Outcome of the 24th special session of the UN General Assembly
"World Summit for Social Development and beyond:
achieving social development for all in a globalizing world"
(Geneva 2000)
Substantial initiatives or commitments to action agreed at the special session

Para 6bis.: Institute systems for assessing and monitoring the social impact of macro economic policies, particularly in response to financial crises and in the design of reform programs.

Para 6ter. Develop national and regional guidelines for assessing the social and economic cost of unemployment and poverty, based on broad definitions of efficiency and productivity.

Para 7. Request ECOSOC/CSocD to consider ways of sharing experiences and best practices in social development to promote the goals of the Summit.

Para 8. Improve access to the global trading system for developing countries and countries with economies in transition through, inter alia, furthering the process of accession to WTO and providing technical assistance (bilaterally and as well as by WTO, UNCTAD, ITC) to participate in international trade negotiations.

Para 10. Reduce the negative social and economic impacts of international financial turbulence through, inter alia, consideration of a temporary debt standstill to reduce volatility of short-term capital flows, provision of technical assistance to strengthen domestic capital markets, protection of basic social services such as health and education, and strengthening of national consultations with civil society in economic policy formulation.

Para 13. Enhance participation of developing countries and countries with economies in transition in international economic decision-making processes, including ensuring transparency and accountability of the international financial institutions to promote social development goals in their policies and programs.

Para 15. Endorse the speedy implementation of the Cologne debt-relief initiative and the enhanced HIPC initiative and the principle that funds saved should be allocated to social development.

Para 16. Encourage corporate social responsibility by promoting corporate awareness. providing an enabling and stimulating environment and enhancing national partnerships.

Para 22. Consider measures to minimize the social and humanitarian impact of sanctions.

Para 24. Reduce the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by one half by the year 2015.

Para 26. Developing and implementing pro-poor growth strategies.

Para 27ter. Share best practices on social protection systems, including exploring means of protecting vulnerable, unprotected and uninsured groups (through technical assistance from ILO) and mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of these systems in light of ageing populations and unemployment.

Para 34. Re-assess macro-economic policies to balance goals of employment generation and poverty reduction with low inflation rates.

Para 35. Ensure social dialogue through effective representation of workers and employers and organizations in the development of social policies.

Para 37bis. Elaborate a coherent and coordinated international strategy on employment.

Para 37ter. Exchange best practices in the field of employment policies.

Para 38. Ratify and fully implement ILO conventions on basic workers and rights.

Para 49. Improve collection and analysis of basic employment data, including informal agricultural and informal sectors and explore means of measuring unremunerated work.

Para 60. Exchange national experience and best practice in policies and programs on ageing.

Para 60bis. Support research on the actual and projected situation of older persons to contribute to the Second World Assembly on Ageing.

Para 66. Strengthen organizations and mechanisms working for the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Para 67. Strengthen the capability of relevant UN bodies to promote social integration in post-conflict management strategies and activities, including addressing recovery from traumatic stress.

Para 72. Ensure gender mainstreaming in the implementation of the outcome of the Summit and the further initiatives adopted at the special session, including through the use of positive or affirmative action.

Para 75bis. Enhance national measures to prevent and protect against HIV/AIDS infection and address the consequences of HI V/AIDS transmission, including: strengthening of health care services, improving information and education, training health care providers, addressing mother-to-child transmission, analyzing the political, social and economic aspects of HI V/AIDS, and providing social and educational support to affected groups.

Para 78. Mobilize commercial enterprises to invest in research aimed providing affordable remedies for diseases that particularly afflict people in developing countries.

Para 80. Recognize the critical importance of access to essential medicines at affordable prices, and acknowledge the contribution of intellectual property rights to promote research, development and distribution of drugs.

Para 82. Analyze the consequences of agreements on trade in health services.

Para 82bis. Monitor and analyze the pharmaceutical and health implications of relevantinternational agreements, including trade agreements.

Para 83. Invite organizations of the UN system to integrate the health dimension into their policies and programs.

Para 84., 84bis. Reaffirm the Framework for Action for education for all, adopted at the World Education Forum in Dakar and recognize that the achievement of this goal requires additional financial support, ODA and debt relief in the order of $8 billion a year.

Para 90bis. Consider the establishment of a World Solidarity Fund.

Para 97bis. Encourage 25 African countries most affected by HIV/AIDS to adopt time-boundtargets for reducing infection levels, such as a 25% reduction among young peopleby the year 2005.

Para 103ter. Ensure that adjustment programs to address economic crises does not lead to decreasing economic activity or sharp cuts in social spending.

Para 109. Establish guidelines for policies aimed at generating domestic revenue for social policies and programs, including in areas such as the broadening of the tax base, the efficiency of tax administration, new sources of revenue, public borrowing.

Para 110. Mobilize new and additional resources for social development at the national level by extending access to microcredit, supporting mechanisms for community contracting of labor-based works, improving national tax regimes and reduce tax evasion, and preventing corruption, bribery, money laundering and illegal transfer of funds.

Para 111. Mobilize new and additional resources for social development at the international level through international cooperation in tax matters, exploration of methods for taxation of multi-national corporations, combat the use of tax shelters and tax havens, mechanisms for stabilizing commodity price earnings, prevention of tax avoidance, increase in public and private flows to developing countries, rigorous analysis of new and innovative sources of funding for social development and promotion of micro- and small enterprise sectors.

Para 118. Strengthen ECOSOC in its coordination of follow-up to the UN conferences and summits by fostering a closer working relationship with the funds and programs and specialized agencies and cooperation with the Bretton Woods institutions.

Para 126. Adopt legislative measures and expand awareness by parliamentarians to implement the outcome of the Summit and the further initiatives adopted at the special session.

Para 128. Invite ECOSOC to launch a global campaign to eradicate poverty.

Para 129. Request ECOSOC/CSocD to regularly assess the implementation of the outcome of the Summit and the special session.


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