The Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the Department of Economic and Social affairs (UNDESA) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on “Family policies for inclusive societies”, 15-16 May 2018 at UN Headquarters in New York. In its recent resolution on family issues, the General Assembly invited Member States to invest in a variety of family-oriented policies and programmes, as important tools for, inter alia, fighting poverty, social exclusion and inequality, promoting work-family balance and gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls and advancing social integration and inter-generational solidarity, to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The importance of family policies for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1-5 relating to poverty and hunger reduction, health, education and gender equality was addressed by expert group meetings held in 2015 and 2016. The current meeting aims to analyse the importance of family policies for the achievement of SDG 16 – promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, and SDG11 – making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

For more information about this EGM, please visit: www.un.org/development/desa/family/meetings-events