Commemoration of International Day for Poverty Eradication, at United Nations

Headquarters on 18 October, Will Focus on Youth Unemployment

 

Member States, representatives of non-governmental organizations and United Nations officials will explore practical measures to alleviate the disproportionate burden of unemployment on young people as well as inadequate opportunities for decent work when they meet at New York Headquarters to commemorate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 18 October, under the theme “From Poverty to Decent Work: Bridging the Gap.”

Nearly 212 million people were out of employment in 2009, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported recently in its annual Global Employment Trends.  With more than 30 million additional people jobless that year, compared to 2007, the global unemployment rate rose by 0.9 per cent to reach 6.6 per cent, the report notes.  At the same time, it points out that the proportion of young people without jobs grew from 11.8 per cent to 13.4 per cent.

With young people three times more likely to be unemployed than adults, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for special attention to be paid to their situation.  “Last year, more than 81 million young people were unemployed, the highest on record,” he said in his message for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2010.  “One of the best ways for youth to see a future of hope is through the prism of a decent job,” he added, also drawing attention to the fact that “today, more than half the world’s working population is in vulnerable employment.”

Heeding the Secretary-General’s call, participants at the day-long commemoration will hear testimonies from people who have experienced poverty.  They will discuss how to work with people in poverty to promote and support decent work, as well as learning and training opportunities.  The participants will highlight the need to support participatory, rights-based initiatives and programmes in order to create a dialogue among different partners, including families, workers, providers of social services and employers.  New approaches to overcoming exclusion in an environmentally, socially and economically advantageous manner will also be explored.

Since domestic workers are among the most vulnerable and marginalized, the commemoration will feature the testimony of a former domestic worker whose advocacy group, Domestic Workers United, pushed for landmark legislation in New York.  The first of its kind in the United States, the law guarantees domestic workers basic rights and recognizes their labour as real work.

The commemoration will be divided into two parts, with the annual ceremony — where the Secretary-General’s message will be read — taking place in the Economic and Social Council Chamber from 1.15 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.  That will be followed by a panel discussion at the Church Centre for the United Nations, from 3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Proclaiming the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in 1992 (resolution 47/196), the General Assembly welcomed the fact that, on the initiative of the International Movement ATD Fourth World, certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in many States had observed 17 October as the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty.  The observance aims to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in the developing world.

The commemoration is organized by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the International Movement ATD Fourth World and the NGO Subcommittee for the Eradication of Poverty, with the support of the Permanent Missions of France and Burkina Faso to the United Nations.

Contact:  Lisa Ainbinder, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; tel.: +1 212 963 4607; e-mail:  ainbinder@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record