Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council adopted three texts this morning, including one by which it changed the dates of its 2016 humanitarian affairs segment.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today concluded its regular session with the adoption of its report, in which it recommended that the Economic and Social Council grant consultative status to 206 of the 475 applicants it considered during its session.

The Commission for Social Development concluded its fifty-fourth session today, approving three draft resolutions for adoption by the Economic and Social Council with one on Africa’s development, traditionally endorsed by consensus, requiring a rare vote to address the United States’ concerns over language around trade issues, and more generally, “the right to development”.

Economies must be put at the service of people, through effective integrated social policies, the United Nations Secretary-General told the Commission for Social Development today, stressing that, in a world where inequality was still too high and too few economies had attained sustainable growth, the body’s policy guidance would be critical to global efforts to end poverty by 2030.

There was now a common understanding that social policies inclusive of persons with disabilities were a “sound” investment in society and that their exclusion from decisions came with economic costs that countries could no longer ignore, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities told the Commission for Social Development today, outlining ways to ensure the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development built on historic gains in their recognition.

Despite progress, the development crisis continued to prevail, with the widening inequality between people and countries, delegates in the Commission for Social Development heard today, debating ways to design policies that could improve overall well-being and effectively address challenges without sacrificing the productivity that allowed their communities to advance.

While “enormous” gains had been made since the World Summit for Social Development had resulted in the Copenhagen Declaration in 1995, progress remained uneven — both within and among countries — with millions of people still excluded from access to the very rights, services and income-generating activities that underpinned a sustainable future for all, delegates said today as the Commission for Social Development opened the substantive segment of its fifty-fourth session.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today concluded substantive work of its 2016 regular session with the presentation of the body’s draft report, which will be finalized for adoption on 16 February.

Fuelled by the voices, concerns and demands of young people, the largest-ever Economic and Social Council Youth Forum concluded its two-day session today, hearing from speakers who delved into critical issues, such as entrepreneurship, the quality of education, access to health services, gender equality and the right to contribute to development.

Continuing its regular session for 2016, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended 10 organizations for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and deferred action on the status of 24 others.