Commission for Social Development just around the corner

The 48th session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD) will take place at the UN’s headquarter in New York February 3 – 12. The CSocD is one of the functional Commissiond of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and consists of 46 members elected by the ECOSOC. Is your country a member? Check the list of all members here

The CSocD is the key body in following up the Copenhagen declaration announced at the World Summit for Social Development in 1995. In its declaration, world leaders committed themselves to achieving the goals of poverty eradication, expansion of productive employment and promotion of social integration. Sessions of the Commission are open to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in consultative status with ECOSOC.

Social Integration is the priority theme for the 2009-2010 review and policy cycle of the CSocD and should take into account the relationship of the priority theme with poverty eradication and full employment and decent work for all. “These three topics and social integration are strongly interrelated and mutually reinforcing” stresses Falko Mohrs. He is one of the two German UN Youth Delegates that will attend the CSocD this year together with several Youth Delegates from other countries. If your country has a Youth Delegate to the CSocD or you want to cooperate with them, please come in touch with Falko via mail (falko@germanyouthdelegate.de).

Some of the representatives of ICMYO member organisations and Youth Delegates have already been working together during the UN General Assembly in 2009 and have joint experiences in advocating for youth perspectives and bringing their priorities to the UN table. For example a high joint priority last October was the rights of young migrants, and they were organizing a side event on youth and migration. Furthermore this working breakfast was the starting point for their promotion activities for a World Youth Report on migration in 2011. Following the European Youth Forum’s initiative the Arab and European youth participating in the League of Arabe States‘ Youth Forum on migration stressed this demand in their final declaration.

But the youth representatives present at the CSocD will of course not only focus on the priority theme. In addition to it, the CSocD’s session will include the review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups such as: disabled persons, ageing, family and youth. In addition meetings with UN agencies are already settled in order to strengthen the bonds for further cooperations such as the World Youth Conference 2010 in Mexico.

The UN Programme on Youth and the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN will co-organise a side-event in which the Youth Delegates are playing an active role. The side-event will focus on youth participation in general and Youth Delegates to the UN in particular.

The first important event in February related to the CSocD will start even one day before the Commissions first session opens. The NGOs present will hold the Civil Society Forum on Tuesday 2 February from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The outcome of the Forum, which is going to be presented in the format of a declaration, will be read during the first meeting of the session. More about the NGO forum

Secretary General report
The Secretary-General has prepared a report on the Commission’s priority theme. Read the Secretary General’s report on Social Integration on the UN website for the Commission.