UN Human Rights Treaties

E/2006/26
E/CN.5/2006/6
United Nations
Commission for Social
Development
Report on the forty-fourth session
(18 February 2005 and
8-17 February and 22 March 2006)
Economic and Social Council
Official Records, 2006
Supplement No. 6
Commission for Social Development
Report on the forty-fourth session
(18 February 2005 and
8-17 February and 22 March 2006)
Economic and Social Council
Official Records, 2006
Supplement No. 6
United Nations ??New York, 2006
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E/CN.5/2006/6
Note
Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters
combined with figures.
ISSN 0251-964X

Summary
At its forty-fourth session, held on 18 February 2005 and from 8 to 17 February
and 22 March 2006, the Commission for Social Development considered the priority
theme “Review of the first United Nations Decade on the Eradication of Poverty
(1997-2006)”, and the review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of
action pertaining to the situation of social groups.
On the priority theme, the Commission heard a keynote address by Clare Short
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and held a panel
discussion. The Commission decided to transmit the Chairperson’s summary of the
discussion to the coordination segment on “Sustained economic growth for social
development, including the eradication of poverty and hunger” of the 2006
substantive session of the Economic and Social Council.
Also under the priority theme, the Commission heard a presentation by the
Division for Social Policy and Development on a technical cooperation project
“Tackling poverty together: the role of young people in poverty reduction”.
The Commission adopted a resolution on “Social dimensions of the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development”, according to in which the Council would
recommend that the Commission continue to give prominence to the social
dimensions of the New Partnership during its forty-fifth session.
In connection with its review of plans and programmes of action pertaining to
the situation of social groups, the Commission adopted a resolution on modalities for
the first review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing,
2002. To promote wider awareness of the first review and appraisal, a panel
discussion was organized in order to bring before the Commission experts with indepth
knowledge of ageing issues and bottom-up participatory methodologies. The
Chairperson’s summary of the discussion is contained in the annex to the present
report.
The Commission also recommended to the Economic and Social Council the
adoption of a resolution on a comprehensive and integral international convention to
protect and promote the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities and a
resolution on promoting youth employment.
The Commission addressed the subject of the further review of the methods of
work of the Commission, and recommended to the Council that the theme for the
2007/2008 review and policy cycle would be “Promoting full employment and
decent work for all”, taking into account the interrelationship between employment,
poverty eradication and social integration.
In accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/227 on international
migration and development, the Commission decided to transmit, through the
Economic and Social Council, to the high-level dialogue on international migration
and development, planned in September 2006 during the sixty-first session of the
General Assembly, the Chairperson’s summary of the panel discussion on
“International migration and migrants from a social perspective”, held during the
forty-second session of the Commission.

Contents
Chapter Page
I. Matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention . . . . 1
A. Draft resolutions for adoption by the Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
B. Draft decision for adoption by the Council. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
C. Resolution and decisions brought to the attention of the Council. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
II. Organizational matters: further review of the methods of work of the Commission . . . . . . . . . . 18
A. Future organization and methods of work of the Commission for Social Development . . . 18
B. International migration and migrants from a social perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
III. Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth special
session of the General Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
A. Priority theme: review of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty
(1997-2006) (agenda item 3 (a)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
B. Review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the
situation of social groups (agenda item 3 (b)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
IV. Provisional agenda for the forty-fifth session of the Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
V. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its forty-fourth session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
VI. Organization of the session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
A. Opening and duration of the session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
B. Attendance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
C. Election of officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
D. Agenda and organization of work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
E. Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Annex
Chairperson’s summary of the panel discussion on the review and appraisal of the Madrid
International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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Chapter I
Matters calling for action by the Economic and
Social Council or brought to its attention
A. Draft resolutions for adoption by the Council
1. The Commission for Social Development recommends to the Economic and
Social Council the adoption of the following draft resolutions:
Draft resolution I
Promoting youth employment*
The Economic and Social Council,
Reaffirming the resolve of Heads of State and Government, as contained in the
United Nations Millennium Declaration,1 to develop and implement strategies that
give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work
and, as contained in the 2005 World Summit Outcome,2 to make the goals of full
and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young
people, a central objective of their relevant national and international policies and
their national development strategies, including poverty reduction strategies, as part
of their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,
Recalling and reaffirming the commitments relating to youth employment
made at the major United Nations conferences and summits since 1990 and their
follow-up processes,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 54/120 of 17 December 1999, in which
the Assembly took note with appreciation of the Lisbon Declaration on Youth
Policies and Programmes adopted at the World Conference of Ministers Responsible
for Youth in 1998,3 which set forth important commitments regarding youth
employment, and recalling also Assembly resolutions 56/117 of 19 December 2001
and 57/165 of 18 December 2002,
Recognizing that young people are an asset for sustainable economic growth
and social development, and expressing deep concern about the magnitude and
disproportionate effect upon youth of unemployment and underemployment
throughout the world and its profound implications for the future of our societies,
Recognizing also that Governments have a primary responsibility to educate
young people, to encourage them to seek training so as to increase their
employability and to create an enabling environment that will promote youth
employment,
Recognizing further the need to promote, protect and fully respect the basic
rights of young workers as defined by relevant International Labour Organization
and other international instruments,
__________________
* For the discussion, see chap. III, paras. 34-37.
