COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT BEGINS CONSIDERATION OF 2002-2006 WORK PROGRAMME

Commission for Social Development

Thirty-ninth Session

7^th Meeting (AM)

COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT BEGINS CONSIDERATION

OF 2002-2006 WORK PROGRAMME

The Commission for Social Development this morning began consideration of its multi-year programme of work for 2002 to 2006.

The proposed programme of work was submitted by the Commission’s previous Bureau for consideration and adoption.

John Langmore, Director, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the proposed programme of work for the next five years had been prepared through discussions in the Bureau of the previous Commission.  The themes suggested in the programme were among the principal themes discussed during last year’s Geneva special session and before that at the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995).

During the ensuing general discussion, Sweden’s representative (on behalf of the European Union), underscored the importance of creating informal and more flexible working methods.  Concrete discussions should be held on selected themes related to United Nations conferences and international development targets.  Along those lines, the Commission should focus its work on technical discussions and best practices for the further implementation of the Copenhagen agenda, including the aspect of better integration of the experiences of researchers in the Commission’s work.

Iran’s representative, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the amendments to the multi-year progamme of work of the Commission for 2002 to 2006 should be in line with the Copenhagen commitments.

Steen Jorgensen, Director, Social Development Department, World Bank, said his organization had reaffirmed its mission of poverty reduction and sustainable development.  There had been a shift from its traditional focus on the economies of growth to incorporating an understanding of the social, environmental and cultural aspects of development.

A statement was also made by the Director, Bureau for External Relations and Partnerships, International Labour Organization.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 20 February, to begin its review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups.

Background

The Commission for Social Development met this morning to begin its consideration of item 4 of its provisional agenda entitled “Multi-year programme of work of the Commission for 2002-2006”.

The Commission had before it a related note by the Secretariat (document E/CN.5/2001/L.3) transmitting proposals by the Bureau of the Commission on the multi-year programme of work.  Those proposals are annexed to the note and are submitted for the Commission's consideration and adoption.

According to Annex I the following themes are suggested for 2002 to 2006:

2002:  Integrating social and economic policy

Social aspects of macroeconomic policies

Social assessment as a policy tool

Social expenditures as a productive factor

Preparatory Committee for the Second World Assembly on Ageing, second   session

Report of the Third Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Disability

2003:  Sharing of experiences and practices in social development

Forging partnerships for social development

Corporate social responsibility and social development policies

Social policy in post-traumatic situations

2004:  Improving public sector effectiveness

Review of the global situation of families (10-year anniversary of the International Year of the Family)

2005:  Review of further implementation of the World Summit for Social

Development (Copenhagen, 1995) and the outcome of the twenty-fourth     special session of the General Assembly (Geneva, June 2000)

2006:  Review of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006) and the global campaign to eradicate poverty

At its twenty-fourth special session, the Assembly adopted a number of specific mandates for further action by the Economic and Social Council and the Commission. Appendix II provides an overview of the new initiatives, several of which relate to more than one commitment.  Those new initiatives include:  the creation and fostering of an enabling environment; poverty reduction; full employment; social integration; gender equality; education and health; Africa and the least developed countries; structural adjustment programmes; resources; and international cooperation

Appendix I provides a review of the Commission’s programme of work and related themes for 1996 to 2000.

Opening Remarks

JOHN LANGMORE, Director, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the proposed programme of work for the next five years had been prepared through discussions in the Bureau of the previous Commission.  The themes suggested in the programme were among the principal themes discussed during last year’s Geneva special session and at the Copenhagen Social Summit before that.

Statements

HANS LUNDBORG (Sweden), on behalf of the European Union and associated States, underscored the importance of creating informal and more flexible working methods.  Concrete discussions should be held on selected themes related to United Nations conferences and international development targets.  Along those lines, the Commission should focus its work on technical discussions and best practices for the further implementation of the Copenhagen agenda, including the aspect of better integration of the experiences of researchers in the Commission’s work.

