COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES GENERAL DISCUSSION OF POVERTY ERADICATION STRATEGIES AND OF REVIEW OF ITS FUNCTIONING
Press Release
SOC/4398
COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES GENERAL DISCUSSION OF POVERTY ERADICATION STRATEGIES AND OF REVIEW OF ITS FUNCTIONING
19960524 The Commission for Social Development this afternoon concluded its general discussion on strategies and actions for the eradication of poverty, and on the review of its functioning.Those are the two main themes of the Commission's special session, which is focusing on ways to implement the poverty eradication goals of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development.
The first speaker this afternoon, Manuel E. Arellano (Bolivia), said that after consolidating political stability, his country had taken steps to control inflation. It was also in the process of putting in place adequate distribution mechanisms. At the same time, investment in the social sector had been increased and more emphasis was being placed on the provision of social services. Even if urban poverty was declining, that trend could only be seen as fragile, as the migration from rural to urban areas continued, he said.
Purificacion V. Quisumbing, reading out a statement on behalf of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that eradication of poverty was a fundamental human right. It was the duty of the State to protect the human rights of the poor by developing policies and implementing programmes for poverty eradication. Educational opportunities for the poor should be expanded in order to make the right to education a reality. Enhancement of women's rights as human rights would have a direct impact on their position, she emphasized.
Promotion of the human rights of the poor could be carried out through diverse programmes, including advocacy and the monitoring of economic, social and cultural rights, she said. Programmes for literacy, eradication of drug addiction and alcoholism could also be initiated. She stressed the potential of existing human rights mechanisms of the United Nations in harmonizing system-wide initiatives to eradicate poverty. Policies that should be developed on the basis of the Social Summit consensus had been the subject of the reporting obligations of State parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for many years. States parties to that Covenant had voluntarily committed themselves to take steps to progressively
Social Development Commission - 2 - Press Release SOC/4398 8th Meeting (PM) 24 May 1996
achieve the full realization of the Covenant's rights. They encompassed the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing and housing.
Elena Horyachaya (Ukraine) said a complex range of programmes and strategies, both at the national and international levels, including creation of socially integrated communities, establishment of political and economic conditions, were required to eradicate poverty. The Social Summit proposals were a source of ideas, guidelines and practical recommendations which could be used as components in national strategies, with account being taken of national conditions and traditions. Special attention should be paid to the development of international cooperation and assistance.
The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 28 May, to continue its deliberations.
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