1 See General Assembly resolution 55/2.
2 See General Assembly resolution 60/1.
3 See WCMRY/1998/28, chap. I, resolution 1.
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1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the global analysis
and evaluation of national action plans on youth employment;4
2. Also takes note of the report of the Economic Commission for Africa
entitled Economic Report on Africa, 2005: Meeting the Challenges of
Unemployment and Poverty in Africa;5
3. Further takes note of the relevant provisions on employment of the
Declaration of Mar del Plata of 5 November 2005 adopted at the Fourth Summit of
the Americas, and the conclusions of the Presidency of the European Council of
23 March 2005, in which it was agreed that the European Youth Pact would be an
integrated part of the Lisbon strategy;
4. Encourages the international community to provide technical and
capacity-building support to developing countries, as appropriate, in supporting
national development strategies, including poverty reduction strategy papers, where
they exist, mainstreaming youth employment;
5. Encourages Governments that have prepared national reviews and action
plans on youth employment to move forward to implementation and also encourages
Governments that have not yet prepared their reviews, national action plans or
progress reports to do so as soon as possible;
6. Also encourages Governments to develop their national action plans
through collaboration among governmental bodies, representative youth
organizations, employers’ and workers’ organizations and civil society, to promote
partnerships among public authorities, the private sector, educational institutions
and civil society and to integrate these action plans into their broader national
development programmes, including poverty reduction strategy documents, where
they exist, in order to create a methodology to evaluate the plans and strategies and
to prioritize therein the necessary resources for their implementation;
7. Further encourages Governments to contribute to the possible
development by the appropriate intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations of
new policy-oriented indicators to better monitor and evaluate progress in
implementing their national action plans, and invites the Youth Employment
Network to contribute to this process, taking into account young people, including
students and those who are unemployed, underemployed, working in the informal
economy or who may have dropped out of the labour market altogether;
8. Urges Governments to consider youth employment as integral to their
overall strategies for development and collective security, and within this context to
give renewed attention to the United Nations Millennium Declaration1 commitment
concerning decent and productive work for young people as key to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals;
9. Renews the invitation contained in General Assembly resolutions 57/165
of 18 December 2002 and 58/133 of 22 December 2003 to the International Labour
Organization, in collaboration with the United Nations Secretariat, the World Bank
and other relevant specialized agencies, within the framework of the Youth
Employment Network, to assist and support, upon request, the efforts of
__________________
4 A/60/133.
5 United Nations publication, Sales No. E.05.II.K.9.
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Governments in the elaboration and implementation of national reviews and action
plans;
10. Encourages Governments to improve the education, training, mobility,
vocational integration and social inclusion of young people and, where appropriate,
to promote entrepreneurship and facilitate the reconciliation of family life and
working life, in order to support the integration of young people into the labour
market;
11. Encourages Governments to facilitate interaction among educational
institutions and the public and private sectors to prevent unemployment and the low
returns on investment in training that result from a skills mismatch, and in this
regard calls for technical support from relevant United Nations organizations and
the international community for national and regional programmes such as the New
Partnership in Africa’s Development6 and other regional economic groups in order
to facilitate public-private integration;
12. Underlines that non-formal and informal learning are complementary
elements to the formal educational process and are useful instruments in facilitating
the transition from education to employment;
13. Invites new countries and partner organizations to join the Youth
Employment Network, encourages the lead countries to strengthen the work of the
Network as a peer exchange, support and review mechanism, and, in support of the
further development of this mechanism, invites the International Labour
Organization, in close cooperation with the World Bank and the United Nations
Secretariat, within the framework of the Youth Employment Network, to undertake
regular updates of the global analysis and evaluation of progress made in the
development and implementation of national reviews and action plans on youth
employment;
14. Recommends that the Youth Consultative Group of the Youth
Employment Network be strengthened so that, in addition to its overall advisory
role, it can play a more active role at the country level through its constituent youth
organizations in supporting the development and implementation of national action
plans;
15. Encourages Governments to promote the participation of national youth
organizations in supporting the development and implementation of their national
action plans on youth employment;
16. Notes with appreciation the provision by some Member States of
expertise and financial resources to support the activities of the Youth Employment
Network, and invites all Member States and intergovernmental and nongovernmental
organizations to contribute to the Network in support of action taken
at the country level within the framework of the Network;
