- and extra-regional movements. Migration in the region is still triggered by a combination of persistent insecurity and conflict, harsh climatic conditions, public heath emergencies alongside socio-economic drivers and more traditional seasonal and livelihood factors. In 2019, the region observed a growing trend in intercommunal clashes, particularly in Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan, in addition to abnormal climatic events such as a severe drought, devastating floods and a critical desert locust invasion, all of which affected the EHoA in its entirety. Meanwhile, multiple countries reinforced their preparedness efforts to counter the risk of cross-border transmissions of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. Similar to previous years, most migration trends captured through flow monitoring were motivated by economic reasons in 2019. The region continues to be characterized by large movements towards the Arab Peninsula – along the Eastern Route – with 138,213 migrant crossings to Yemen from the Horn of Africa, notwithstanding the 120,825 returns of Ethiopian nationals led by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2019 alone. Comparatively, the number of arrivals of EHoA migrants registered across European arrival points in Greece, Italy and Spain fell from 4,624 in 2018 to 3,452 in 2019.

In 2019, the Regional Data Hub (RDH) for the East and Horn of Africa (EHoA) launched a multistage research project aimed at better understanding the experiences, decision-making, perceptions and expectations of young Ethiopians along the Eastern Route regarding their migration projects. The project aims to investigate the nexus between decision-making, migrant expectations and realities on the ground by interviewing migrants leaving the Horn towards the Arab Peninsula. Although a reasonable body of work examining migrants’ decision-making processes exists, most of this research was conducted outside of the EHoA region. A more nuanced understanding of the migrants’ decision to migrate will help inform strategy and programmatic planning for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other humanitarian and development actors in the region.

Post Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNAs) are jointly undertaken by the UNDG, the World Bank and the European Commission at the request of national governments in crisis affected countries. In the aftermath of a disaster, a PDNA is conducted to value the physical damages and change in economic flows and to identify recovery and reconstruction needs. These findings are integrated into a single assessment report. As a member of the UNDG, the ILO has developed the PDNA Vol B guidelines for the ‘Employment, Livelihoods and Social Protection’ (ELSP) Sector to outline how to assess and estimate the effects and impact of disasters on ELSP and to provide recommendations for reactivating economic activities and employment for livelihoods recovery. Although ELSP are treated as a single topic in this chapter, the ELSP methodology is “cross-cutting” and includes data and assessment results from the infrastructure, social and productive sectors of the PDNA. The ELSP guidelines are globally applied, most recently in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia after the 2014 Balkan floods, in Malawi after the 2015 Southern Africa Floods, in Vanuatu after the 2015 Tropical Cyclone Pam and in Nepal after the 2015 Himalayan Earthquakes.

Heavy seasonal rainfall starting in December 2014 caused flooding across Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. In Malawi, the floods caused extensive damage to crops, livestock and infrastructure. The southern districts of Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe and Zomba were the most affected. In response, the President of the Republic of Malawi declared a State of Disaster in 15 out of 28 affected districts on 13 January 2015. As of 11 March more than 106 have been reported dead, 172 are still missing and 230,000 people remain displaced. Following a request from the Malawian government, the PDNA tripartite partners, (UN, EU and WB) deployed a team of national and international experts to support government officials in assessing the floods’ impact and to identify actions and resources needed for recovery.Based upon the ILO’s Employment and Livelihoods assessment, it is estimated that out of 359,000 household enterprises, 15,000 have been destroyed and 19,000 damaged, resulting in 4 million work days. An additional income loss of 8 million USD is expected as a result of permanently or temporarily disrupted business operations.

Although African countries face challenges in effectively responding to all forms of modern slavery, many countries in the region are taking steps to strengthen their responses. Improvements in the legislative framework have occurred across the region with some notable examples. Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, and Tunisia enacted comprehensive trafficking legislation in 2016- a new development since the 2016 Global Slavery Index. As a result, in 2017, nearly 70 percent of African countries had criminalised human trafficking, an increase from the nearly 60 percent reported in the previous Global Slavery Index in 2016.

While no government has a fully comprehensive response to modern slavery, all countries in the Americas region have either mantained or improved their response. Most notably, the United States has retained its position as demonstrating the strongest response to modern slavery in the region, and the strongest response globally to prevent governments and business from sourcing goods and services linked to modern slavery. The United States is joined by Argentina and Chile, both of wich have made improvements that result in the highest government response ratings in the Americas region of "BBB". Other countries that have improved their response to modern slavery this year include Peru, Uruguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama and Bolivia.

The 2018 Global Slavery Index measures the extent of modern slavery country by country, and the steps governments are taking to respond to this issue, to objectively measure progress toward ending modern slavery. The Index draws together findings from across estimates of prevalence, measurement of vulnerability, and assessment of government responses, alongside an analysis of trade flows and data on specific products. When considered as a set, the data provide a complex and insightful picture of the ways modern slavery is impacting countries around the world. This enables us to refine our thinking on how to better respond to modern slavery, and also how to predict and prevent modern slavery in future.