Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
60/209. Implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997–2006)
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 47/196 of 22 December 1992, 48/183 of 21 December 1993, 50/107 of 20 December 1995, 56/207 of 21 December 2001, 57/265 and 57/266 of 20 December 2002, 58/222 of 23 December 2003 and 59/247 of 22 December 2004, Recalling also the United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted by Heads of State and Government on the occasion of the Millennium Summit and their commitment to eradicate extreme poverty and to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the world’s people whose income is less than one dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger,
Recalling further the 2005 World Summit Outcome,
Underlining the priority and urgency given by the Heads of State and Government to the eradication of poverty, as expressed in the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in economic and social fields,
Bearing in mind the outcomes of the World Summit for Social Development3 and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly,
Expressing its deep concern that the number of people living in extreme poverty in many countries continues to increase, with women and children constituting the majority and the most affected groups, in particular in the least developed countries and in sub-Saharan Africa,
Encouraged by reductions in poverty in some countries in the recent past and determined to reinforce and extend this trend to benefit people worldwide,
Acknowledging the contribution of full and productive employment to poverty eradication and to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals,
Recognizing that microcredit and microfinance programmes can generate productive self-employment and assist people in eradicating poverty and reducing their social and economic vulnerability,
Expressing deep concern that the number of women and girls living in poverty has increased disproportionately to the number of men, particularly in developing countries, and that the majority live in rural areas where their livelihoods are dependent on subsistence agriculture,
Aware that, to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development, women and men must participate fully and equally in the formulation of macroeconomic and social policies and strategies for the eradication of poverty,
Recognizing that the empowerment of women is a critical factor in the eradication of poverty and that the implementation of special measures aimed at empowering women can help to achieve this,
Recognizing also that improving women’s economic status also improves the economic status of their families and their communities and thereby creates a multiplier effect for economic growth,
Recognizing further that mobilizing financial resources for development at the national and international levels and the effective use of those resources are central to a global partnership for development in support of the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals,
Recognizing the ongoing international efforts, contributions and discussions, such as the Action against Hunger and Poverty initiative, aimed at identifying and developing possible innovative and additional sources of financing for development from all sources, public and private, domestic and external, to increase and supplement traditional sources of financing within the context of the follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development, and recognizing that some of the sources and their use fall within the realm of sovereign action,
Noting with interest the International Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Development, to be hosted by the Government of Mauritius in 2006,
Reiterating the need to strengthen the leadership role of the United Nations in promoting development,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;
2. Reiterates that eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in particular for developing countries;
3. Underlines the fact that each country has the primary responsibility for its own sustainable development and poverty eradication, that the role of national policies and development strategies cannot be overemphasized, and that concerted and concrete measures are required at all levels to enable developing countries to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development;
4. Acknowledges that sustained economic growth, supported by rising productivity and a favourable environment, including for private investment and entrepreneurship, is necessary to eradicate poverty, achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and realize a rise in living standards;
5. Reaffirms the importance of the contributions and assistance made by developing countries to the other developing countries in the context of South-South cooperation in order to achieve development and eradicate poverty;
6. Recognizes that, for developing countries to reach the targets set in the context of national development strategies for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the goal on the eradication of poverty, and for such poverty eradication strategies to be effective, it is imperative that developing countries be integrated into the world economy and share equitably in the benefits of globalization;
7. Reaffirms that, within the context of overall action for the eradication of poverty, special attention should be given to the multidimensional nature of poverty and the national and international conditions and policies that are conducive to its eradication, fostering, inter alia, the social and economic integration of people living in poverty and the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including the right to development; Global response for the eradication of poverty
8. Stresses the importance of the follow-up to the outcomes of the International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and calls for the full and effective implementation of the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development6 and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (“Johannesburg Plan of Implementation”), as well as the outcomes of other major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields;