__________________
6 A/57/304, annex.
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17. Requests the Secretary-General to include in his comprehensive report on
the implementation of the cluster entitled “Youth in the global economy” of the
World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond,7 to be
provided to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session, and the substantive
session of the Economic and Social Council in 2007 through the Commission for
Social Development at its forty-fifth session, information on the implementation of
the present resolution, including progress achieved by the Youth Employment
Network.
Draft resolution II
Comprehensive and integral international convention to
protect and promote the rights and dignity of
persons with disabilities*
The Economic and Social Council,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 56/168 of 19 December 2001, by
which the Assembly established an ad hoc committee, open to the participation of
all Member States and observers of the United Nations, to consider proposals for a
comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the
rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, based on the holistic approach in the
work carried out in the fields of social development, human rights and nondiscrimination
and taking into account the recommendations of the Commission on
Human Rights and the Commission for Social Development,
Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 2005/10 of 21 July
2005 on a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and
protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities,
Recalling further General Assembly resolution 60/232 of 23 December 2005,
Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and the need for their full enjoyment to
be guaranteed to persons with disabilities, without discrimination,
Convinced of the contribution that a convention will make in this regard, and
welcoming the firm support of the international community for such a convention
and the continued engagement in its elaboration,
Recognizing the strong commitment and the positive steps taken by
Governments to promote and protect the rights and inherent dignity of persons with
disabilities, including through collaboration and cooperation at the regional and
international levels, with the aim of strengthening national capacities and supporting
national efforts in order to improve the living conditions of persons with disabilities
in all regions,
Welcoming the important contributions made so far to the work of the ad hoc
committee by all stakeholders,
__________________
* For the discussion, see chap. III, sect. B.
7 General Assembly resolution 50/81, annex.
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1. Welcomes the progress achieved by the ad hoc committee in the
negotiation of a draft convention at its seventh session, and invites Member States
and observers to continue to participate actively and constructively in the
Committee, with the aim of concluding a draft convention and submitting it to the
General Assembly, as a matter of priority, for adoption, at its sixty-first session;
2. Requests the Commission for Social Development to continue to
contribute to the process of negotiation of a draft international convention, bearing
in mind its area of expertise and the positive impact of a convention in promoting an
inclusive approach to social development;
3. Welcomes the contributions of the Special Rapporteur on Disability of the
Commission for Social Development to the process of elaboration of a draft
convention, and requests the Special Rapporteur to contribute further to the work of
the ad hoc committee, drawing from her experience in the monitoring of the
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities;8
4. Requests the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the
Secretariat and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to continue to support the work of the ad hoc committee, and underlines the
importance of continuing cooperation and coordination between the two offices in
order to provide substantive and technical support to the committee and to promote
public awareness regarding its work, including in collaboration with the Special
Rapporteur;
5. Requests bodies, organs and entities of the United Nations system to
continue to participate, as appropriate, in the ad hoc committee and to contribute to
its work;
6. Invites non-governmental organizations, national disability and human
rights institutions and independent experts with an interest in the matter to continue
their active participation and contributions to the ad hoc committee, and encourages
the relevant bodies of the United Nations to continue to promote and support such
active participation of civil society, in accordance with General Assembly decision
56/510 of 23 July 2002 and Assembly resolution 57/229 of 18 December 2002;
7. Requests the Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur to report to
the Commission for Social Development at its forty-fifth session on the
implementation of the present resolution.
