Economic and Social Council Addresses Far-Reaching Global Issues Presented by Subsidiary Bodies, Including Gender, Transnational Organized Crime
Focusing on a wide range of global issues from gender equality to transnational crime, the Economic and Social Council adopted about two dozen texts that reflected decisions already approved and then submitted by its subsidiary bodies, as it opened its 2025 Management Segment today.
One of the six main organs of the United Nations, the Council sits at the heart of the United Nations development system and is composed of 54 rotating Member States. These Member States are elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms, which are staggered so that 18 members are elected annually. The Council links a diverse family of subsidiary bodies and entities, including regional economic and social commissions, expert bodies and specialized agencies.
Gender Equality Challenges
The Council’s adoption of the draft resolution “Mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations System” (document E/2025/L.14) sparked comments from many delegates, who overwhelmingly rejected operative paragraph 10(e), which leverages the United Nations system-wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan to address attempts to undermine gender equality and protect women human rights defenders, in line with relevant international norms and standards. Delegates cited its “many controversial concepts”, particularly on feminist approaches, gender transformative roles and accountability for gender equality results, with the speaker for the Russian Federation saying the term “women and human rights defenders” has no definition under international law and is used as a justification by Western States for their destabilizing activities in third countries.
Belarus’ delegate lamented that the resolution contains language without consensus and has not undergone intergovernmental process. For Saudi Arabia’s representative, any plan or initiative at the international level must be carried out in full respect for the cultural context of Member States and not used as an obligatory reference.
Before the adoption, Aparna Mehrotra, Director, UN System Coordination Division, UN-Women, presented the Secretary-General’s report on “Mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system”. Noting that 104 of 132 country teams have a gender-theme group or equivalent gender-coordination mechanism as of 2024, she said that “challenges persist, including insufficient gender-disaggregated data to inform gender mainstreaming”. She called for more decisive action and strengthened accountability to fully embed the perspectives of gender equality in the programmes and policies of the UN system.
Maritza Chan Valverde (Costa Rica), Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women at its seventieth session, presented the highlights of the Commission’s report at its sixty-ninth session (document E/2025/27). She said a record number of 3,000 participants from government, civil society, the UN system and youth took part in the session, the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing conference.
“No country has fully achieved gender equality yet, nor has any country fully achieved the empowerment of women,” said Ms. Valverde. She committed to work to ensure that the Commission will continue to build synergies for the empowerment of all women and girls.
Crime and Drugs
The Council also adopted the resolution “United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute” (document E/2025/L.7), which recognizes the Institute’s alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the vision and approach of the Pact for the Future, particularly in promoting evidence-based policymaking, strengthening the rule of law and leveraging data —driven strategies to address transnational organized crime and terrorism. The resolution also expresses its deep appreciation to Italy for hosting the Institute and facilitating its work for more than 50 years.
Earlier in the meeting, the Chair of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its sixty-eighth session, Shambhu Santha Kumaran, introduced the report of the Commission’s reconvened sixty-seventh session and the sixty-eighth session (document E/2025/28). In his presentation, Mr. Kumaran highlighted the Commission’s creation of a multidisciplinary expert panel, which, in addition to delegated members from regional groups and associated bodies, includes five experts nominated by the UN Secretary-General. Its mandate, he noted, is to develop recommendations to strengthen the Commission’s work, enhance implementation of obligations in international drug-control conventions, and relevant international instruments, and the achievement of all international drug policy commitments. He further noted that the Commission adopted seven decisions on the scope of control of substances at the international drug-control conventions, and called on the Council to “provide visibility to the important and decisive work undertaken in Vienna”.
Sevil Atasoy, President, International Narcotics Control Board, introduced that body’s 2024 Annual Report (document E/INCB/2024/1). She said it reiterates that measures legalizing the nonmedical use of internationally controlled substances are contrary to the provisions of international drug control conventions. The Board also urges Governments to duly consider the right to health, including availability of controlled medicines; the right of access to evidence-based prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration services; and the principle of proportionality in criminal justice responses to drug-related offences. She said the UN’s liquidity crisis has affected the Board’s work — for example, critical country missions have been postponed. The Board’s ability to “safeguard the health and welfare” of people is dependent on being entrusted with sufficient resources.
