The priority task of the 38th session of the Commission for Social Development was to review the achievements of the Social Summit of 1995. At the end of its session, the Commission adopted a set of agreed conclusions on progress achieved and obstacles in implementing the commitments made at the Social Summit of 1995.

Entitled "Overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit", the agreements were the Commission's contribution to the General Assembly's review of the Social Summit held at Geneva in June 2000 ("Social Summit+5"). The agreed text can be found in the report of the session (E/CN.5/2000/7).

The Chairman of the Commission's thirty-eighth session was Zola Skweyiya, (South Africa). Its four Vice-Chairmen were: Jaminska Dinic (Croatia); Luis Fernando Carranza-Cifuentes (Guatemala); Asith Kumar Bhattacharjee (India); and Didier Le Bret (France), who also served as Rapporteur.