Draft resolution III
Social dimensions of the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development*
The Economic and Social Council,
Recalling the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen
from 6 to 12 March 1995,9 and the twenty-fourth special session of the General
__________________
* For the discussion, see chap. III, paras. 5-8.
8 General Assembly resolution 48/96, annex.
9 Report of the World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 6-12 March 1995
(United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.8).
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Assembly, entitled ‘World Summit for Social Development and beyond: achieving
social development for all in a globalizing world’, held in Geneva from 26 June to
1 July 2000,
Reaffirming the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 8 September 2000,1
the United Nations Declaration on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development10
of 16 September 2002, General Assembly resolution 57/7 of 4 November 2002 on
the final review and appraisal of the United Nations New Agenda for the
Development of Africa in the 1990s and its support for the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development,
Welcoming the conclusions of the African Union Extraordinary Summit on
Employment and Poverty Alleviation, held in Ouagadougou on 8 and 9 September
2004,
Recognizing the commitments made in meeting the special needs of Africa at
the 2005 World Summit,2
Cognizant of the link between priorities of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development and the United Nations Millennium Declaration, in which the
international community committed itself to addressing the special needs of Africa,
and the need to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including
those set out in the Millennium Declaration,
Bearing in mind that African countries have primary responsibility for their
own economic and social development, that the role of national policies and
development strategies cannot be overemphasized and that their development efforts
need to be supported by an enabling international economic environment, and in this
regard recalling the support given by the International Conference on Financing for
Development11 to the New Partnership,
1. Welcomes the adoption of the chapter entitled “Sustainable development
for Africa” in the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (“Johannesburg Plan of Implementation”); 12
2. Emphasizes that economic development, social development and
environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components
of sustainable development;
3. Welcomes the progress made by the African countries in fulfilling their
commitments in the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development6 to deepen democracy, human rights, good governance and sound
economic management, and encourages African countries, with the participation of
stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, to intensify their efforts
in this regard by developing and strengthening institutions for governance and
creating an environment conducive to attracting foreign direct investment for the
development of the region;
__________________
10 General Assembly resolution 57/2.
11 Report of the International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico,
18-22 March 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.II.A.7).
12 Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa,
26 August-4 September 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1 and
corrigendum), chap. I, resolution 2, annex.
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4. Emphasizes that democracy, respect for all human rights and fundamental
freedoms, including the right to development, transparent and accountable
governance and administration in all sectors of society, and effective participation
by civil society, non-governmental organizations and the private sector are among
the indispensable foundations for the realization of social and people-centred
sustainable development;
5. Welcomes the good progress that has been achieved in implementing the
African Peer Review Mechanism, in particular the completion of the self-assessment
process in some countries, the hosting of country support missions and the
launching of the national preparatory process for the Peer Review in others, and
urges African States to join the Peer Review, as a matter of priority, as soon as
possible, and to strengthen the Peer Review process to ensure its efficient
performance;
6. Welcomes the efforts made by African countries and regional and
subregional organizations, including the African Union, in developing sectoral
policy frameworks and implementing specific programmes of the New Partnership
as well as mainstreaming a gender perspective and the empowerment of women;
7. Emphasizes the importance of African countries continuing to
coordinate, on the basis of national strategies and priorities, all types of external
assistance, including that provided by multilateral organizations, in order to
effectively integrate such assistance into their development processes;
8. Encourages further integration of the priorities and objectives of the New
Partnership into the programmes of the regional structures and organizations by
African countries;
9. Recalls that the African Union and the regional economic communities
have a critical role to play in the implementation of the New Partnership, and in this
regard encourages African countries, with the assistance of their development
partners, to increase their support to enhance the capacities of these institutions;
10. Emphasizes that progress in the implementation of the New Partnership
for Africa’s Development depends also on a favourable national and international
environment for Africa’s growth and development, including measures to promote a
policy environment conducive to private sector development and entrepreneurship;
11. Recognizes that while social development is primarily the responsibility
of Governments, international cooperation and assistance are essential for the full
achievement of that goal;
12. Welcomes the efforts by development partners to strengthen cooperation
with the secretariat of the New Partnership;
13. Welcomes also the contribution made by Member States to the
implementation of the New Partnership in the context of South-South cooperation,
and in this regard encourages the international community, including the
international financial institutions, to support the efforts of African countries,
