Implementing International Social Protection Initiatives in Africa – The Role of Global and Regional Soft Law

The issue of social protection has undergone something of a renaissance in the development policy debate in recent years and has lately become a particular focus of interest for several international organizations, primarily for the International Labour Organization (ILO) with its Social Protection Floor Initiative. But promoting social protection systems as a tool for long-term poverty eradication is now also policy priority for the African Union. This article presents several soft law documents which have been adopted both at the global and the regional level which are relevant in this context.