Poverty Eradication

E/RES/2012/9View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 14b Social development, published in 2012.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 18	Economic and social development in latin america and the caribbean	234

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 18	Economic and social development in latin america and the caribbean	234	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Agricultural Development Employment Hiv/Aids Prevention Poverty Mitigation Social Integration Social Security Sustainable Development

What’s in this document?

32 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;⁹

⁹E/CN.5/2012/3.

Welcomes the reaffirmation by Governments of their will and commitment to continue implementing the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development,Error: Reference source not found in particular to eradicate poverty, promote full and productive employment and decent work for all and foster social integration to achieve stable, safe and just societies for all;

Reaffirms that the Commission for Social Development continues to have the primary responsibility for the follow-up to and review of the World Summit for Social Development and the outcome of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly and that it serves as the main United Nations forum for an intensified global dialogue on social development issues, and calls upon Member States, the relevant specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system and civil society to enhance their support for the work of the Commission;

Emphasizes the need to accord the highest priority to poverty eradication within the United Nations development agenda, while stressing the importance of addressing the causes and challenges of poverty through integrated, coordinated and coherent strategies at the national, intergovernmental and inter-agency levels;

Also emphasizes that the major United Nations conferences and summits, including the Millennium Summit, the 2005 World Summit, the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals and the International Conference on Financing for Development, in its Monterrey Consensus,¹⁰ have reinforced the priority and urgency of poverty eradication within the United Nations development agenda;

¹⁰Report of the International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico, 18–22 March 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.II.A.7), chap. I, resolution 1, annex.

Reaffirms that each country has the primary responsibility for its own economic and social development and that the role of national policies and development strategies cannot be overemphasized, and underlines the importance of adopting effective measures, including new financial mechanisms, as appropriate, to support the efforts of developing countries to achieve sustained economic growth, sustainable development, poverty eradication and the strengthening of their democratic systems;

Expresses deep concern that the ongoing adverse impact of the world financial and economic crisis, volatile food and energy prices and food insecurity and the challenges posed by climate change, as well as the lack of results so far in the multilateral trade negotiations, have negative implications for social development;

Emphasizes that poverty eradication policies should tackle poverty by addressing its root and structural causes and manifestations, and that equity and the reduction of inequalities need to be incorporated into those policies;

Stresses that poverty eradication policies should, inter alia, ensure, for people living in poverty, access to education, health, social protection, water and sanitation and other public and social services, as well as to productive resources, including credit, land, training, technology, knowledge and information, and ensure that citizens and local communities participate in decision-making on social development policies and programmes in this regard;

Recognizes the need to formulate social development policies in an integral, articulated and participative manner, recognizing poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon, calls for interlinked public policies on this matter, underlines the need for public policies to be included in a comprehensive development and well-being strategy, and invites Governments to consider developing complementary measures that better reflect the multidimensionality of poverty;

Also recognizes that the social integration of people living in poverty should encompass addressing and meeting their basic human needs, including nutrition, health, water, sanitation, housing and access to education and employment, through integrated development strategies;

Further recognizes the need to promote respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to address the most pressing social needs of people living in poverty;

Reaffirms the commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into all development efforts, recognizing that these are critical for achieving sustainable development and for efforts to combat hunger, poverty and disease and to strengthen policies and programmes that improve, ensure and broaden the full participation of women in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life, as equal partners, and to improve their access to all resources needed for the full exercise of all their human rights and fundamental freedoms by removing persistent barriers, including ensuring equal access to full and productive employment and decent work, as well as strengthening their economic independence;

Also reaffirms the commitment to promote opportunities for full, freely chosen and productive employment, including for the disadvantaged, as well as decent work for all, with full respect for fundamental principles and rights at work under conditions of equity, equality, security and dignity, and further reaffirms that macroeconomic policies should, inter alia, support employment creation, taking fully into account the social and environmental impact and dimensions of globalization, and that these concepts are key elements of sustainable development for all countries and are therefore a priority objective of international cooperation;

Further reaffirms that there is an urgent need to create an environment at the national and international levels that is conducive to the attainment of full and productive employment and decent work for all as a foundation for sustainable development and that an environment that supports investment, growth and entrepreneurship is essential to the creation of new job opportunities, and also reaffirms that opportunities for men and women to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity are essential to ensuring the eradication of hunger and poverty, the improvement of economic and social well-being for all, the achievement of sustained economic growth and sustainable development of all nations and a fully inclusive and equitable globalization;