including through triangular cooperation;
14. Acknowledges the various important initiatives of Africa’s development
partners in recent years, including those of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, the Africa Action Plan of the Group of Eight, the
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European Union, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development,
including the Africa-Asia Business Forum, the report of the Commission for Africa
entitled Our Common Interest and the Africa Partnership Forum, and in this regard
emphasizes the importance of coordination in such initiatives on Africa;
15. Acknowledges also the important role of the Africa Partnership Forum, as
set out in the revised terms of reference dated 5 October 2005, which include
catalysing action on the measures taken to meet the commitments that Africa and its
development partners have made and coordinating support for African priorities and
the New Partnership, and encourages the Africa Partnership Forum to strengthen its
efforts in this regard;
16. Urges continuing support of measures to address the challenges of
poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa, including, as
appropriate, debt relief, improved market access, support for the private sector and
entrepreneurship, enhanced official development assistance, increased foreign direct
investment and the transfer of technology;
17. Welcomes the recent increase in official development assistance pledged
by many of the development partners, including the commitments of the Group of
Eight and the European Union, which will lead to an increase in official
development assistance to Africa of 25 billion dollars per year by 2010, and
encourages all development partners to ensure aid effectiveness through the
implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: Ownership,
Harmonization, Alignment, Results and Mutual Accountability of 2005;13
18. Recognizes the need for national Governments and the international
community to make continued efforts to increase the flow of new and additional
resources for financing for development from all sources, public and private,
domestic and foreign, to support the development of African countries;
19. Welcomes the efforts by development partners to align their financial and
technical support to Africa more closely with the priorities of the New Partnership,
as reflected in national poverty reduction strategies or in similar strategies, and
encourages development partners to increase their efforts in this regard;
20. Acknowledges the activities of the Bretton Woods institutions and the
African Development Bank in African countries, and invites those institutions to
continue their support for the implementation of the priorities and objectives of the
New Partnership;
21. Invites the Secretary-General, as a follow-up to the 2005 World Summit,
to urge the organizations of the United Nations system to assist African countries to
implement quick-impact initiatives, based on their national development priorities
and strategies, to enable them to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and in
this respect acknowledges recent commitments by some donor countries;
22. Notes that the entities of the United Nations system have been actively
using the regional consultation mechanism as a vehicle for fostering collaboration
and coordination at the regional level, and encourages them to intensify their efforts
in developing and implementing joint programmes in support of the New
Partnership at the regional level;
__________________
13 See http://www1.worldbank.org/harmonization/PARIS/FINALPARISDECLARATION.pdf.
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23. Encourages the United Nations funds and programmes and the
specialized agencies to continue to strengthen further their existing coordination and
programming mechanisms and the simplification and harmonization of planning,
disbursement and reporting procedures as a means of enhancing support for African
countries in the implementation of the New Partnership;
24. Notes the growing collaboration among the entities of the United Nations
system in support of the New Partnership, and requests the Secretary-General to
promote greater coherence in the work of the United Nations system in support of
the New Partnership, on the basis of the agreed clusters;
25. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General’s Advisory Panel on
International Support for the New Partnership,14 and looks forward to its
supplementary report, including recommendations on the actions to enhance support
for the implementation of the New Partnership;
26. Requests the Commission for Social Development to continue to raise
awareness of the social dimensions of the New Partnership and its implementation
and to provide recommendations on the measures to achieve this during the policy
session in 2008;
27. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take measures to
strengthen the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, and requests the Office to
collaborate with the Division for Economic and Social Affairs and to include the
social dimensions of the New Partnership in its comprehensive reports to the
General Assembly at its sixty-first session;
28. Encourages continued focus on the situation of social groups and persons
infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases;
29. Decides that the Commission for Social Development should continue to
give prominence to the social dimensions of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development during its forty-fifth session.
Draft resolution IV
Future organization and methods of work of the
Commission for Social Development*
The Economic and Social Council,
Recalling its resolution 2005/11 of 21 July 2005 on the future organization and
methods of work of the Commission for Social Development, in which the Council
decided that in order for the Commission to fulfil its mandate, beginning with its
forty-fifth session, the work of the Commission will be organized in a series of twoyear
action-oriented implementation cycles on the three core themes of Copenhagen,
poverty eradication, full employment and social integration, which will include a
review and a policy segment,
Recalling also that in that same resolution the Council also decided that the
Commission would continue to review plans and programmes of action pertaining to
social groups including in relation to the priority theme,
__________________
* For the discussion, see chap. II, sect. A, paras. 4-8.
