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EU Presidency Statement - Social development

Mr/Mme Chairperson, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia and the Associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey as well as the EFTA country member of the EEA Norway align themselves with this statement. I am pleased to take the floor on agenda item 3, concerning the follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development.

The European Union takes this opportunity to thank the Secretary-General and the Secretariat for the preparatory work for the thirty-ninth session of the Commission for Social Development and especially for the excellent and comprehensive reports on the themes under consideration.

Mr/Mme Chairperson,

Last summer, we gathered for the Special Session of the General Assembly on Social Development in Geneva to assess the progress made since 1995 and to agree on a set of new initiatives in order to further implement the commitments made at the World Summit in Copenhagen. Allow me to highlight some of these:

The commitment to reduce the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by half by the year 2015

The recognition of the fundamental rights of workers all over the world as a prerequisite for social and economic development

The appreciation of the important role of the private and voluntary sectors to social development

The preparation of an international employment strategy

The recognition of the linkage between human rights and HIV/AIDS and of the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on social and economic development

The commitment to closing the gender gap in primary and secondary education by 2005, and ensuring free, compulsory and universal primary education of good quality for all children by 2015

The goal of achieving access to primary health care for all by 2015

Noting the advancement made, the EU would also like to underline several areas where progress was insufficient:

The struggle against the feminisation of poverty

The implementation of good governance

The identification of a set of common social indicators

The integration of social, economic and environmental policies

The development of partnership with the private sector

The enhancement of dialogue between governments and international organisations, such as the Bretton Woods institutions, on the social dimension of globalisation

The EU believes that this Commission should focus its work on how we can best further the development in these and other important areas, building upon the commitments made at the World Summit for Social Development and its follow-up conference, as well as other related UN conferences. We have many challenges ahead of us, but also many opportunities to combat exclusion and poverty and contribute to the creation of a society for all.

Mr/Mme Chairperson,

The priority theme for this years' Commission on Social Development is social protection and how to promote inclusion and poverty reduction in a globalising world. The EU believes that this Commission can function as a forum to reflect on the social dimension of globalisation, and to formulate answers, best practices and lessons learned. In the EU, most countries are currently facing a number of significant challenges in the field of social protection. Falling birth rates, an ageing population along with the increasing educational requirements and prevailing long-term unemployment are challenges to social policies within the EU. The present tranformations will require the adaptation of the social protection systems.

Poverty and social exclusion are major obstacles for people of all ages to participate as equals in society. All individuals should have access to social security and social services. Particular attention, in this regard, should be given to the feminisation of poverty. Social protection should be a tool for the empowerment of people to move out of poverty and exclusion and to participate as active citizens in society.

The EU agreed on a new strategy for employment, economic reform and social cohesion at the March 2000 Lisbon European Council. This strategy provides for further co-ordinated action at EU level on employment, social protection and social inclusion. Last December, the European Council also adopted a European Social Agenda, which sets out priorities for action for the next five years.

Internationally, the process of globalisation has offered new possibilities, but has also created challenges for social protection. The EU supports the development of internationally agreed principles in social policy. In this context, the EU wishes to stress the importance of an effective and universal implementation of the core labour standards established by the ILO.

Although there is a growing wealth in some parts of the world, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Official Development Assistance should support governments in their efforts to generate domestic revenues to pay for social protection. In this context, the 20/20 initiative could serve as an encouragement for governments and donors to increase the amount of resources earmarked for basic social services. The EU remains dedicated to assisting developing countries in combating poverty. In this regard, we reiterate our commitment to the 0,7 percent goal. Recognising the social impact of the debt burden for many countries, the EU will also strive to ensure the full and speedy implementation of the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative.

Mr/Mme Chairperson,

Among the poorest of people we often find persons with disabilities. They often have to face multiple obstacles for the enjoyment of their human rights. In this regard, the EU wishes to reiterate its attachment to the UN Standard Rules on Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

Increased attention needs to be paid to the ageing population, both ageing workers and old people outside the working life. Older persons are entitled to respect and attention. They are too often ignored as a valuable resource in society. We are looking forward to the Preparatory Committee for the Second World Assembly on Ageing, following this meeting, that will give special attention to these matters.

Mr/Mme Chairperson,

Inclusive societies, based on human rights, gender equality, non-discrimination, tolerance, participation and equality of opportunity should ensure universal access to social services combined with specific protection measures. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is putting social protection systems, in particular in developing countries, under enormous pressure. The international community must consider the implications for social protection in its efforts to assist countries in coping with the impact of HIV/AIDS. The EU wishes to stress the particular importance of improving access to health care, to medications at affordable cost and other social services for persons affected with the disease. To this end, the EU will work to favour partnerships, on the basis of a cross-sectoral approach, with international organisations, governments and the private sector.

We would like to underline the importance of a number of UN conferences with particular bearing on the social development agenda taking place this year. Among them are the Special Session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS, the World Summit for Children, the Third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, the follow-up to the UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. In order to achieve an integrated agenda, it is essential that social concerns are taken into account during all these events.

Mr/Mme Chairperson,

Volunteering is the second theme of this years Commission on Social Development. The EU believes that citizens' active participation and responsibility are integral parts in any society marked by good governance, transparency and trust. Governments have an important overall responsibility and the task to develop national strategies for creating and promoting an enabling environment for volunteering and for private sector participation in social development. However, the important contributions of the voluntary sector can never free Governments from their primary responsibility to provide for basic social services.

Mr/Mme Chairperson, in conclusion; having passed the five year review of the Copenhagen Summit, the EU feels this Commission should make new and reinforced efforts to find methods of work which will further enhance the dialogue and the sharing of experiences and good practices between us. We have established a solid framework for action. It is now vital that we focus our energy on the implementation of the Copenhagen commitments and on how we best can organise our work to achieve this. In this regard, the Secretary-General presented an interesting report to the ECOSOC last year on the integrated and co-ordinated follow-up to major UN conferences and summits which could serve as a guide to our future work. In this sense, the UN Millennium Summit was a step forward. The EU looks forward to a fruitful discussion during the coming weeks on this and other matters.

Thank you, Mr/Mme Chairperson.

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