EU Presidency Statement - Social development Agenda item 4

Mme Chairperson,

On behalf of the European Union, I am pleased to take the floor on agenda item 4 "Multi-year programme of work of the Commission for 2002-2006". The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia and the Associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey align themselves with this statement. The European Union has with interest studied the multi-year program of work and would like make the following remarks in reference to the proposed agenda.

First of all, a general comment. As pointed out earlier, the European Union would like to underscore the vital importance of creating informal and more flexible methods of work in this Commission. Based on the principals outlined in the Millennium Declaration, the functional commissions should aim at having concrete discussions on selected themes related to the UN conferences and international development targets. The Commission for Social Development should along these lines focus its work on technical discussions and on best practices for the further implementation of the Copenhagen Agenda. One aspect of this is a better integration of the experiences of researchers in the work of the Commission. As an extremely useful initiative, the EU would like to congratulate the secretariat on its Information note "Compilation of summaries", which highlights the system-wide impact of the 24th UNGASS.

The suggested theme for the Commission for Social Development in 2002 "Integration of social and economic policy" was an important topic for discussion during the Special Session in Geneva in the summer 2000. In the consideration of this theme, it will be important to take into account its cross-cutting aspects and connect to other processes within the UN which attempt to explore the linkage between economic and social development, for example the High-Level Intergovernmental Event on Financing for Development, the follow-up to the Millennium Declaration and the new WTO round of negotiations.

The European Union looks forward to continue the discussions started this year on the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons with a more extensive debate in 2002, when considering the report of the Special Rapporteur on Disability on his third mandate. Moreover, the European Union welcomes the further consideration of the preparations for the Second World Assembly on Ageing. It will be important to take these issues into consideration also in other processes within the UN system, including in the Commission on Human Rights.

The suggested theme for 2003 is "Sharing experiences and practices in social development". The European Union welcomes a thorough consideration of this topic, which is vital for the realisation of social development. As proposed by the Bureau, this theme should provide for the discussion of a number of specific topics. The European Union would like to see the following topics: the impact of an international employment strategy on social development; forging partnerships for social development; and corporate social responsibility and social development policies.

Mme Chairperson,

Copenhagen+5 acknowledged that there was no single path to achieving social development and recognised the importance of sharing information by Member States on their national experiences and best practices in social development on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Furthermore, Copenhagen+5 recognised the need to elaborate a coherent and co-ordinated international strategy on employment to increase opportunities for people to achieve sustainable livelihoods and gain access to employment. This strategy will be ready for discussion by the Commission in 2003.

In addition, the European Union proposes that Youth, and the challenges it faces, should be a separate, specific and cross-cutting issue for discussion in 2003. In the early part of the 21st century, Youth will rise to positions of leadership and decision-making forcing them to tackle the many environmental, economic and social challenges arising from the 20th century. As reiterated in various fora, Youth is a power in society and has enormous potential for contributing to development and social advancement. That potential must be harnessed and the European Union believes that the Commission for Social Development is the appropriate forum to deal with this issue.

"Improving the effectiveness of the public sector in social policy and development" and "Review of global situation of the family/trends confronting families" the suggested themes for 2004 are both of great interest to the European Union. The Year of the Family left some crucial issues unresolved as pointed out in the Secretary-General's report on the "Follow-up to the International Year of the Family". We believe it is important to develop a common understanding, to increase knowledge about family issues and to avoid stereotyping. One of the issues to be discussed could be the reconciliation of work and family life.

In 2005, the suggested theme is the review of further implementation of the Social Summit and its follow-up session. The European Union agrees that the follow-up should be a central concern to this Commission. However, the form and format for the review must be thoroughly discussed and where national reporting is appropriate it should focus on a few core issues. The report of the Secretary-General on the integrated and co-ordinated implementation of and follow-up to major UN conferences and summits is a most useful guide to our further work in this regard. As outlined in the report, the functional commissions of the ECOSOC are invited to, among other things, identify the goals and the scope of the follow-up. It should be ensured that the reviews' focus on the core issues and address new developments and challenges. Key concerns should be the need to implement the commitments made and lessons learned. The European Union would like to see these recommendations as the basis for our further work.

In conclusion, the European Union supports the suggested theme for 2006 "Review of the first UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006) and the global campaign to eradicate poverty". It is important that we in consideration of this very broad matter give special attention to its cross-cutting aspects and make all efforts to achieve an integrated follow-up.

Thank you, Mme Chairperson.

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• EU Presidency Statement - Social development Agenda item 3  (20/2/2001)