14 A/60/85.
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Bearing in mind General Assembly resolution 57/270 B of 23 June 2003 on
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, in
which the Assembly invited the functional commissions and relevant follow-up
mechanisms, as appropriate, to contribute, from their specific perspectives, to the
assessment by the Council of the cross-sectoral thematic issue selected for the
coordination segment of its substantive session,
Re-emphasizing the importance of an increased exchange of national, regional
and international experiences in the cycles of the Commission, focusing on the
implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit for Social Development and
the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly,
1. Decides that the outcome of the Commission’s review shall be in the
form of a chairperson’s summary, done in close coordination with other members of
the Bureau, and that the policy segment shall have a negotiated outcome with
action-oriented strategies;
2. Also decides that the theme for the 2007-2008 review and policy cycle
will be “Promoting full employment and decent work for all”, taking into account its
interrelationship with poverty eradication and social integration;
3. Notes the usefulness of identifying the themes for the 2009-2010 review
and policy cycle during the forty-sixth session;
4. Decides to include the agenda item “Emerging issues” in its programme
of work;
5. Invites the relevant specialized agencies and entities of the United
Nations system to contribute to the work of the Commission for Social Development
by, inter alia, providing relevant information within their respective mandates;
6. Stresses the importance to identify relevant sub-themes within the
priority theme to focus interventions and discussions, also taking into account crosscutting
issues.
B. Draft decision for adoption by the Council
2. The Commission for Social Development recommends to the Economic and
Social Council the adoption of the following draft decision:
Report of the Commission for Social Development on its
forty-fourth session and provisional agenda and
documentation for the forty-fifth session
The Economic and Social Council:
(a) Takes note of the report of the Commission for Social Development on
its forty-fourth session;
(b) Approves the provisional agenda and documentation for the forty-fifth
session of the Commission as set out below:
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Provisional agenda and documentation for the forty-fifth
session of the Commission on Social Development
1. Election of officers.
2. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.
3. Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development and the twentyfourth
special session of the General Assembly:
(a) Promoting full employment and decent work for all.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on promoting full employment:
(b) Review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action
pertaining to the situation of social groups:
(i) World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons;
(ii) World Programme of Action for Youth;
(iii) Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002;
(iv) Family issues, policies and programmes;
(c) Emerging issues.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General: implementation of the World Programme of
Action for Youth;
Report of the Secretary-General: major developments in the area of ageing
since the Second World Assembly on Ageing;
Note by the Secretary-General: monitoring of the implementation of the
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities.
4. Programme questions and other matters:
(a) Programme performance and implementation for the biennium
2004-2005;
(b) Proposed programme of work for the biennium 2008-2009;
(c) United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
Documentation
Note by the Secretary-General: nomination of members of the Board of the
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development;
Note by the Secretary-General: report of the Board of the United Nations
Research Institute for Social Development;
Note by the Secretary-General: draft programme of work of the Division for
Social Policy and Development for the biennium 2008-2009.
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5. Provisional agenda for the forty-sixth session of the Commission.
6. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its forty-fifth session.
C. Resolution and decisions brought to the attention of
the Council
3. The following resolution and decisions adopted by the Commission are
brought to the attention of the Economic and Social Council:
Resolution 44/1
Modalities for the first review and appraisal of the
Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002*
The Commission for Social Development,
Recalling that in the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002,15
adopted by the Second World Assembly on Ageing, held in Madrid from 8 to
12 April 2002, the systematic review of its implementation by Member States was
requested as being essential for its success in improving the quality of life of older
persons and that the modalities of the review and appraisal were to be decided as
soon as possible,
Bearing in mind that the Economic and Social Council, in its resolution
2003/14 of 21 July 2003, invited Governments, the United Nations system and civil
society to participate in a bottom-up approach to the review and appraisal of the
Madrid Plan of Action,
Mindful that in its resolution 42/1 it decided to undertake the review and
appraisal of the Madrid Plan of Action every five years,
Taking note of the report by the Secretary-General on modalities for the review
and appraisal of the Madrid Plan of Action,16
1. Endorses the calendar for the first cycle of the review and appraisal
proposed in the report of the Secretary-General;17
2. Decides to start the first global cycle of review and appraisal of the
Madrid Plan of Action in 2007 at its forty-fifth session and to conclude it in 2008 at
its forty-sixth session;
3. Endorses as the global theme for the first review and appraisal of the
implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action, “Addressing the challenges and
opportunities of ageing”;
4. Recommends that the format of the concluding event of the first cycle of
review and appraisal include, along with plenary debate, a series of panel
discussions and events related to the theme of the first review and appraisal cycle;
__________________
* For the discussion, see chap. III, sect. B, paras. 38-42.