He stressed the importance of taking into account the cross-cutting issues of the suggested theme for 2002 -- integration of social and economic policy -- and connecting them to other United Nations processes exploring the linkage between economic and social development.  The suggested theme for 2003 -- sharing experiences and practices in social development -- should provide for discussion of the impacts of an international employment strategy on social development; forging partnerships for social development; and corporate social responsibility and social development policy.

The challenges facing youth should be a separate, specific and cross-cutting issue for discussion in 2003, he said.  In the early part of the twenty-first century, youth would rise to leadership and decision-making positions and would have to tackle the many environmental, economic and social challenges arising from the twentieth century.  Youth were a power in society and it was important to harness their enormous potential for contributing to development and social advancement.

Regarding one of two suggested themes for 2004 -– review of the global situation of the family/trends confronting families –- he said the International Year of the Family had left crucial issues unresolved.  It was important to develop a common understanding, to increase knowledge about family issues and to avoid stereotyping.  One issue to be discussed could be the reconciliation of work and family life.  In 2005, the form and format of the proposed review of the further implementation of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995) must be thoroughly discussed.  Where national reporting was appropriate, it should focus on a few core issues.

MOHSEN ESTERI (Iran) speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the amendments to the multi-year progamme of work of the Commission for 2002 to 2006 should be in line with the Copenhagen commitments. 

STEEN JORGENSEN, Director, Social Development Department, World Bank, said his organization had reaffirmed its mission of poverty reduction and sustainable development.  There had been a shift from its traditional focus on the economies of growth to incorporating an understanding of the social, environmental and cultural aspects of development.

He said the importance attached by the World Bank to social development was reconfirmed in the 2000/2001 World Development Report:  Attacking Poverty. In that document two of the three pillars of poverty reduction fell squarely in the social development area:  reducing vulnerability and empowerment.  By empowerment, the Bank intended that poor people gained a voice and control over the decisions affecting them, as well as access to political, economic and social institutions.  In addition, public institutions must be held accountable.  “We see participation as a key tool to enable poor people to move from vulnerability to empowerment”, he said.

He noted that the proposed themes for the Commission’s 2002 work programme and deliberations included the integration of socio-economic policies, and sharing experiences and practices in social development.  Those were themes which the Bank was also pursuing, as part of its mission to reduce poverty and make development more equitable and sustainable.  The World Bank planned to begin work shortly on a social development strategy that would further enhance its work in that area.

He said the Bank was also starting to prepare for the “Rio+10" Conference, which will review the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, a key component of which would be social sustainability.  Related to that, the topic of the 2002/2003 World Development Report would be on sustainable development, incorporating social and environmental issues.  The Bank also planned to broaden the focus of social analysis from the project level to the policy and programme level.  That would enhance its review of the social impacts of country and policy-based lending, and develop appropriate tools for institutional and organizational analysis, in an effort to ensure that those were consistently and adequately addressed.

Additionally, he continued, the Bank had been working extensively with countries on the participatory aspects of poverty reduction strategies, and had recently instituted an action programme to support country-led participatory initiatives.

MARIA ANJELICA DUCCI, Director, Bureau for External Relations and Partnerships, International Labour Organization, said that sectoral solutions could not solve integrated problems of sustainable economic growth and social development.  All multilateral agencies should work more closely to make the different dimensions of economic and social progress mutually supportive.  They should promote policy synergies, dealing in an integrated fashion with aspects of economic and social policy, so as to address the social impact of globalization.

She said that, in doing so, they should consider the national conditions and particular needs of different groups of countries.  It was necessary to move

away from “one-size-fits-all” solutions, by putting the collective experience of the international system at the service of individual countries in their development efforts.

There was a vital need to promote the simultaneous and equal consideration of economic and social objectives in formulating policy, she said.  The attainment of social objectives should be seen as the ultimate justification of economic policies.  Systems should be instituted to continuously monitor the social impact of economic policies at both the international and national levels.  Indeed, there should be assessments of the social impact of economic policies, as well as of the economic impact of social policies.

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