The Commission for Social Development resumed its general discussion in virtual format today, with representatives of Member States emphasizing the growing importance of digital technology in the global quest to overcome poverty, achieve sustainable development and build better lives for all.
The Commission for Social Development held a multi-stakeholder forum today, with panellists from around the globe exploring how to surmount the myriad fissures in social service provision by harnessing the use of digital technologies and laying new infrastructures that cater to the most vulnerable communities.
Government ministers, senior officials and representatives of Member States underscored the myriad ways that their countries have embraced digital technology to confront the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Commission for Social Development resumed its general discussion today in a virtual format.
Experts on social policy envisioned a world after the COVID-19 pandemic that embraces more localized and inclusive forms of governance and a stronger focus on education to build resilience for weathering future crises, on day three of the Commission for Social Development’s fifty-ninth session.
The digital divide — between younger and older persons, industrialized and developing countries or rural and urban areas — is exacerbating existing patterns of inequalities, delegates in the Commission for Social Development stressed today, as they explored ways to equitably use technology to surmount the most pressing obstacles to “building back better”.
With the pandemic exposing massive disparities in access to health, education and employment across the world, countries must urgently usher in a socially just transition towards sustainable development — first and foremost by enacting policies that close the digital divide, United Nations officials emphasized today, as the Commission for Social Development opened its fifty-ninth session.
The Economic and Social Council adopted three decisions related to the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations and postponed a decision today, stemming from COVID-19 pandemic-related changes to its working methods, on whether to reopen its 2020 session to reconsider the draft ministerial declaration of its high-level political forum on sustainable development, held in July.
The Economic and Social Council elected several countries to fill 15 outstanding vacancies in eight of its subsidiary bodies while also nominating Germany as a member of the Committee for Programme and Coordination.
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) held an exceptional one‑day 2020 resumed session today owing to the COVID‑19 pandemic, during which it recommended suspending the consultative status of 187 organizations with the Economic and Social Council due to their failure to provided quadrennial reports for a specified period.
The Economic and Social Council adopted the provisional agenda for the 2021 session of the Committee on Non‑Governmental Organizations today, adopting a decision that adjusts the subsidiary body’s meeting schedule in response to the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