15 Report of the Second World Assembly on Ageing, Madrid, 8-12 April 2002 (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.02.IV.4), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.
16 E/CN.5/2006/2.
17 Ibid., paras. 34-38.
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5. Invites those Member States that have not done so to establish their
national mechanisms for the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action at the
national level and to inform the Secretariat accordingly, including the contact details
of the national mechanisms, in order to facilitate international cooperation and
exchange of information and good practices;
6. Encourages Member States to include both ageing-specific policies and
ageing-mainstreaming efforts in their review and appraisal of the Madrid Plan of
Action, bearing in mind the importance of mainstreaming ageing into global
agendas;
7. Invites Member States to undertake an initial identification of actions
they have taken since the Second World Assembly on Ageing in 2002, with the aim
of presenting this information to the Commission at its forty-fifth session in 2007,
and requests them to identify specific areas for in-depth participatory inquiries using
a bottom-up approach so that each country may establish for itself the action or
activity it intends to review, utilizing such an approach;
8. Invites all major stakeholders, including civil society, to participate in the
process of the review and appraisal and contribute to its various activities and
events;
9. Takes note with appreciation of the draft guidelines proposed by the
Secretary-General for the review and appraisal process, and requests that they be
made available in all official languages of the United Nations;
10. Requests the Secretariat to work with the organizations, organs and
bodies of the United Nations system and other interested parties to coordinate
efforts in identifying support that could be provided to Governments, upon their
request, in undertaking participatory review and appraisal of the implementation of
the Madrid Plan of Action;
11. Requests the regional commissions to identify appropriate modalities for
conducting the regional review and appraisal, encourages the convening of regional
review and appraisal activities, and invites interested Governments to offer support
and assistance, including voluntary financial contributions, to support national
action in the context of the regional implementation and the convening of regional
review and appraisal activities and events during 2006-2007;
12. Recommends to the Economic and Social Council the integration of
ageing into monitoring, review and appraisal exercises of other major international
development initiatives and policy frameworks, including the United Nations
Millennium Declaration,1 the Programme of Action of the International Conference
on Population and Development,18 the Copenhagen Declaration on Social
Development19 and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social
Development20 and the Beijing Platform for Action21 and their follow-up processes;
__________________
18 Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5-13 September
1994 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.XIII.18), chap. I, resolution 1, annex.
19 Report of the World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 6-12 March 1995
(United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.8), chap. I, resolution 1, annex I.
20 Ibid., annex II.
21 Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15 September 1995
(United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.
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13. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to it, at its forty-fifth session in
2007, a report on major developments in the area of ageing since the Second World
Assembly, which will include short regional contributions by the regional
commissions;
14. Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to it, at its forty-sixth
session in 2008, a report, including the conclusions of the first review and appraisal
exercise along with the identification of prevalent and emerging issues and related
policy options.
Decision 44/101
International migration and migrants from a
social perspective
The Commission for Social Development, recalling General Assembly
resolution 60/227 of 23 December 2005, entitled “International migration and
development”, in which the Assembly noted that the Commission on Population and
Development, the Commission for Social Development and the Commission on the
Status of Women would have considered the issue of international migration within
their respective mandates by the time of the high-level dialogue on international
migration and development and invited their inputs through the Economic and
Social Council, and the panel discussion on “International migration and migrants
from a social perspective” held during its forty-second session:
Decides to transmit, through the Economic and Social Council, to the highlevel
dialogue on international migration and development, to be held in September
2006 during the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, the Chairperson’s
summary of the panel discussion on international migration and migrants from a
social perspective, held during its forty-second session.22
Decision 44/102
Review of the first United Nations Decade for the
Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006)
The Commission for Social Development, recalling the priority theme of its
forty-fourth session entitled “Review of the first United Nations Decade for the
Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006)”, and the panel discussion held on the priority
theme during the same session:
Decides to transmit to the coordination segment of the Economic and Social
Council on the theme “Sustained economic growth for social development,
including the eradication of poverty and hunger”, to be held during its 2006
substantive session, the Chairperson’s summary of the panel discussion on the
priority theme, as follows:
__________________
22 Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2004, Supplement No. 6 (E/2004/26),
annex III.
