ECOSOC - Economic and Social Council - Non-Governmental Organizations

Upcoming Conferences and NGO Accreditation

Human Development Reports

Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family

Families on the Process of Development 

Theme for the 2008-2009 Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) to be held during the High Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council

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The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs is pleased to announce the release of its latest annual flagship publication, World Economic and Social Survey 2007: Develoipment in an Ageing World.

The 2007 Survey analyses the implications of population ageing for social and economic development around the world, while recognizing that it offers both challenges and opportunities. Ämong the most pressing issues is that arising from the prospect of a smaller labour force having to support an increasingly larger older population. Paralling incresed longevity are the changes in intergeneral relationships that may affect the provision ofcare and income security for older persons, particulary in developing countries where family transfers play a major role. At the same time, it is also necessary for societies to fully recognize and better harness the productive and social contributions that older persons can make but are in many instances prevented from making. The Survey argues that the challenges are not insurmountable, but that societies everywhere need to put in place the policies required to confront those challenges effectively and to ensure an adequate standard of living for each of their members, while respecting and promoting the contribution and participation of all.

Please click here for download an Overview of World Economic and Social Survey 2007 (20 pages)

Please click here for order the complete publication

Please click here for order the complete publication directly through the sales division of UN

Commission on the Status of Women - 50^th session New York

February 27^th, - March 7th 2006

Item of the Provisional Agenda:

Enhanced participation of women in development: an enabling environment for achieving gender equality and the advancement of women, taking into account inter alia, the fields of education, health and work

We, the undersigned international and national non-governmental organisations in consultative status with ECOSOC, members of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Status of Women, present to the 50^th session of CSW the following statement for information and consideration.

The empowerment and autonomy of women are essential for achieving a society in which women and men are equal. Such empowerment must permeate political, economic and cultural structures at all levels. Although women have proven their capabilities as decision-makers in public life, they continue to be under-represented on most levels of governments and in legislative bodies. Some countries have even seen an alarming and significant decrease in the number of women in legislative bodies.

Women's and men's equal participation in political life is instrumental in enhancing the position of women in society as a whole. It is a precondition not only to ensuring that women's interests and contribution are taken into account by governments and society but also to strengthening and making democracy work effectively for the common good.

Socialisation, particularly the stereotyping of women and men reinforce the notion that political decision-making is the domain of men.

Therefore we

• encourage and actively promote alliances among women's organisations in order to coordinate activities and to give support to women in decision-making positions

Moreover we urge governments

• to encourage networking and co-ordination between women and men at all levels of society and decision-making in both developed and developing countries
• to promote, when non - existent, the public financing of innovative campaigns, to increase the participation of women in public life
• to introduce strategies for achieving equality between women and men, which include positive actions such as quota and targets based on gender-segregated data within a specific timeframe and establish indicators and benchmarks to allow regular evaluation
• to implement the dual approach of gender-mainstreaming and positive action in all policies, programmes and budgets, in order to clearly identify their effects on women and men
• to review the criteria for recruiting and appointing candidates to decision-making bodies to ensure that such criteria do not discriminate against women but promote their full and effective participation.

Economic Commission for Europe

Committee on Environmental Policy

High-level meeting of Environment and Education Ministries

Vilnius, Lithuania 17 - 18 March 2005

For more information please see here

For reading the CHAIR´S SUMMARY - CEP/AC.13/2005/5 - please click here

For reading the REPORT OF THE MEETING - CEP/AC.13/2005/2 - please click here

Living with Risk: A Hundred Positive Examples Of How People Are Making the World Safer

   NEW  YORK,  14  July  --  Today,  the  Inter-Agency  Secretariat  of the

International  Strategy  for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) launched its 2004

version  of  "Living  with  Risk:  A  global  review  of disaster reduction

initiatives."  The  publication is an unprecedented compilation of concrete

examples  of  what  people  are  doing  to  make  the  world a safer place.

Under-Secretary-General  for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland presented the

publication, coinciding with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

   "The report gives more than a hundred positive examples of how countries

such  as  Costa  Rica,  India, South Africa, Pacific island states, Canada,

Vietnam, Japan, the United States, Australia manage the challenge of living

with  natural  hazards.  A natural hazard is only a disaster because people

find  themselves  in  the wrong place at the wrong time," explained Sálvano

Briceño,  Director  of the ISDR Secretariat in Geneva. "There are many ways

to make the world safer if we learn to be less vulnerable."

   In  2003  alone,  over 70,000 people perished in some 700 disasters that

affected  600  million men, women and children and caused US$ 65 billion in

damages.  Global  trends show that disasters will increase because of human

activities  and  more people - in particular the poor - will be affected as

they grow more vulnerable. Over three-quarters of the 100 largest cities in

the  world  are  situated in locations exposed to potential serious natural

hazards.

   The  global  review is an indispensable guide for everyone interested in

disaster  risk  reduction, humanitarian action and sustainable development.

It  explores the ways in which the understanding of disaster management and

risk has evolved over recent years and provides a comprehensive compilation

of information on disaster risks around the world. The review is drawn from

studies  commissioned  by  UN/ISDR  and  activities carried out by regional

partner  organizations, with inputs from various UN organizations, national

governments and specialized institutions.  It directly complements the UNDP

report  "Reducing  Disaster  Risk: A Challenge for Development" launched in

early 2004.  Both organizations will jointly produce future versions.

   Many  of  the issues outlined in "Living with Risk" will be addressed at

the  forthcoming  World  Conference  on  Disaster  Reduction in Kobe, Hyogo

(Japan) in January 2005.