Economic issues

Although cautious optimism had prevailed at the time of drafting the Secretary-General’s report on external debt sustainability, it had since dissipated in the face of the global economic deterioration, a senior official of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today, as it began its consideration of macroeconomic policy questions.

Resuming its 2011 substantive session, the Economic and Social Council elected a Vice-President to its Bureau today and filled vacancies in a number of its subsidiary bodies, having deferred several elections from previous sessions.

While multilateralism had never been more vital, “inertia and deadlock prevailed on critical issues”, the representative of Guyana told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it concluded its general debate.

Although the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) region had enjoyed a “golden decade” of growth and development in the late 1990s and up to 2008, it had been hit harder by the “great recession” than any other, Executive Secretary Ján Kubiš told the Second Committee today.

Governments must consider new, more equitable development models to ensure that their economies reaped the benefits of a globalized world amid heightened food insecurity, increased pressure on natural resources and a widening gap between rich and poor that was severely hampering prospects for economic recovery, Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, stressed today as he opened the general debate of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial).

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to fill vacant positions on its Bureau for the upcoming sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly.

Having finished its work on 24 May, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today concluded its 2011 resumed session, adopting by consensus its report, which contained seven draft decisions on matters that called for action by the Economic and Social Council.

NEW YORK, 7 June (United Nations Global Compact Office) — When it comes to broad implementation of responsible business practices, company size matters most. And while businesses around the world seem to be making tangible progress in addressing environmental concerns, many continue to struggle in the human rights and anti-corruption arena.

In a resumed organizational session today, the Economic and Social Council filled vacancies in three of its subsidiary bodies, electing members by secret ballot and by acclamation. Voting by secret ballot, the Council elected Iran to a four-year term on the Commission on Population and Development, beginning today and expiring at the close of that body’s forty-eighth session in 2015.

Wrapping up what the United Nations Secretariat called one of its “most successful sessions” since the 1990s, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) adjourned its resumed 2011 session today, having taken note of its draft report, to be adopted at a later date.