Notes with concern the continuing high levels of unemployment and underemployment, particularly among young people, recognizes that decent work remains one of the best routes out of poverty, and in this regard invites donor countries, multilateral organizations and other development partners to continue to support Member States, in particular developing countries, in their efforts to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all, taking into account the resolution entitled “Recovering from the crisis: a Global Jobs Pact”, adopted on 19 June 2009 by the International Labour Conference at its ninety-eighth session;

Reaffirms that social integration policies should seek to reduce inequalities, promote access to basic social services, education for all and health care, eliminate discrimination, increase the participation and integration of social groups, particularly young people, older persons and persons with disabilities, and address the challenges to social development posed by globalization and market-driven reforms, in order for all people in all countries to benefit from globalization;

Also reaffirms the critical role of both formal and non-formal education in the achievement of poverty eradication and other development goals as envisaged in the United Nations Millennium Declaration,Error: Reference source not found and in this context recalls the Dakar Framework for Action, adopted at the World Education Forum in 2000;¹¹

¹¹See United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Final Report of the World Education Forum, Dakar, Senegal, 26–28 April 2000 (Paris, 2000).

Recalls the commitment, undertaken at the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals, held in 2010, to redouble efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality and improve the health of women and children, including through strengthened national health systems, efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, improved nutrition and access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, making use of enhanced global partnerships;Error: Reference source not found

Notes with grave concern the vicious cycle whereby non-communicable diseases and their risk factors worsen poverty, while poverty contributes to rising rates of non-communicable diseases, posing a threat to public health and economic and social development, and in this regard stresses the importance of the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, including through multisectoral actions, and encourages the continued inclusion of non-communicable diseases in development cooperation agendas and initiatives;

Stresses that the benefits of economic growth should be distributed more equitably, and in that regard calls upon States to promote more equitable participation in and access to economic growth gains through, inter alia, policies that ensure inclusive labour markets and by implementing socially responsive macroeconomic policies in which employment has a key role and social inclusion strategies that promote social integration, including through social protection floors, including for those who are in vulnerable or marginalized situations;

Underlines the need for substantial additional investment and better policies and enhanced international cooperation in support of sustainable agricultural development, while paying special attention to the diversification of rural incomes, including by promoting the development of microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises among the rural poor;

Urges developed countries that have not yet done so in accordance with their commitments to make concrete efforts towards meeting the targets of 0.70 per cent of their gross national product for official development assistance to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of their gross national product to least developed countries, and encourages developing countries to build on the progress achieved in ensuring that official development assistance is used effectively to help to meet development goals and targets;

Urges Governments, with the cooperation of relevant entities, including social partners, to develop systems of social protection and to extend or broaden, as appropriate, their effectiveness and coverage, including for workers in the informal economy, recognizing the need for social protection systems to provide social security and support labour market participation, and also urges Governments, while taking account of national circumstances, to focus on the needs of those living in or vulnerable to poverty and to give particular consideration to universal access to basic social security systems, recognizing that social protection floors can provide a systemic base to address poverty and vulnerability;

Encourages Member States to design and implement policies and strategies for poverty eradication, full employment and decent work for all, including the promotion of full and productive employment that is appropriately and adequately remunerated, as well as policies and strategies for social integration that promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and that address the specific needs of social groups such as young people, persons with disabilities, older persons, migrants and indigenous peoples, taking into account the concerns of these groups in the planning, implementation and evaluation of development programmes and policies;

Calls upon Member States to continue their ambitious efforts to strive for more inclusive, equitable, balanced, stable and development-oriented sustainable socioeconomic approaches to overcoming poverty and inequality;

Stresses that the international community shall enhance its efforts to create an enabling environment for social development and poverty eradication through increasing market access for developing countries, technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, financial aid and a comprehensive solution to the external debt problem;

Acknowledges that good governance and the rule of law at the national and international levels are essential for sustained economic growth, sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger;

Invites all stakeholders, including Member States, relevant organizations of the United Nations system and regional and civil society organizations, to share the good practices of programmes and policies that address inequalities for the benefit of those living in extreme poverty and promote the active participation of those living in extreme poverty in the design and implementation of such programmes and policies, with the aim of accelerating progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals;

Requests the United Nations system to continue to support national efforts of Member States to achieve inclusive social development in a coherent and coordinated manner;

Notes that the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012;

Requests the Secretary-General to include in his report entitled “Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly”, to be submitted to the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, policy recommendations on the issue of poverty eradication, taking into account the discussions held at the fiftieth session of the Commission for Social Development under the priority theme.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

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What’s in this document?

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Who cites this mandate in the budget?