“Social justice is not an ethereal ideal, but a concrete necessity” President Luis Abinader

GENEVA (ILO News) – The Global Coalition for Social Justice convened its second annual forum on 12 June, alongside the 113th International Labour Conference, reaffirming its commitment to driving real change and improving lives through concrete action.

Opening the forum, Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic, underscored the urgent need for social justice in today’s world of work. “We are brought together by the conviction that social justice is not an ethereal ideal, but a concrete necessity – an essential condition for sustainable development,” said President Abinader. “And if there is one area where that justice must take root, it is in the world of work.”

Brazil’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Luiz Marinho, speaking on behalf of his government and in his capacity as co-chair of the Coalition’s Coordinating Group, praised the Coalition’s efforts to move from principle to practice.

“In 2025, we go from shared ambition to concrete development,” Marinho said.

Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), echoed this message, highlighting the Coalition’s swift transformation into a fully operational platform that now brings together over 370 partners across the globe. “This reflects a shared urgency to advance social justice in a rapidly changing world,” he said.

Building on this recognition of progress, Houngbo emphasized that operationalizing the Coalition is about turning collective ambition into measurable outcomes. “We are seeing increasingly tangible results that reflect the cooperative vision that animates the Global Coalition: achieving social justice takes us all,” he noted.

He stressed the urgency of maintaining momentum in a decisive year, marked by the Second Summit on Social Development in November. “We simply cannot allow social justice to become a mere slogan,” he added.

The Forum brought together hundreds of representatives from governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, international and regional organizations, financial institutions and development banks, enterprises, international non-governmental organizations, and academia.

Throughout the day, six high-level panels addressed some of the most pressing challenges facing the global community: the promotion of living wages, the advancement of a just transition through social dialogue, youth empowerment, responsible business conduct, a human rights economy, and the use of AI for social impact.

Since its launch in 2023, the Global Coalition has gained momentum as a platform for collective action positioning social justice not only as a shared aspiration but as a policymaking imperative.

The Forum also featured key interventions from global labour leaders, including Roberto Suárez Santos, Secretary-General of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), and Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Read here for more on the Conference