9. Reaffirms that good governance at the international level is fundamental for achieving poverty eradication and sustainable development; also reaffirms that, in order to ensure a dynamic and enabling international economic environment, it is important to promote global economic governance through addressing the international finance, trade, technology and investment patterns that have an impact on the development prospects of developing countries; to that end, reiterates that the international community should take all necessary and appropriate measures, including ensuring support for structural and macroeconomic reform and a comprehensive solution to the external debt problem and increasing market access for developing countries; and also reaffirms that a universal, rule-based, open, nondiscriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system, as well as meaningful trade liberalization, can substantially stimulate development worldwide, benefiting countries at all stages of development;
10. Also reaffirms the commitment to broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries and countries with economies in transition in international economic decision-making and norm-setting, and to that end stresses the importance of continuing efforts to reform the international financial architecture, noting that enhancing the voice and participation of developing countries and countries with economies in transition in the Bretton Woods institutions remains a continuous concern;
11. Further reaffirms that good governance at the national level is essential for poverty eradication and sustainable development; that sound economic policies, solid democratic institutions responsive to the needs of the people and improved infrastructure are the basis for sustained economic growth, poverty eradication and employment creation; and that freedom, peace and security, domestic stability, respect for human rights, including the right to development, and the rule of law, gender equality, market-oriented policies and an overall commitment to just and democratic societies are also essential and mutually reinforcing;
12. Welcomes the outcomes of the eleventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held in São Paulo, Brazil, from 13 to 18 June 2004, and the adoption of The Spirit of São Paulo, and the São Paulo Consensus;
13. Reaffirms the need for the United Nations to play a fundamental role in the promotion of international cooperation for development and the coherence, coordination and implementation of development goals and actions agreed upon by the international community, and also reaffirms the need to strengthen coordination within the United Nations system in close cooperation with all other multilateral financial, trade and development institutions in order to support sustained economic growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development;
14. Stresses that together with coherent and consistent domestic policies, international cooperation is essential in supplementing and supporting the efforts of developing countries to utilize their domestic resources for development and poverty eradication and in ensuring that they will be able to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals;
15. Recalls that Member States redirected and recommitted themselves to fulfilling the development dimensions of the Doha Development Agenda, which places the needs and interests of developing countries at the heart of the Doha work programme, and recognizes the major role that trade plays as an engine of growth and development and in eradicating poverty;
16. Recognizes that fighting corruption at all levels is a priority and that corruption is a serious barrier to effective resource mobilization and allocation and diverts resources from activities that are vital for poverty eradication, the fight against hunger and economic and sustainable development;
17. Reaffirms the Monterrey Consensus, and recognizes that mobilizing financial resources for development and the effective use of those resources in developing countries and countries with economies in transition are central to a global partnership for development in support of the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. In this regard:
(a) Welcomes the increased resources that will become available as a result of the establishment of timetables by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance by 2015 and to reach at least 0.5 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance by 2010 as well as, pursuant to the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001–2010, 11 0.15 per cent to 0.20 per cent for the least developed countries no later than 2010, and urges those developed countries that have not yet done so to make concrete efforts in this regard in accordance with their commitments;
(b) Recognizes the importance of official development assistance as an important source of financing development for many developing countries, and stresses the need to translate increases in official development assistance into real increases in resources for national development strategies, to achieve their national development priorities as well as the internationally agreed development goals and objectives including the Millennium Development Goals, taking into account the need for resource predictability including budget support mechanisms where appropriate; also, welcomes recent efforts and initiatives to enhance the quality of aid and increase its impact, including the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and resolves to take concrete, effective and timely action in implementing all agreed commitments on aid effectiveness, with clear monitoring and deadlines, including through further aligning assistance with countries’ strategies, building institutional capacities, reducing transaction costs and eliminating bureaucratic procedures, making progress on untying aid, enhancing the absorptive capacity and financial management of recipient countries and strengthening the focus of development results; also encourages the broadest possible participation of developing countries in future work on aid effectiveness;
(c) Recognizes the importance of developing innovative sources of financing for development, provided that such sources do not unduly burden developing countries, notes that some countries will launch the International Financial Facility, have launched its immunization pilot, and that some countries, utilizing their national authorities, will implement in the near future a contribution on airline tickets as a “solidarity contribution” to enable financing for development projects, and notes that other countries are considering whether and to what extent they will participate in those initiatives;
