59/2. Strengthening social safety in the Asian and Pacific region

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific,

Recalling the World Summit for Social Development in 1995, which referred to the urgent need to address profound social problems, especially poverty, unemployment and social exclusion, that affect every country,

Recalling also the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit, which established a consensus to place people at the core of the concerns for sustainable development,

Recalling further the pledge by the General Assembly at its twenty-fourth special session in 2000 to eradicate poverty, promote full and productive employment and foster social integration to achieve stable, safe and just societies for all,

Acknowledging that while globalization, technological advances and rapid economic growth in some countries of the region have offered unprecedented opportunities and brought about substantial progress on poverty eradication and social integration, they have also presented serious challenges for the people in the region,

Stressing that public policy on social welfare in the region should move beyond crisis management to strengthening the overall social safety system by considering long-term policies, institutional structures and collective efforts by all members and associate members to help the people of the region to manage risks,

Emphasizing the importance of fostering an integrated social safety net, particularly the necessity of establishing a social safety net which provides necessary assistance to the unemployed, the poor and senior citizens as well as other vulnerable groups,

Reaffirming that resources should be mobilized at both the national and regional levels for social safety, to expand opportunities for productive employment and to invest in the development of human resources, entrepreneurship and employability,

1. Calls upon members and associate members:

To renew their commitment to implementing the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, held in 1995;
To strengthen efforts to foster social integration and an enabling environment for social development, by promoting productive and gainful employment and eradicating poverty;

2. Also calls upon members and associate members, in the context of strengthening social safety:

To emphasize the need to continue to allocate, and enhance the allocation of, resources as appropriate to education, vocational and management training, occupational safety and health, inter alia, by strengthening technical cooperation and collaboration with the private sector in this area;
To stress the need to improve methods for collection and analysis of basic employment data, disaggregated by, inter alia, age, sex and relevant socio-economic categories, as appropriate in the country context, including with regard to the informal, agricultural and service sectors and new forms of employment, and assess the feasibility of developing and improving mechanisms to measure unremunerated work;
To consider devising arrangements, as appropriate, to meet the needs of the poor and vulnerable groups, having regard to available resources;
To strengthen partnerships, as appropriate, among the public sector, the private sector and other stakeholders concerned with social welfare and social safety;

3. Requests the Executive Secretary:

To design a comprehensive and action-oriented programme of work in this regard in consultation with, and after obtaining the endorsement of, the members and associate members;
To assist members and associate members in the development of social safety policies, including the development of employment data collection and analysis;
To promote experience-sharing and best-practice learning on social integration within the ESCAP region, in coordination and collaboration with other international and regional intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;
To continue to pay particular attention to disadvantaged, marginalized and unskilled groups in formulating its programme of work in 2004;

4. Also requests the Executive Secretary to report to the Commission at its sixty-first session on the implementation of the present resolution.

5th meeting
4 September 2003

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Main	Programme	Materials	Online	Bangkok

	Regional Workshop on Monitoring the Implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF) Bangkok, Thailand, 13-15 October 2004