Promoting a society for all

A ‘society for all’ is a society where men and women, young and old, rich and poor, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, minorities, and other excluded and disadvantaged groups and individuals are all equal participants. This is a society that is stable, safe, just and tolerant, respects diversity and promotes equality of opportunity and participation. Read more

Advancing the global statistical system

Official statistics are playing an increasingly important role within both governments and societies. High quality statistical data is now readily-available at national, regional and global levels for use in such areas as public debate, policy formulation and business decisions. Read more

Malaysian envoy elected to ECOSOC for 2010

The Malaysian diplomat H.E. Mr. Hamidon Ali was elected on 19 January to serve as the next President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). “The Council should continue to provide a forum to enhance understanding of the implications of all crises on development efforts and to promote and enhance a coordinated response of the United Nations system,” Mr. Ali said, underlining that the challenge is to keep the focus and follow-up on current and future crises and to promote initiatives to mitigate their impact and prevent more disastrous consequences. Read more

Technical reports

Report on the World Social Situation 2010: Rethinking Poverty

This flagship report, launched on 28 January, makes a compelling case for rethinking poverty and poverty-reduction efforts, saying that over-reliance on market forces and economic liberalization have led to neglect of nationally designed and developmentally-oriented strategies, to the detriment of the world’s poor. The most important lesson, accordingly, is that governments need to play a developmental role, integrating economic and social policies that support inclusive output and employment growth, while attacking inequality and promoting justice. Read more

Mr. Alexander Trepelkov was appointed, effective 1 January 2010, Director of the Financing for Development Office in DESA, following six years of service as Chief of Branch. Since 2000, his main function was to support the engagement of multiple stakeholders from the official and private sectors in the Financing for Development process, in order to promote policy coherence, coordination and cooperation at all levels. Read more