(d) Emphasizes the importance of microcredit and microfinance in the eradication of poverty and highlights that the observance of the International Year of Microcredit 2005 has provided a significant opportunity to raise awareness, to share best practices and to further enhance financial sectors that support sustainable propoor financial services in all countries, in this regard urges member countries to put best practices into action, and invites the international community, including the United Nations system, to build on the momentum created by the Year;
(e) Acknowledges the vital role the private sector can play in generating new investments, employment and financing for development;
18. Resolves to continue to support the development efforts of middleincome developing countries by working, in competent multilateral and international forums and also through bilateral arrangements, on measures to help them meet, inter alia, their financial, technical and technological requirements;
19. Also resolves to address the development needs of low-income developing countries by working in competent multilateral and international forums, to help them meet, inter alia, their financial, technical and technological requirements;
20. Recognizes that an enabling domestic environment is vital for mobilizing domestic resources, increasing productivity, reducing capital flight, encouraging the private sector and attracting and making effective use of international investment and assistance, and that efforts to create such an environment should be supported by the international community;
21. Emphasizes that creditors and debtors must share responsibility for preventing unsustainable debt situations, and stresses that debt relief can play a key role in liberating resources that should be directed towards activities consistent with poverty eradication, sustained economic growth and sustainable development and the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and, in this regard, urges countries to direct those resources freed through debt relief, in particular through debt cancellation and reduction, towards these objectives;
22. Calls upon the developed countries, by means of intensified and effective cooperation with developing countries, to promote capacity-building and facilitate access to and transfer of technologies and corresponding knowledge, in particular to developing countries, on favourable terms, including concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, taking into account the need to protect intellectual property rights, as well as the special needs of developing countries;
23. Recognizes the crucial role that microcredit and microfinance could play in the eradication of poverty, the promotion of gender equality, the empowerment of vulnerable groups and the development of rural communities, encourages Governments to undertake policies to facilitate the expansion of microcredit and microfinance institutions in order to service the large unmet demand among poor people for financial services, including the identification and development of mechanisms to promote sustainable access to financial services, the removal of institutional and regulatory obstacles and the provision of incentives to microfinance institutions that meet established standards for delivering such financial services to the poor;
24. Also recognizes the potential of information and communication technologies to serve as a powerful tool for development and poverty eradication and to help the international community to maximize the benefits of globalization, and, in this regard, welcomes the Tunis Commitment and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society adopted by the World Summit on the Information Society at its Tunis phase, and recalls the Geneva Declaration of Principles and the Geneva Plan of Action adopted by the Summit at its Geneva phase; Policies for the eradication of poverty
25. Reaffirms that the eradication of poverty should be addressed in a multisectoral and integrated way, as set out in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, taking into account the importance of the need for the empowerment of women and sectoral strategies in such areas as education, the development of human resources, health, human settlements, rural, local and community development, productive employment, population, environment and natural resources, water and sanitation, agriculture, food security, energy and migration and the specific needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in such a way as to increase opportunities and choices for people living in poverty and to enable them to build and to strengthen their assets so as to achieve development, security and stability, and, in that regard, encourages countries to develop their national poverty reduction policies in accordance with their national priorities, including, where appropriate, through poverty reduction strategy papers;
26. Underlines, in this context, the importance of further integration of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, in the national development strategies and plans, including the poverty reduction strategy papers where they exist, and calls upon the international community to continue to support developing countries in the implementation of those development strategies and plans;
27. Strongly supports fair globalization, and resolves to make the goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all, including for women and young people, a central objective of the relevant national and international policies, as well as national development strategies, including poverty reduction strategies, as part of efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, resolves that these measures should also encompass the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, as defined in International Labour Organization Convention No. 182, and forced labour; and also resolves to ensure full respect for the fundamental principles and rights at work;
28. Recognizes the importance of disseminating best practices for the reduction of poverty in its various dimensions, taking into account the need to adapt those best practices to suit the social, economic, cultural and historical conditions of each country;
