“For 50 years, we have been working together to ensure that
development is primarily about people,” underscored Mr. Sha Zukang, UN
DESA’s Under-Secretary-General and the Rio+20 Secretary-General, at the
opening of the 50th session of the Commission for Social Development on February 1st.
The session, with its priority theme “Poverty eradication”, was
chaired by H.E Mr. Jorge Valero, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and
attended by participants from the UN system, member states and numerous
NGOs, including Soroptimist International. It also included a review of relevant UN plans and programmes
of action pertaining to the situation of social groups such as: disabled
persons, youth, ageing, and the family.
“One cannot talk about poverty eradication without highlighting
social and economic inequalities and the need for people’s empowerment
and participation,” said H.E. Mr. Miloš Koterec, President of ECOSOC.
This is why the Commission will also discuss the emergent issue on youth
poverty and unemployment. “With almost one in four young workers
unemployed in developed countries, and the majority of young people from
developing countries working in the informal economy, the world is
experiencing a youth unemployment crisis, which further propagates
social unrest and instability,” Mr. Koterec emphasised.
In response to these ongoing challenges, Mr. Sha reiterated, “Our
development models should equally confront the persistent challenges of
poverty, inequality, social exclusion and demographic change.”
UN Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro summed up the
importance of working towards eradicating poverty, “Development can
never be sustainable if it leaves behind millions of people unemployed,
poor, hungry and excluded. Development can never be sustainable if
ecosystems are damaged in the process.”
Concluding its fiftieth
session, the Commission for Social Development recommended seven
draft resolutions for adoption by the Economic and Social Council,
covering topics that ranged from the mainstreaming of disability into
the international development agenda, to the priority theme for the next
session.
The Commission’s approval
of the drafts capped two weeks of negotiations as well as plenary panel
discussions and lively general debates that focused on unemployment,
social protection floor initiatives and ways to shrink the widening gap
between the rich and poor. Ministerial-level officials from around the
world described national efforts as the Commission considered the most
effective and efficient means to lift millions of people out of poverty.
The anti-poverty objectives and outcomes of the fiftieth
session will make a significant contribution towards this year’s events
dedicated to the International Year of Sustainable Energy, culminating
in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, in June 2012.