July 2008: The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) concluded its July 2008 substantive session with the adoption of nine resolutions and three decisions on 25 July 2008.

Decisions adopted during the session addressed issues including strengthening coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance and promoting full employment and decent work for all, and a Ministerial Declaration on “Strengthening the efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger, including through the global partnership for development.”

A resolution on ECOSOC’s coordination segment reaffirms the need to continue to strengthen the Council as the central mechanism for system-wide coordination, and recalls that it should increase its role in overseeing system-wide coordination and the balanced integration of economic, social and environmental aspects of UN policies and programmes aimed at promoting sustainable development. The resolution also welcomes the holding of the first Development Cooperation Forum and second Annual Ministerial Review as “steps forward in strengthening of the Council,” and stresses that preparation for the 2009 Annual Ministerial Review should be fully supported by the UN system, especially the funds, programmes and specialized agencies, in coordination with national Governments. It also welcomes strengthened cooperation between the Council and the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and emphasizes that interaction should be further improved.

In his closing statement, ECOSOC President Léo Mérorès (Haiti) indicated that, during the final semester of 2008, he would focus on two issues: responding to the mandate regarding adaptation of the working methods of the Council, for which he would convene a meeting to explore possible areas for further action; and finding ways and means to further strengthen the Council’s oversight role on funds and programmes, as envisage in the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review resolution.

The Council also decided that the theme of its 2009 thematic discussion would be “current global and national trends and their impact on social development, including health,” and the themes for its Annual Ministerial Reviews in 2010 and 2011 would be, respectively, “implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to gender quality and empowerment of women” and “implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education.”
Links to further information
ECOSOC Press Release, 25 July 2008
ECOSOC Press Release, 24 July 2008
ECOSOC website