Economic issues

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended 35 entities for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and postponed consideration of 10 applications, as it resumed its 2012 session.

The Economic and Social Council will hold a Youth Forum on 4 May from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the ECOSOC Chamber at Headquarters, New York, on the theme “Creating a Sustainable Future: Empowering Youth with Better Job Opportunities”.

Continuing its 2012 organizational session, the Economic and Social Council this afternoon elected by secret ballot Francisco Thoumi (Colombia) to serve effective immediately as a member of the International Narcotics Control Board until 15 March 2012.

Resuming its 2012 organizational session, the Economic and Social Council filled vacancies in 20 of its subsidiary bodies and adopted themes for some items of its upcoming substantive session. It also postponed until Friday afternoon elections for a member of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

With its upcoming annual high-level session set to tackle the ongoing jobs crisis, the Economic and Social Council today convened an expert preparatory meeting to address the growing global demand for more — and better — jobs, and to weigh policy options that might better align education and training with current employment demands.

A well-functioning forum for international cooperation in tax matters was needed to help developing countries mobilize adequate revenues for governance and services in a fair and pro-growth manner, officials and experts told the Economic and Social Council today as it held a special meeting on the issue.

Severe austerity measures, weak policies and a dearth of jobs were constraining efforts to reduce poverty and to trigger real recovery from economic crisis and sustainable “green” growth, the Economic and Social Council heard today as it concluded its special high-level meeting with international financial and trade institutions.

In light of new global challenges such as massive unemployment and climate change, the Economic and Social Council focused today on new strategies to overcome them in the areas of coherence, coordination and cooperation in the context of financing for development.

A landmark set of 10 principles to ensure that companies respect and support children’s rights has been launched. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Global Compact and Save the Children today introduced the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, a call on businesses to step up their efforts to respect and support children’s rights in the workplace, marketplace and community.

An unbreakable link between women’s empowerment and sustainable development was underlined today by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN-Women head Michelle Bachelet and a range of private-sector executives, as they marked the second anniversary of the Women’s Empowerment Principles.