The Council also took up a wide range of other issues, including: economic and environmental questions; social development; coordination, programme and other questions; the role of the United Nations system in the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development into the implementation of and follow-up to the 2030 Agenda; implementation of and follow-up to major UN conferences; non-governmental organizations; summits; organizational and other matters; and elections, nominations, confirmations and appointments.
Social Development
On population, Katja Lasseur (Netherlands), Chair of the Commission on Population and Development’s fifty-eighth session, observed that, despite many speakers’ views that health is a fundamental human right, with substantial progress on related objectives of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action, “gaps remained, exacerbated, among other things, by financial constraints and global crises”.
Krzysztof Szczerski (Poland), Director of the Division for Inclusive Social Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced the report of the Secretary-General on “Preparations for and observance of the thirtieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family” (document E/2025/11).
Pernille Ironside, Deputy Director of the Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring in the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), introduced the report of the Secretary-General on “Follow-up to the outcome of the special session of the General Assembly on Children (document E/2025/3). She urged stakeholders to “invest boldly in the future of children today and of future generations”.
The Council then took up the United Nations system in the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development into implementation of and follow-up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including: implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits; and implementation of various related General Assembly resolutions.
Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile (South Africa), Chair of the Committee on World Food Security, presented via video the main decisions, outcomes and policy recommendations of the Committee on World Food Security, and transmitted in a note by the Secretary-General (document E/2025/51).
The Numbers
Georges-Simon Ulrich (Switzerland), Chair of the Statistical Commission at its fifty-sixth session, presented, via video link, the highlights of the Commission’s report (document E/2025/24). He stressed that global issues, such as geopolitical tensions and climate change, require accurate data to drive sustainable development and that the Commission’s work deserved support.
Liselott Kana (Chile), Co-Chair of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters at its twenty-ninth and thirtieth sessions, via video link, presented highlights of reports of respective sessions of the Committee (documents E/2025/45 and E/2025/45/Add.1).
Non-governmental Organizations
The Council then considered the report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations on its regular 2025 session (document E/2024/32(Part I)).
The Council adopted two related resolutions: “Applications for consultative status, requests for a change of name and quadrennial reports received from nongovernmental organizations”; and “Report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations on its 2025 regular session”.
Siranka Dhanapala, Director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), presented his Office’s report. The Council later adopted the draft resolution “Provisional calendar of conferences and meetings in the economic, social and related fields for 2026 and 2027” (document E/2025/L.8) without programme budget implications.
Elections, Nominations, Confirmations and Appointments
The Council confirmed the nomination of Olivier de Schutter and Graziella Moraes Silva as members of the Board of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development for additional two-year terms, beginning 1 July. It also confirmed the nomination of Jenina Joy Chavez to serve on the Board for a four-year term, beginning 1 July.
The Council elected India to represent the Asia-Pacific States on the Commission on Population and Development for a four-year term, beginning at the first meeting of the Commission’s sixtieth session in 2026 and expiring at the close of the Commission’s sixty-third session in 2030.
It also elected Uruguay to the Commission on the Status of Women, representing the Latin American and Caribbean States, for a four-year term beginning at the first meeting of the Commission’s seventy–first session in 2026 and expiring at the close of the Commission’s seventy-fourth session in 2030.
Aili Keskitalo (Norway) was elected to fill one of the eight seats from the Western European and other States at the Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues for a three-year term, beginning 1 January 2026. Members were informed that information regarding the President’s appointees to the Permanent Forum will be communicated to the Council, in consultation with the Bureau, at a later date.
For the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), Bahrain was elected by acclamation for a three-year term beginning 1 January 2026.
Australia and Belgium were elected by acclamation to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP) from countries under List D, for a three-year term, beginning 1 January 2026.
Finally, the Council elected by acclamation Brazil and Cambodia to the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, for a three-year term, beginning 1 January 2026.