Economic issues

The promises and pitfalls of urbanization were the focus of two discussions as the Economic and Social Council continued its inaugural integration segment today.

With cities spawning innovations, reducing poverty and driving social change, planned urbanization was critical to ensuring sustainable development, the Economic and Social Council heard today as it held its inaugural Integration Segment.

In the final segment of its first Coordination and Management meeting of the 2014 session, the Economic and Social Council adopted a draft decision entitled “Economic and Social Council event to discuss the transition from relief to development”, which would take place on 23 June and consist of one panel discussion.

The Economic and Social Council opened today the first set of four coordination and management meetings in its 2014 session, deciding the theme for the humanitarian affairs segment to be “The future of humanitarian affairs: towards greater inclusiveness, coordination, interoperability and effectiveness”.

Representatives from world financial institutions, the global private sectors and civil society took up the question of practical implementation of international monetary reform today, as the Economic and Social Council concluded its two-day special high-level meeting with the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Despite some improvement, the world economic situation remained weak and subject to uncertainties and risks, the Economic and Social Council heard during a high-level meeting today.

The Economic and Social Council today decided the theme for the next meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, to be convened for the first time under its auspices from 7 to 9 July 2014.

A post-2015 agenda focused on sustainable development and poverty eradication required the United Nations to refine the ways it supported countries’ priority development needs, delegates said today as the Economic and Social Council wrapped up the main part of its “operational activities for development” segment of its 2014 session.

An initiative to coordinate United Nations “deliverables” still faced many challenges despite early successes, senior officials of the Organization’s specialized agencies and country teams told the Economic and Social Council as it held three panel discussions today.

A vastly altered development landscape had evolved since adoption of the Millennium Development Goals nearly 15 years ago, mandating the United Nations to adapt by building on its core strengths: its universal presence, legitimacy and quality of expertise, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told the Economic and Social Council today.