Themes and Issues
Ageing
The UN Programme on Ageing is part of the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
It is the focal point within the United Nations system on matters related to ageing. As the focal point, its primary action is to facilitate and promote the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, including designing guidelines for policy development and implementation; advocating means to mainstream ageing issues into development agendas; engaging in dialogue with civil society and the private sector; and information exchange.
Cooperatives
The United Nations system values the important role of cooperatives in social and economic development. The World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995, and the General Assembly resolution 51/58 [E] [A] [C] [F] [R] [S] adopted in 1996, recognized the importance of cooperatives in the people-centred approach to development.
Disability
The UN Programme on Disability is the lead programme on disability within the United Nations System. The mandate of the Programme stems from the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons adopted by the United Nations in 1982 and the Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities adopted in 1994. The major objectives of the Programme are the following: (i) to support the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in social life and development; (ii) to advance the rights and protect the dignity of persons with disabilities and; (iii) to promote equal access to employment, education, information, goods and services.
Employment
After the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action – World Summit for Social Development in 1995, the expansion of productive work and reduction of unemployment was considered one of the three pillars of social development. Full and adequately remunerated employment is an effective method of combating poverty and promoting social integration. In 2000 the Millennium Declaration has once again showed a solid global consensus that employment and decent work need to be at the centre of economic and social policies aimed to achieve the primary Millennium Development Goal – to cut poverty in half by 2015. More explicitly, the Goal 8 sets out to develop decent and productive work for youth in cooperation with the developing countries.
Family
The Objective of the UN Programme on the Family is to contribute to the creation of an international community that enables the building of secure, just, free and harmonious societies offering opportunities and higher standards of living for all. In its resolution 52/81 of 12 December 1997, the Assembly recognized that the basic objective of the Follow up to the International Year of the Family should be to strengthen and support families in performing their societal and developmental functions and to build upon their strengths, in particular at the national and local levels.
NGOs
As a part of the Office of the Director of DSPD, the NGO Unit serves as an interface between the Division and non-governmental organizations. It acts as a gateway for NGOs interested in building a strong working relationship with the Division in advancing social progress and development.
Indigenous Issues
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.
Poverty Eradication
The World Social Summit identified poverty eradication as an ethical, social, political and economic imperative of mankind and called on governments to address the root causes of poverty, provide for basic needs for all and ensure that the poor have access to productive resources, including credit, education and training. Recognizing insufficient progress in the poverty reduction, the 24th special session of the General Assembly devoted to the review of the Copenhagen commitments, decided to set up targets to reduce the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by one half by 2015. This target has been endorsed by the Millennium Summit as Millennium Development Goal 1.
Youth
The Programme on Youth has been set up to: enhance awareness of the global ituation of youth and increase recognition of the rights and aspirations of youth; promote national youth policies, national youth coordinating mechanisms and national youth programmes of action as integral parts of social and economic development, in cooperation with both governmental and non-governmental organizations; and strengthen the participation of youth in decision-making processes at all levels in order to increase their impact on national development and international cooperation.