Observance of the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family and Beyond

Encourages Governments to make every possible effort to realize the objectives of the International Year and its follow-up processes and to integrate a family perspective into national policymaking;

Urges Member States to give due consideration to advancing family policy development in the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda;

Invites Member States and the organizations of the United Nations system as well as other relevant stakeholders to take into account the role of the family as a contributor to sustainable development and the need to strengthen family policy development in their ongoing efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, the Millennium Development Goals and future United Nations development goals;

Encourages Member States to take into consideration the panel discussion held in observance of the twentieth anniversary of the International Year at the fifty-second session of the Commission for Social Development in order to guide its future deliberations on family issues, with the aim of establishing appropriate follow-up processes to guide national policy development;

Also encourages Member States to strengthen or, if necessary, establish relevant national agencies or governmental bodies responsible for the implementation and monitoring of family policies and to research the impact of social policies on the family and its members;

Further encourages Member States to continue their efforts to develop appropriate policies to address family poverty, social exclusion, work-family balance and intergenerational solidarity and to share good practices in those areas;

Encourages Governments, the United Nations and regional entities, civil society organizations, the private sector and academic institutions to promote and advance family empowerment through appropriate family-centred policies and programmes;

Encourages Member States to adopt effective means to reduce family poverty and prevent the intergenerational transfer of poverty through family-centred benefits and social protection measures, such as old-age pensions, cash transfers, housing assistance, child benefits and tax breaks;

Also encourages Member States to promote family policies in support of work-family balance and to strengthen flexible provisions for parental leave, extend flexible working arrangements for employees with family responsibilities, including flexible part-time job opportunities and arrangements, promote gender equality and empowerment of women, including by eliminating workplace discrimination against women and men with family responsibilities, and enhance paternal involvement and shouldering of responsibilities and support a wide range of quality childcare arrangements, noting the importance of reconciliation of work and family life and recognizing the principle that both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child;

Further encourages Member States to invest in intergenerational programmes for helping families in their caregiving responsibilities, including care for family members of all ages, and facilitating intergenerational exchanges and support through, inter alia, the provision of social protection schemes, including pensions, and investment in cross-generational facilities, volunteering programmes aimed at youth, older persons and persons with disabilities, mentoring and job-sharing programmes;

Encourages Member States to develop and implement policies and national strategies to prevent violence within the family as a whole, including child abuse, elder abuse and domestic violence, and thereby enhance the well-being of all of its members;

Recommends that United Nations agencies and bodies, including the regional commissions, and invites relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and research and academic institutions, to work closely with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat in a coordinated manner on family-related issues;

Encourages Member States to consider establishing partnerships with civil society organizations, the private sector and academic institutions, as appropriate, in support of family-oriented policy and programme design;

Encourages Governments to support the United Nations Trust Fund on Family Activities to enable the Department of Economic and Social Affairs to continue research activities and provide assistance to countries, upon their request;

Encourages the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, within existing resources, to continue to cooperate with Governments, the United Nations system and civil society in strengthening national capacities through the implementation of the objectives of the International Year and its follow-up processes;

Invites Member States, United Nations agencies and bodies, civil society organizations and academic institutions to continue providing information on their activities in support of the objectives of the International Year and its follow-up processes and to share good practices and data on family policy development to be included in the relevant reports of the Secretary-General.