Commission for Social Development

What is the Commission?

The Commission for Social Development is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. It consists of 46 members elected by ECOSOC.

Since the convening of the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, the Commission has been the key UN body in charge of the follow-up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. As a result of the Summit, the mandate of the Commission was reviewed and its membership expanded from 32 to 46 members in 1996. It meets once a year in New York, usually in February.

Each year since 1995, the Commission has taken up key social development themes as part of its follow-up to the outcome of the Copenhagen Summit. These themes are listed below. The pages contain all documentation of the Commission for each of its sessions since the Summit.

In 2001, the Bureau of the Commission for Social Development initiated a review of the working methods of the Commission.

Multi-year programme of work:

At its 39th session in February 2001, the Commission for Social Development agreed on a multi-year programme of work for the period 2002-2006, built around the follow-up to the Summit and the 24th special session of the General Assembly, incorporating also the review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups.

Two-year policy and review cycle:

In resolution 2005/11, the Economic and Social Council decided that, beginning with its forty-fifth session, the Commission for Social Development would be organized in a series of two-year action-oriented implementation cycles, which will include a review and a policy segment, and that the Commission would continue to review plans and programmes of action pertaining to social groups. In 2006 the Economic and Social Council decided that the theme for the 2007-2008 review and policy cycle will be "Promoting full employment and decent work for all".

Past Sessions:

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 |

2010: Priority Theme: "Social Integration"

2009: Priority Theme: "Social Integration"

Adoption of four resolutions on a wide range of issues, including the development of Africa, employment, ageing and youth.

2008: Priority Theme: "Promoting full employment and decent work for all "

Adoption of six resolutions. Most important was the resolution on the priority theme. The significance of the resolution is that employment is now more firmly ensconced in the work of the United Nations.

2007: Promoting full employment and decent work for all:

Review of further implementation of the outcome of the Social Summit and the 24th special session of the General Assembly
Major Developments in the area of Ageing since the Second World Assembly on Ageing.

2006: Review of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006):

Review of relevant UN plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups
Future organization and methods of work of the Commission for Social Development.

2005: 10-year review of the implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action and the outcome of the 24th special session of the General Assembly:

Review of further implementation of the outcome of the Social Summit and the 24th special session of the General Assembly
Review of relevant UN plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups.

2004: Improving public sector effectiveness:

Review of relevant UN plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups:
1) 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family
2) Equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities.

2003: National and international cooperation for social development:

Sharing of experiences and practices in social development;
Forging partnerships for social development;
Social responsibility of the private sector;
Impact of employment strategies on social development;
Policies and role of international financial institutions and their effect on national social development strategies. Review of relevant UN plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups:
1) Review of the global situation of Youth.

2002: Integration of social and economic policy:

Social aspects of macro-economic policies;
Social assessment as a policy tool;
Expenditures in the social sector as a productive factor. Review of relevant UN plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups:
1) Preparatory Committee for the Second World Assembly on Ageing (second session);
2) Report of the Third Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Disability.