Fam&UN

United Nations system and the family
Technical assistance to Governments
Research on family-related issues
Links to the United Nations System

Back to Families in the Development Process

United Nations system

In light of the deliberation and outcomes of the global conferences of the 1990s and owing to the observance of the International Year of the Family, there is greater awareness family issues within the governing bodies of various United Nations organizations. The United Nations system, including the regional commissions, has responded with a variety of efforts to assist countries in developing programmes and policies in furtherance of Year objectives. Collaborative links were also established among the different United Nations organizations (for example, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO)).

Technical assistance to Governments in the family field has been provided by several organizations... For example

UNICEF assisted Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Romania and Yugoslavia in capacity-building to develop appropriate policies and deliver services to families and children.

In 1998 and 1999, The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) provided technical assistance to Chile’s Servicio Nacional de la Mujer in the elaboration of the National Report on the Family.

WHO provides guidance to countries emphasizing the role of a healthy family in development through its Adolescent Development Programme course.

ILO seeks to ensure that gender perspectives are mainstreamed in its technical cooperation programmes.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provided assistance to 50,649 refugee families in 1998–1999 in the form of food and cash subsidies, training programmes and small grants or loans to establish self-support projects.

The Joint and Co-sponsored United Nations Programme on Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (UNAIDS) has been involved in Zimbabwe and India concerning training programmes relating to a family life education component of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-based education carried out in schools.

UNESCO assists Governments in making early childhood care and education programmes more widely available and accessible. It provided training courses on early childhood and family education in the Asia and the Pacific region. UNESCO also serves as a networking and clearing house for information on early childhood issues, policies, programmes and organizations and is the lead agency for an Inter-Agency Early Childhood Communication Strategy.

In the area of research on family-related issues...

ILO conducted research and released publications in 1998 and 1999 on the growth of female-headed households, gender equality, and the social and economic empowerment of women through employment.

The United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) is conducting research on temporary labour migration in Sri Lanka and Kuwait.

UNAIDS has undertaken operational research on household and community responses to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS epidemic in the rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa; and a five-site study in Africa to identify coping mechanisms of carers for people with HIV/AIDS.

A publication by UNICEF entitled "Children and Families affected by HIV/AIDS: Guidelines for Action" is forthcoming.

UNESCO endeavours to place the family in the international research agenda, particularly in the areas of early childhood care and education, parent and family education and early childhood research. Research also focuses on families and human rights.

Regional Commissions

ECLAC published, in 1998 and 1999, editions of the Social Panorama of Latin America, which dealt with the intergenerational transmission of poverty and family heterogeneity. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) organized a Regional Seminar on the Family and the Elderly in October 1998 in Bangkok. ESCAP is also incorporating a distinct component on the role of the family in all of its activities concerning the regional observance of the International Year of Older Persons, 1999.

The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) focused on the structure of the Arab family for strengthening social ties and supporting values. Towards that end, a project proposal was formulated. Currently, possibilities for funding and joint implementation with interested partners in the United Nations system are being explored. For the period 2000–2001, a major activity will be undertaken on the family, its role, values and identity within a gender-sensitive perspective.