29. Reaffirms that all Governments and the United Nations system should promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programmes aimed at the eradication of poverty, at both the national and international levels, and encourages the use of gender analysis as a tool for the integration of a gender dimension into planning the implementation of policies, strategies and programmes for the eradication of poverty;
30. Also reaffirms that all Governments and the United Nations system should emphasize the importance and encourage the mainstreaming of poverty eradication in all policies, at both the national and international levels;
31. Further reaffirms that poverty eradication, changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are overarching objectives of, and essential requirements for, sustainable development;
32. Emphasizes the critical role of both formal and non-formal education, in particular basic education and training, especially for girls, in empowering those living in poverty, reaffirms in that context the Dakar Framework for Action adopted at the World Education Forum, and recognizes the importance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization strategy for the eradication of poverty, especially extreme poverty, in supporting the Education for All programmes as a tool with which to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on universal primary education by 2015;
33. Recognizes the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious and contagious diseases on human development, economic growth, food security and poverty reduction efforts in all regions, in particular sub- Saharan Africa, and urges Governments and the international community to give urgent priority to combating those diseases;
34. Also recognizes that armed conflict results in the loss of human lives and the destruction of economic resources, and that countries emerging from conflict are faced with damaged physical and social infrastructure, scarce employment opportunities, reduced foreign investment and increased capital flight, and, in this regard, stresses that strategies, programmes and international assistance for reconstruction and rehabilitation should, inter alia, create employment and eradicate poverty;
35. Emphasizes the link between poverty eradication and improving access to safe drinking water, and stresses in that regard the objective to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water and the proportion of people who do not have access to basic sanitation, as reaffirmed in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation;
36. Recognizes that the lack of adequate housing remains a pressing challenge in the fight to eradicate extreme poverty, particularly in the urban areas in developing countries, expresses its concern at the rapid growth in the number of slum-dwellers in the urban areas of developing countries, particularly in Africa, stresses that, unless urgent and effective measures and actions are taken at the national and international levels, the number of slum-dwellers, who constitute one third of the world’s urban population, will continue to increase, and emphasizes the need for increased efforts, with a view to significantly improving the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers by 2020;
37. Also recognizes that the eradication of rural poverty and hunger is crucial for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and that rural development should be an integral part of national and international development policies;
38. Further recognizes that access to microcredit and microfinance can contribute to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the goals relating to poverty eradication, gender equality and the empowerment of women;
39. Emphasizes the important contribution the observance of the International Year of Microcredit, 2005, has made in raising awareness of the importance of microcredit and microfinance in the eradication of poverty, in sharing good practices and in enhancing financial sectors that support sustainable financial services for the poor, and calls upon Member States, the United Nations system and other international organizations to consolidate and further build on the momentum created by the Year with a view to providing microcredit and microfinance services to the poor;
40. Recognizes the important contribution that the observance of the International Year of Rice, 2004, has made in drawing world attention to the role that rice can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty in the attainment of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals; Specific initiatives in the fight against poverty
41. Also recognizes the important potential contribution of the World Solidarity Fund to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the objective to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people living on less than one dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger;
42. Resolves to operationalize the World Solidarity Fund established by the General Assembly, and invites Member States, international organizations, the private sector, relevant institutions, foundations and individuals in a position to do so to make voluntary contributions to the Fund;
43. Recalls that, in the Millennium Declaration, the Heads of State and Government, inter alia, identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century, and in that regard decides to proclaim 20 December of each year International Human Solidarity Day;
44. Invites Governments and relevant stakeholders to utilize entrepreneurship, taking fully into account national interests, priorities and development strategies, to contribute to poverty eradication;
45. Recognizes that natural disasters remain a major impediment to sustainable development and poverty eradication, and, in this regard, invites Member States, the United Nations system, including international financial institutions, regional bodies and international organizations, as well as relevant civil society organizations, to support, implement and follow up the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters,15 adopted by the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, held in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, from 18 to 22 January 2005; Africa, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
46. Stresses, as recognized in the Millennium Declaration and reiterated in the 2005 World Summit Outcome, the importance of meeting the special needs of Africa, where poverty remains a major challenge and where most countries have not benefited fully from the opportunities of globalization, which has further exacerbated the continent’s marginalization;
