18 February 2011: The 49th session of the UN Commission for Social Development (CSocD, or CSD) was held from 9-18 February 2011, at UN Headquarters in New York, US. On its final day, the Commission considered five draft resolutions on the theme of poverty eradication and endorsed five draft resolutions, including on: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD); the upcoming review of the action plan on ageing; and improving the status of youth, persons with disabilities and families.

During the session, many countries noted that social protection was a key component of their poverty reduction strategies and an important way to reduce the harmful impacts of climate change and the recent financial crisis.

Under the agenda item on social protection, States inquired how successful countries had been in monitoring the segments of society impacted by the economic crisis, the role of social protection measures in alleviating that impact, and whether the impact of climate change on social protection systems could be measured. The issue of financing for social protection schemes also emerged, as many States noted that the economic crisis had increased pressure on national budgets and it was difficult for developing countries to ensure sufficient funding.

Under the resolution on social dimensions of the NEPAD (document E/CN.5/2011/L.7), the Commission noted with concern that Africa is the only continent not on track to achieve any of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and considered how recent economic, food and energy crises and climate change may hinder Africa’s social development objectives. The resolution, therefore, calls for continued support of measures such as debt relief, improved market access, official development assistance (ODA) and technology transfer to address poverty eradication and sustainable development. Further, the resolution encourages all development partners to implement the principles of aid effectiveness and NEPAD into their development assistance programmes, and encourages the international community to support African countries in addressing climate change through financial and technological resources and capacity-building to support adaptation and mitigation.

In addition, the Commission adopted the following resolutions: Policies and programmes involving youth (E/CN.5/2011/L.4); Preparations for and observance of the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family (E/CN.5/2011/L.6); Modalities for the second review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002 (E/CN.5/2011/L.3), and Further promotion of equalization of opportunities by, for and with persons with disabilities and mainstreaming disability in the development agenda (E/CN.5/2011/L.5).

Also during the meeting, the Commission adopted the provisional agenda of its 50th session and took note of: the UN Secretary-General’s report on implementation of the resolution on promoting social integration (document E/CN.5/2011/2), his report on poverty eradication (document E/CN.5/2011/3), the Secretariat’s note on emerging issues: social protection (document E/CN.5/2011/8), the Secretary-General’s note transmitting the report of the Board of the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) (E/CN.5/2011/10), and his note on the nomination of members of the UNRISD Board (document E/CN.5/2011/11). [Website of CSocD49] [UN Press Release, 18 Feb] [UN Press Release, 10 Feb] [UN Press Release, 9 Feb]