Ouagadougou: Burkina Faso presented its ‘priority social contract’, the basis on which the country will now ratify international conventions and join international organizations, Monday at the podium of the International Labor Organization ( ILO) in Geneva.
‘The Burkinabè People have designed their priority social contract (…) it is now and only in this sense of conquest of our sovereignty that the ratifications of Conventions, their implementation and our presence in Organizations will be subject to the sovereign decision of the People and not to please or please anyone,’ declared the Minister of State, Minister in charge of Labor, Bassolma Bazié, head of the Burkina Faso delegation to the 112th ILO conference.
‘Having further understood and remembered that the survival, stability, development and true social progress of a country will not result from tonnages of ratified Conventions, even less from an artificial presence in a multitude of organizations, the People Burkinabè is resolutely committed and det
ermined in a struggle by making sacrifices commensurate with the historic challenge which is the conquest of its full and complete sovereignty. Because it is only on this condition that we will live free and with dignity,’ the minister said in his speech.
Burkina Faso’s priority social contract, contained in the Action Plan for Stabilization and Development (PASD), puts at the forefront the security of the entire national territory, the urgent and efficient response to the humanitarian crisis, the promotion of good governance and the fight against corruption.
Political, administrative and institutional reforms with a view to strengthening democratic culture and consolidating the rule of law as well as national reconciliation and social cohesion and the organization of free, transparent and inclusive elections are also part of this, recalled the Burkinabè Minister of Civil Service, Labor and Social Protection.
According to him, this social contract of Burkina Faso is consistent with the vision of the ILO as
set out in the report of the Director General of the International Labor Office, entitled ‘Towards a new social contract’
‘However, this should be understood and experienced in reality by world leaders in general, and especially, African ones,’ launched Minister Bazié
The head of the Burkinabè delegation also denounced the ‘discounted representation of African people in international bodies’, a lack of consideration which, according to him, violates even the simple principles and rules of decency.
‘If the ILO wants to survive as a specialized body of the UN, its tripartite constituents must courageously assume responsibility,’ warned the Burkinabe minister.
Burkina Faso, but also Mali and Niger, have been facing terrorist attacks for a decade that appeared after the operations to destroy Libya orchestrated by members of NATO with the agreement of the UN.
Hence a word of recognition from the minister to ‘the brotherly peoples of Mali and Niger with whom we form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)’, and to
all Partner States in the world ‘who understand and show solidarity with our people in their fight for their full and complete sovereignty.’
The three AES countries are waging their fight against terrorism without any real support from the UN, which for its part regularly expresses concerns about human rights in combat zones.
Source: Burkina Information Agency