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EU Presidency Statement - Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family

Mr. Chairperson,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia , the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA country Iceland, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

In Copenhagen, our leaders stressed the need for a social dimension of development and pledged to make the eradication of poverty, the goals of full employment and the fostering of stable, safe, and just societies our overriding objectives.

The European Union continues to strongly support the implementation of the commitments made at the Copenhagen Summit and the 24th special session of the General Assembly. We also remain fully committed to the comprehensive implementation of the Millennium Declaration, including the concrete and time-bound Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) contained therein and the commitments agreed to in other major United Nations conferences and summits.

The Implementation of the World Summit of Social Development, the 24th special session of the General Assembly, and the Millennium Development Goals will soon be reviewed. We need to take stock of the progress made in achieving the agreed goals. Yet, we are already aware that we need to strengthen our efforts in order to be able to implement our commitments and achieving our goals.

In this framework, the European Union welcomes the report 'A fair globalisation- creating opportunities for all,' by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation. We strongly support the emphasis on people focused globalisation, and the attention paid to poverty reduction, gender equality, employment, health, education, social security and social services, and, in the words of the commission: the totality of people's aspiration for democratic participation and material prosperity. This thinking has to be part of the 2005 high level event, when we review the Millennium declaration.

Poverty Eradication

In Copenhagen, we committed ourselves to: Eradicating poverty in the world through decisive national action and international co-operation, as an ethical, social, political and economic imperative to human kind." Eradicating extreme poverty remains the biggest social challenge of today. More than one billion people still live on less than one dollar a day. We simply cannot afford to fail in achieving MDG 1 by the year 2015. The responsibility for national policies lies first and foremost in the hands of the national governments. However, effective implementation of national Poverty Reduction Strategies requires also active support by civil society and the private sector and ample support by the international community. Let us reiterate and enforce the commitment that we made in the Millennium Declaration. Let us create an environment - at the national and global levels alike - which is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty.

This means national and international resource mobilisation combined with increased effectiveness and harmonisation of development efforts in support of poverty eradication. This also calls for more coherence in national, external and development policies and the implementation of the DOHA Development Agenda. In short: It means that all countries should implement the commitments made at Monterrey.

Employment

At Copenhagen, we committed ourselves to the promotion of full employment as a priority of our economic and social policies. For the European Union, delivering more and better jobs remains one of the most urgent issues to be addressed. Higher employment rates are critical to achieving economic growth and furthering social inclusion and development.

In Lisbon, in March 2000, the European Union set itself ambitious goals for the year 2010. Heads of state and governments agreed to make the European Union "the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion." To this end the European Council agreed to promote competitiveness, employment and social cohesion as mutually reinforcing objectives and policies. The European Employment Strategy and European co-operation on social protection and social inclusion aims at full employment, quality and productivity at work, increased gender equality, social cohesion and an inclusive society. Significant progress has been made towards these objectives. However, further efforts are necessary, seeing the economic outlook has become less favourable. The European Employment Strategy has been adapted to take into account the recommendations from the Employment Task Force, headed by the former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok. The taskforce has highlighted the importance of employability, adaptability, balance between flexibility and security, investment in human capital, and better governance.

We should also take into account the benefits of employment globally. Decent work and improved employment opportunities are needed to bring forth stability and a stronger global social cohesion. Countries with high unemployment show an increase in political tensions and run the risk of becoming a breeding ground for social unrest.

Mr. Chairperson,

All UN member states attach great importance to creating full employment and promoting social cohesion. Let us share our experiences and exchange good practices on successful policies and programmes, in order to continue to learn from each other, increase employment and reduce unemployment and inactivity.

Migration

When Secretary General Kofi Annan visited Brussels earlier this year, he stated that: "It is our shared responsibility to do what we can to ensure that there are more opportunities in developing countries. If we truly forge a global partnership for development, in order to meet the Millennium Declaration Goals, we will do a lot to reduce the incentive to leave."

The European Union welcomes the leadership of the UNSG to foster the debate on international migration within the United Nations. The European Union has given top political priority to the issue of migration. We are committed to a balanced approach between the reception and integration of legal immigrants on the one hand and the urgent need to stop illegal immigration and to fight trafficking in human beings on the other.

The European Union has taken a number of steps to foster a better migration policy. Further to its enlargement, the European Union has initiated a new neighbourhood policy, which applies to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and the Ukraine, as well as neighbouring countries in the South Mediterranean. With respect to migration issues, the European Union will establish a political dialogue with these countries in order to initiate close co-operation on justice and home affairs.

The European Union awaits with interest the final report of the Global Commission for International Migration, focusing on the identification of priority challenges, problems, policy options and actions. We hope that this report will contribute to a better informed international debate on migration.

Youth, Ageing, Persons with Disabilities

Mr Chairperson,

2005 marks the tenth anniversary of the World Programme of Action for youth to the year 2000 and beyond. The ten priorities defined in the Programme of Action remain of critical importance. At the same time, the World Youth Report 2003 identifies 5 new issues of concern, which are:

• the mixed impact of globalisation on young women and men;
  
• the use of and access to information and communication technologies;
  
• the dramatic increase of the HIV virus among young people and the impact of the epidemic on their lives;
  
• the active involvement of young people in armed conflict, both as victims and as perpetrators;
  
• and the increased importance of addressing intergenerational issues in an ageing society.

The 60th session of the UNGA needs to address all these issues. It needs to focus at both results achieved and remaining challenges with regard to the World Program of Action. And it needs to do so with full and effective participation of youth.

The European Union welcomes steps taken by the ILO, the World Bank, and the United Nations Secretariat in creating the Youth Employment Network. We reiterate our full support for this network, created at the initiative of the United Nations Secretary General. We hope to see the fruits this network brings out in the following years. As the Secretary-General stated: 'Young people should never be seen as a burden on any society, but as its most precious asset."

Mr. Chairperson,

During the fourth session of the Ad Hoc Committee on an international convention on the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities, progress has been made. The European Union looks forward to a fruitful continuation of the negotiating process next year. For a strong and effective convention, we need the continued participation of NGOs in the negotiating process.

The need to supplement the UN standard Rules on the Equalisation of opportunities for persons with disabilities has been clear for several years. The European Union has welcomed the proposal in this regard from the previous special Rapporteur. We express our hope that at the latest during the next meeting of the commission for Social development, we can reach an agreement on the supplement.

The European Union attaches great importance to the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing at a national, regional and local level. We welcome the road map for the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action, presented last year by the Secretariat. The European Union continues to support a participatory approach for the review and appraisal of the Madrid Plan of Action.

Mr. Chairperson,

The importance of next year's session of the Commission for Social Development cannot be underestimated. The review of Copenhagen and the 24th special session of the General Assembly needs to focus on strengthening our efforts to implement the agreed goals. We could reiterate our commitments, but it is much more important to put our lofty ideals into practice.

Just as the Copenhagen Commitments are reviewed, functioning of the commission should also be reviewed. The commission for Social development needs to become a more action-oriented forum. It should be used to exchange experiences and good practices. It should foster greater co-operation with the specialised agencies world-wide, including the ILO or with initiatives with particular relevance to social development such as the Global Compact. Rather than negotiating agreed conclusions it should contribute to improving the world-wide social situation and promoting social development. In short, it should be revitalised.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.

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