KRG Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs launches Inclusive Employment Platform
Chaired by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the platform is the “first initiative of its kind” to address the inclusion of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), persons with disabilities, and women in the private sector.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs launched the first session of the Inclusive Employment Platform (IEP) in Erbil on Tuesday, aiming to integrate marginalized groups into the labor market, according to a government official.
Chaired by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the platform is the “first initiative of its kind” to address the inclusion of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), persons with disabilities, and women in the private sector, according to Aram Anwer Omer, Director of the Fund to Support Small Projects and the Bloom Project, who spoke to Kurdistan24.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Germany's main development agency, supports the IEP and “serves as its secretariat,” Omer noted.
The biannual platform brought together representatives from various government ministries, international organizations operating in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and civil society organizations to discuss the “challenges and opportunities” associated with integrating marginalized groups, he added.
Additionally, the platform seeks to promote “inclusive policies” for integrating members of these groups into the private sector, the official stated.
The Kurdistan Region has hosted a significant number of refugees and IDPs since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and the onset of the fight against ISIS in 2014.
As of March 2024, the region hosted 900,467 displaced individuals, according to the KRG Media and Information Department, with many living in host communities.