47. Reaffirms its support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, encourages further efforts in the implementation of the commitments contained therein in the political, economic and social fields, and calls upon Member States and the international community, and invites the United Nations system, to continue to support the implementation of the Partnership, the primary objective of which is to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development on the basis of African ownership and leadership and enhanced partnerships with the international community, in accordance with the principles, objectives and priorities of the Partnership;
48. Notes the continuing role of the International Labour Organization in assisting African countries in implementing the Plan of Action for Promotion of Employment and Poverty Alleviation in Africa adopted at the extraordinary summit of the African Union on employment and poverty alleviation, held in Ouagadougou from 3 to 9 September 2004;
49. Resolves to promote a comprehensive and durable solution to the external debt problems of African countries, including through the cancellation of 100 per cent of multilateral debt consistent with the recent Group of Eight proposal for the heavily indebted poor countries, and, on a case-by-case basis, where appropriate, significant debt relief, including, inter alia, cancellation or restructuring for heavily indebted African countries not part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative that have unsustainable debt burdens;
50. Calls upon the Governments of the least developed countries and their development partners to implement fully the commitments contained in the Brussels Declaration18 and the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001–2010, adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Brussels from 14 to 20 May 2001;
51. Recognizes the special needs and vulnerabilities of small island developing States, reaffirms the commitment to take urgent and concrete action to address those needs and vulnerabilities through the full and effective implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly, and undertakes to promote greater international cooperation and partnership for the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy through, inter alia, the mobilization of domestic and international resources, the promotion of international trade as an engine for development and increased international financial and technical cooperation;
52. Also recognizes the special needs of and challenges faced by landlocked developing countries, and therefore reaffirms the commitment to urgently address those needs and challenges through the full, timely and effective implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action: Addressing the Special Needs of Landlocked Developing Countries within a New Global Framework for Transit Transport Cooperation for Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and the São Paulo Consensus, encourages the work undertaken by the regional commissions and United Nations organizations towards establishing a time-cost methodology for indicators to measure the progress made in the implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action, and recognizes the special difficulties and concerns of landlocked developing countries in their efforts to integrate their economies into the multilateral trading system and that, in this regard, priority should be given to the full and timely implementation of the Almaty Declaration and Almaty Programme of Action; The United Nations and the fight against poverty
53. Calls for the full implementation of General Assembly resolution 57/270 B of 23 June 2003 on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields, which provides a comprehensive basis for the follow-up to the outcomes of those conferences and summits and contributes to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the eradication of poverty and hunger;
54. Reaffirms the role of United Nations funds and programmes, in particular the United Nations Development Programme and its associated funds, in assisting the national efforts of developing countries, inter alia, in the eradication of poverty, and the need for their funding in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations;
55. Welcomes the observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, established by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/196 of 22 December 1992 in order to raise public awareness to promote the eradication of poverty and extreme poverty in all countries, and in this regard recognizes the useful role the observance of the Day continues to play in raising public awareness and mobilizing all stakeholders in the fight against poverty, and requests the Secretary-General to undertake a review of the observance of the Day in order to identify lessons learned and ways to promote the mobilization of all stakeholders in the fight against poverty;
56. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-first session the item entitled “Implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997–2006)”.
68th plenary meeting
22 December 2005.
International Human Solidarity Day was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005 as an initiative in the fight against poverty. (A/RES/60/209)
International Human Solidarity Day is:
> A day to celebrate our unity in diversity
> A day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements
> A day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity
> A day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals including poverty eradication
> A day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication
Background
In the Millennium Declaration world leaders identified Solidarity as one of the fundamental values essential to international relations in the twenty-first century and emphasized that “Global challenges must be managed in a way that distributes the costs and burdens fairly in accordance with basic principles of equity and social justice. Those who suffer or who benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most.” In the context of globalization and the challenge of growing inequality, the strengthening of international solidarity and cooperation is indispensable for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals.
Convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing was important for combating poverty, the General Assembly proclaimed 20 December as International Human Solidarity Day.
