The Economic and Social Council decided to change the theme of its 2019 session to “Empowering people and ensuring inclusivity and equality”, bringing it into line with that of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development — one of three decisions taken in a day that also featured elections to various subsidiary bodies.
Investing in quality education and decent work is among the most effective ways to spur inclusive socioeconomic growth and reduce poverty and inequality, delegates said today as the fifty-seventh session of the Commission for Social Development continued.
Around the globe, more frequent disasters — both natural and human-wrought — are increasingly affecting society’s most vulnerable members and hindering efforts to eradicate poverty, said expert panellists today as the Commission on Social Development continued its work.
With the formation of the Government of Iraq still incomplete, it is high-time for leaders to shift the focus from factional politics and invest in addressing the immediate needs of the citizens, the highest-ranking United Nations official in the country said today as she briefed the Security Council.
While the 2015 Minsk agreements are the only agreed framework for a negotiated peace in eastern Ukraine, they remain largely unimplemented, senior United Nations and other officials told the Security Council today, urging all parties to the conflict to uphold their commitments to uphold a permanent ceasefire.
Smart fiscal policies and minimum wages set well above the cost of living top the list of strategies countries can use to improve their populations’ health, happiness and overall well-being, said delegates today as the fifty-seventh session of the Commission for Social Development continued.
Speakers threw a spotlight on the need for clear mandates, adequate training and resources, and a culture of performance whenever and wherever the United Nations deploys Blue Helmets in conflict zones, as the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations concluded its annual general debate today.
Inequality has become a defining issue of the present time that must be addressed through social protection policies, including progressive taxation in favour of low-income families as well as public spending to support vulnerable populations, delegates told the opening of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission for Social Development today.
Amid sweeping reforms occurring against a backdrop of increased security threats targeting Blue Helmets, partners must work more closely to ensure continued progress in making United Nations missions more safe, accountable, secure and effective, the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations heard today as it opened its 2019 substantive session.
Despite the decline in the number of international terrorist attacks in 2018, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) continues to evolve into a global covert network, with access to hundreds of millions of dollars and the demonstrated ability to exploit new technologies, the top-ranking United Nations counter-terrorism officials told the Security Council today.
