The National Confederation of Private Business Institutions (Confiep), the main business organization in Peru, has expressed its support for the candidacy of former chancellor Javier González-Olaechea to occupy the General Directorate of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for the period 2027-2032. The Peruvian diplomat will compete for the position with the second vice president and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, and with the current head of the organization, Gilbert Houngbo.
The Peruvian employers' organization has urged the various social actors in the country to join forces around this candidacy, emphasizing that González-Olaechea has already represented Peru as chancellor in various multilateral spaces and strengthened the institutional relationship with the ILO during his career.
Throughout his career, González-Olaechea has served as a senior official of the ILO, in addition to having been an advisor to Ambassador Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, former Secretary-General of the UN. He has also held responsibilities in the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion (MTPE), the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem).
The nomination was made official at the end of August, following the arrival of the new president Keiko Fujimori to the Government. The election of the next director-general of the ILO will take place on November 16 through a secret ballot, and the mandate of the chosen candidate will begin on October 1, 2027.
If elected, González-Olaechea would become the first Peruvian to head this UN agency specialized in the world of work, whose decisions influence the labour policies of the 187 member states.
His program to lead the institution, titled "A Dignified Life in the Disruptive Era," proposes to adapt the ILO to a scenario marked by artificial intelligence (AI), automation, digital platforms, and environmental transition, maintaining social justice as the core focus.
Among his priorities is the strengthening of labour standards and rights, as well as updating social dialogue so that governments, businesses, and workers can anticipate changes in the labour market and agree on solutions before they lead to conflicts. Within this framework, he also advocates for a stronger push for the implementation of ILO Convention 169.
González-Olaechea bets, moreover, on a ILO more focused on results, with greater capacity for prospective analysis and research, better vertical coordination and management linked to budgets, responsibilities, schedules, and performance indicators.
As a preliminary step to the voting, the candidates will present their programs on September 23 in Geneva (Switzerland) before the plenary of the current ILO governing body and the delegates of the 187 countries that make up the organization.
Subsequently, the governing body of the ILO will hold private meetings with each candidate on November 9 and, seven days later, will carry out a secret vote. To be appointed, the candidates must obtain the support of more than half of the members of the governing body with voting rights.