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Focus on growing inequality at opening of UN Commission on Social Development

Information Type: NewsTopic: Social Work

February 12, 2014

Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo

Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo

Worsening worldwide inequality is causing serious unease among senior UN officials, as is evident in the statement of the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo, at the opening the 2014 session of the Commission for Social Development in New York on 12 February 2014.

Against the backdrop of a weak global economic recovery and harsh fiscal austerity measures, continued unemployment and an aging world population, Mr Wu said that the United Nations and its partners must lead efforts to put people’s needs at the forefront of development.

“Our attention should be given first and foremost to the issue of inequality, which in many case, is a major cause for social turbulence worldwide”.

Kicking off the meeting, Mr. Wu, noted that inequalities undermine poverty reduction, economic growth and social mobility.

Noting that too often, prosperity within countries is limited to the privileged few, he said that seven out of 10 people live in countries where income inequality has increased, citing the 2013 Report on the World Social Situation. “With high and growing inequalities, development cannot be sustained. But the right mix of social policies can curb inequality. Efforts to equalize opportunities and foster participation do make a difference.”

“Empowering people is at the core of the work of this Commission,” he continued, adding that: “Empowered individuals and social groups will achieve development that is “sustainable, inclusive and equitable.”

Speaking on behalf of the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Martin Sajdik, Vice-President Carlos Enrique Garcia Gonzalez highlighted some of the events on the Council’s agenda this year.

He noted that in the countdown to the 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the 2014 ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review will focus on addressing on-going and emerging challenges in meeting the MDGs and in defining the sustainable development gains in the future.

Among other upcoming events, Mr. Garcia highlighted the High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF) to be held in July. The Forum, which was created to ensure that sustainable development tops the agenda of the highest levels of government and is embraced by all actors, replaces the Commission on Sustainable Development which concluded its work on 20 September 2013.

Welcoming these opening remarks by Mr Wu, IFSW Secretary General Rory Truell commented that ‘the Commission on Social Development is one of several events and reports which set the context for the forthcoming first report of The Global Observatory for Social Work and Social Development which will be published in July 2014 at the world conference in Melbourne, Australia’. ‘This first report will build on our earlier work with IASSW and ICSW on The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development.  The report will illustrate how social work can play a crucial role in promoting equalities’, Dr Truell continued.

‘The research evidence demonstrates how highly unequal societies are socially and individually damaging.  This is confirmed in the practice experience of social workers.  IFSW is determined that these social work insights will be brought to world attention and that we will support those working for a more socially just world’, Rory Truell concluded.

Read the statement of Wu Hongbo here

Global Agenda website here

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Keywords: social development, global agendaRegion: GlobalLanguage: English

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  • Global Definition of Social Work
  • Global Social Work Statement of Ethical Principles 
  • The Role of Social Work in Social Protection Systems
  • The People’s Charter for a New-Eco Social World

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