This year marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations’ International Year of the Family (IYF). In the decades since it was proclaimed, demographic shifts, technological transformations, migration, urbanization and climate change have upended societies around the world.
Responding effectively to these changes requires revisiting prevailing approaches to social protection and shifting the policy focus to strengthening intergenerational solidarity.
The International Labour Organization's Convention No. 102, the first — and, so far, only — international treaty to address social security, sets minimum standards for the provision of family (or child) benefits in the form of periodic cash transfers, in-kind assistance (food, clothing, housing), or a combination of the two.