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PoliticsSpain nominates Deputy PM Yolanda Díaz to lead UN labour body ILO
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has officially nominated Yolanda Díaz, the second deputy prime minister and labour minister, to become the next director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Díaz, who leads the left-wing Sumar coalition, would be the first woman and first Spaniard to head the Geneva-based UN agency. The endorsement comes despite strained relations between Sánchez and Díaz, who has clashed with him over social reforms and criticized his administration amid corruption scandals. Díaz has announced she will not seek re-election as Sumar leader in 2027, suggesting her political future may now lie internationally. She has recently increased her diplomatic travel, including trips to Switzerland, the US, China, and the ILO conference in Geneva. Díaz has highlighted the ILO's financial crisis following the US withdrawal of support for multilateral organizations, stressing the importance of defending the ILO's mandate that 'labour is not a commodity.'
Source report
MADRID – Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez formally proposed Yolanda Díaz, Spain's second deputy prime minister and labour minister, as a candidate to head the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Thursday.
Díaz is seeking to succeed the organisation's current director-general, Gilbert F. Houngbo of Togo, at the helm of the Geneva-based UN agency.
"For the first time, a woman and our country would be at the helm of this fundamental institution for the defence of decent work and social justice," Sánchez commented on social media.
He stressed Díaz's commitment to "labour rights, social dialogue and Spain's prosperity… makes her an excellent candidate."
Strained Relations
The endorsement comes despite strained relations between Sánchez and Díaz, who leads the left-wing Sumar coalition.
Díaz has repeatedly clashed with Sánchez over social reforms and has publicly criticised his administration's lack of political accountability amid a series of corruption scandals involving his close allies.
Political Future
In February, Díaz announced that she will not stand again as leader of the Sumar group in the 2027 elections, leaving uncertainty over her political future in Spain, which now appears to be focused on international affairs.
"It is both a great honour and an immense responsibility to present this candidacy on behalf of Spain, Europe, the Global South and the entire international community," the Sumar minister said.
International Engagement
Díaz has stepped up her international schedule in recent months with trips to Switzerland, Finland, the US, China, and the most recent ILO conference in Geneva.
At the organisation's last session in June, Díaz pointed out that the UN body is facing a major financial crisis due to the US withdrawing its international support for multilateral organisations.
"The ILO is in crisis, and this is significant because its very mandate is at stake. If labour is not a commodity, neither can the organisation that represents labour be one," she said.
"We must recognise, day by day, the importance that the ILO has had and continues to have in building a global labour civilisation, from which we are still a long way off."
Source
EuractivWestern
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Spain nominates Deputy PM Yolanda Díaz to lead UN labour body ILO