Cooperatives in Social Development

Encourages Governments to keep under review, as appropriate, the legal and administrative provisions and requirements governing the activities of cooperatives in order to enhance the growth and sustainability of cooperatives in a rapidly changing socio-economic environment, to broaden and deepen the outreach of cooperatives among the poor, in particular those in rural areas or in the agricultural sector, and to promote the participation of women and vulnerable groups in cooperatives across all sectors;

Urges Governments, relevant international organizations and the specialized agencies, in collaboration with national and international cooperative organizations, to give due consideration to the role and contribution of cooperatives in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women, the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and their reviews, the World Food Summit, the Second World Assembly on Ageing, the International Conference on Financing for Development, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 2005 World Summit by, inter alia:

Invites Governments, in collaboration with the cooperative movement, to develop programmes aimed at enhancing capacity-building of cooperatives, including by strengthening the organizational, management and financial skills of their members, and to introduce and support programmes to improve the access of cooperatives to new technologies;

Invites Governments, relevant international organizations, the specialized agencies and local, national and international cooperative organizations to continue to observe the International Day of Cooperatives annually, on the first Saturday of July, as proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/90;

Requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the relevant United Nations and other international organizations and national, regional and international cooperative organizations, to render support to Member States, as appropriate, in their efforts to create a supportive environment for the development of cooperatives, to continue to provide assistance for human resources development, technical advice and training and to promote an exchange of experience and best practices through, inter alia, conferences, workshops and seminars at the national and regional levels;

Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, focusing on the role of cooperatives in promoting full and productive employment.