The Economic and Social Council today postponed the election of 17 members to the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known as UN Women, to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2016, for procedural reasons.
The Economic and Social Council today opened the first of a series of coordination and management meetings in its 2015 session, adopting without a vote a resolution recognizing the “unprecedented” window of opportunity to combat HIV/AIDS, as well as three decisions put forward by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations.
Speakers at the Economic and Social Council drew attention today to the multidimensional nature of the challenge of generating equitable and inclusive employment opportunities as part of achieving sustainable global development, as that body concluded its 2015 integration segment.
In three interactive panel discussions today, the Economic and Social Council looked at how climate change challenges could be met through creating decent jobs, how dignity and prosperity could become the norm for working people, and how policies could translate sustained economic growth in Africa into “broad-based and job-rich outcomes” towards inclusive sustainable development.
With almost 200 million people in the 15 to 24 age group — a figure likely to double in the next three decades — Africa represented an opportunity as well as challenge, the President of Tanzania told the Economic and Social Council today as that body began its 2015 integration session on the theme “Achieving sustainable development through employment creation and decent work for all”.
The Economic and Social Council today filled outstanding vacancies on the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP).
Expanding the United Nations’ partnerships — with Governments, business, the philanthropic community, civil society and academia — would be central to effectively implement the new development agenda, Martin Sajdik, President of the Economic and Social Council, told the 54-member body today, as delegates evaluated how to harness their potential, including by setting up voluntary review mechanisms to assess results.
A truly transformative post-2015 agenda demanded adaptation and change from the United Nations development system across the board, the President of the Economic and Social Council said today, as debate concluded on improving the Organization’s internal processes and external interventions designed to help countries strengthen national institutions and improve peoples’ well-being.
While “sprinting towards the last mile” in achieving targets set out under the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations must also prepare for the “marathon” challenge of improving life for the most vulnerable in the post-2015 era, said the heads of the Organization’s Funds and Programmes in a dialogue with the Economic and Social Council today.
While huge efforts had been made to adapt the development system to evolving country needs, the United Nations must use its credibility, impartiality and access to specialized knowledge more effectively in order to deliver fit-for-purpose results over the next 15 years, the Economic and Social Council heard today, as it opened its 2015 operational activities segment.