Solidarity in the Work of the United Nations
The concept of solidarity has defined the work of the United Nations since the birth of the Organization. The creation of the United Nations, drew the peoples and nations of the world together to promote peace, human rights and social and economic development. The organization was founded on a basic premise of unity and harmony among its members expressed in the concept of collective security that relies on the solidarity of its members to unite “to maintain international peace and security”. It is in the spirit of solidarity that the organization relies on “cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character” as well. (UN Charter)
In the area of human rights, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights identifies increased and sustained effort of international cooperation and solidarity as necessary for the achievement of substantial progress in human rights. Moreover, the international community has often affirmed its “human solidarity with victims of violations of international law, including violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as well as with humanity at large.” (Commission on Human Rights Res. 2005/35). Resolutions on human rights underlined “the importance of mainstreaming the values of non-discrimination, equality, human dignity and human solidarity in the United Nations system.” (Commission on Human Rights Res. 2005/65)
The 1995 Programme of Action of the World Summit on Social Development emphasizes that “Governments increasingly recognize that their responses to changing circumstances and their desires to achieve sustainable development and social progress will require increased solidarity, expressed through appropriate multilateral programmes and strengthened international cooperation.” World leadersacknowledged that the implementation of the Programme of action depended on “solidarity, extending the concept of partnership and a moral imperative of mutual respect and concern among individuals, communities and nations”.
Solidarity in Practice
Solidarity, as a central pillar of international cooperation, acquires new meaning in the face of globalization and growing interdependence. In particular, a globalizing world offers new opportunities to forge innovative alliances that can unleash the potential for broader and faster economic and social development. Among the more important aspects of solidarity at the international level are assistance, development aid and cooperation. “For the global community aid represents a mechanism for expressing human solidarity and for extending opportunity. Whether motivated by human rights, religious values or wider ethical systems, aid’s role in eliminating mass poverty, hunger and avoidable child deaths is a moral imperative.” (Human Development Report, 2005)
Since concept of solidarity relates to the notion of cooperation, common rights and responsibilities as well as unity for the achievement of a common goal, it can be applied in many different spheres of human endeavour. Just as solidarity among workers unites them in their fight for better working conditions, it can also unite the global community in the fight against global threats such as terrorism or the HIV/AIDS pandemic, or to underscore our obligation to help the victims of natural and man-made disasters.
The successful campaign to ban landmines, for example, owed much of its success to the solidarity among all those who opposed the use of landmines, including governments, civil society organizations and individuals. In the face of the global threat of the AIDS pandemic, the spirit of solidarity created conditions which made antiretroviral drugs cheaper and more available to the poor. In the immediate aftermath of the Indian tsunami the international community undertook an immense relief effort that demonstrated how much can be achieved through global solidarity. It is also apparent that solidarity is increasingly indispensable in the fight against environmental degradation and poverty.
The International Human Solidarity Day serves to remind us about the importance of solidarity for the achievement of the internationally agreed agreements, including programmes of action of international conferences and multilateral accords. Only the international community guided by the spirit of human solidarity and a shared sense of justice and fairness can ensure sustainable social and economic development for all.
Solidarity Quotes
“In our interconnected world, the human family cannot enjoy security without development, cannot enjoy development without security, and cannot enjoy either without respect for human rights…to act on that understanding, we need a strong United Nations, and true solidarity among governments and peoples working together to fulfill those goals.”
“Solidarity remains a crucial pillar of international cooperation. As markets expand and deepen, we have an opportunity to give new meaning to solidarity by enlisting new allies. Preparing the ground for investment and growth while at the same time forging new alliances may unlock the potential to successful development. At the same time, we have to rebuild the moral foundation and purpose of solidarity…Our duty is to new our efforts to make the case for solidarity; to strengthen not only its economic but also its moral underpinning.” United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
“To recognize the social solidarity of the human family brings with it the responsibility to build on what makes us one. This means promoting effectively and without exception the equal dignity of all as human beings endowed with certain fundamental and inalienable human rights. This touches all aspects of our individual life, as well as our life in the family, in the community in which we live, an in the world. Once we truly grasp that we are brothers and sisters in a common humanity, then we can shape our attitudes towards life in the light of the solidarity which makes us one. This is especially true in all that relates to the basic universal project: peace.”
John Paul II ‘Development and Solidarity: two keys to peace’.
Links
International Human Solidarity Day was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005 as an initiative in the fight against poverty. (A/RES/60/209)
> World Solidarity Fund
> Social Solidarity concept
> "Development and Solidarity: two keys to peace"
Fuentes:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/500/14/PDF/N0550014.pdf?OpenElement
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/social/intldays/IntSolidarity/index.html