The Commission for Social Development (CSocD) is one of the eight functional commissions established by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 1946 to advise and assist it in carrying its work. The Commission for Social Developmen

consists of 46 members elected by ECOSOC. Since the convening of the World Summit (meeting), Summit for Social Development in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in 1995, the commission has been the key UN body in charge of the follow-up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. As a result of the Summit, the mandate of the commission was reviewed and its membership expanded from 32 to 46 members in 1996. It meets once a year at the United Nations Headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, usually in February for about two weeks. In 2020, the Commission celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the 75th anniversary of the commission. Each year since 1995, the commission has taken up key social development themes as part of its follow-up to the outcome of the Copenhagen Summit. In 1996, the priority theme was “strategies and actions for the eradication of poverty” and, more recently, in 2020 the priority theme was "affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness".

The World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, March 1995

At the World Summit for Social Development, Governments reached a new consensus on the need to put people at the centre of development. The Social Summit was the largest gathering ever of world leaders at that time. It pledged to eradicate

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

, create

full employment Full employment is an economic situation in which there is no cyclical or deficient-demand unemployment. Full employment does not entail the disappearance of all unemployment, as other kinds of unemployment, namely structural and frictional, may ...

and foster

social integration Social integration is the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society. Social integration, together with economic integration and identity integration, are three main dimensions o ...

. At the end of the Summit, Governments adopted the Copenhagen Declaration, the Ten Commitments (listed below) and the Programme of Action of the World Social Summi

* Create an economic, political, social, cultural and legal environment that will enable people to achieve social development; * Eradicate absolute poverty by a target date to be set by each country; * Support full employment as a basic policy goal; * Promote social integration based on the enhancement and protection of all

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

; * Achieve equality and equity between women and men; * Attain universal and equitable access to education and primary

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

; * Accelerate the development of Africa and the least developed countries; * Ensure that structural adjustment programmes include social development goals; * Increase resources allocated to social development; * Strengthen cooperation for social development through the UN. Five years later, Governments reconvened in Geneva in June 2000 for the 24th special session of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

, to review what has been achieved, and to commit themselves to new initiatives.

References

{{Reflist United Nations Economic and Social Council Organizations established in 1946

The World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, March 1995

See also

Related links

References