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Chairperson’s summary of the panel discussion on
the priority theme “Review of the first United Nations
Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006)”
Progress over the Decade
There was general agreement that progress in poverty eradication has
been mixed. While some regions have recorded strong performances (East
Asia and part of South Asia, for example) others were less successful (sub-
Saharan Africa and Latin America, for instance).
It was pointed out, however, that there are still some important
unresolved methodological issues regarding the measurement of poverty and
that the overall picture of progress in poverty eradication can be different
depending on the assumptions and regional decomposition that are used when
measuring poverty. For example, the Millennium Development Goal on
poverty measures extreme poverty using the income line of $1 a day and there
have been questions about whether this narrow concept of poverty provides a
good indicator for monitoring poverty.
The importance of increasing the visibility of poor people received
significant attention and it was stressed that when the poor are seen and made
visible this can advance policies that will directly address their needs. In this
regard, the point was made that better statistics are needed to measure poverty
and raise the visibility of the poor. It was noted that a useful strategy to
increase the visibility of the poor is to require policymakers to undertake
poverty assessments of their proposed policies.
It was felt that the implementation of commitments made during the
Decade had fallen short of expectations and there was evidence of an inverse
correlation between promises made at Copenhagen and the results achieved
thus far. Emerging trends suggest that progress on some social indicators, such
as school enrolment and infant mortality, have slowed down in the past decade.
Key challenges in Africa
It was pointed out that while some regions in the world have experienced
gains in the struggle against poverty, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa
continue to be characterized by poverty that is pervasive, gender-based and
largely rural in nature. It was observed that among the key factors that have
led to increased poverty levels in many parts of Africa are lack of adequate
infrastructure, poor human resources management, difficulties in accessing
global markets; droughts and famine, political upheavals, conflicts and civil
strife and the impact of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases.
Agriculture remains the main economic activity for the majority of
Africans, especially in the sub-Saharan region where it employs around 90 per
cent of the rural population. However, agriculture is currently unable to sustain
the needs of the expanding population because of problems such as low
investments, poor quality seeds, lack of fertilizers, poor farming methods and
lack of affordable technology.
The importance of involving people in poverty alleviation strategies was
stressed; “bottom-up” strategies with broad-based participation have been
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proven to work better with grass-roots support. Unemployment, especially
among young people, is a serious problem and in order to achieve full,
productive and decent employment, realistic and time-bound goals and targets
need to be set.
Access to financial resources
Despite the mixed results with poverty eradication over the Decade, the
last 10 years have shown that increasing the access of poor people to financial
resources through microfinance is one of the success stories in poverty
eradication. During the last decade, the number of people benefiting from
microfinance has grown from 9 million to about 60 million borrowers
worldwide.
Besides microfinance, remittances of funds has been receiving increased
attention in recent years. However, despite the significant size of these flows,
recipient countries have made little progress in harnessing them for local
development. A significant portion of remittances is currently being used for
current consumption, rather than for investment in education, for example.
Local financial institutions can benefit from these remittance flows if they
make an effort to change this pattern of expenditure by providing other
services, such as housing loans and improved savings products to their
customers.
International cooperation
It was acknowledged that the Decade for the Eradication of Poverty has
been successful in placing poverty eradication at the centre of the international
agenda and public opinion and has increasingly shaped national agendas.
However, in terms of the commitment made in Copenhagen towards an
enabling environment for social development, it was felt that there had been
limited progress specifically in advancing access by developing countries to
international economic opportunities and in achieving a system of fair trade. In
addition, it was noted that there has been slow progress in providing debt relief
to heavily indebted countries.
The importance of aid as a source of necessary resources for poverty
eradication was highlighted. It was reiterated that efforts by developing
countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals should be matched by
corresponding efforts by developed countries to reach their overseas
development assistance goal of 0.7 per cent of gross national product. Aid
contributes significantly to development because data have shown that
countries having received significant levels of aid have experienced better
economic growth than others. However, it is important to distinguish two kinds
of aid: developmental aid and geopolitical aid. It is only in the first case that
aid can help countries in their development goals.
But aid per se is not a solution. It is also important that Governments be
given the policy space needed to decide home-grown poverty reduction
strategies and initiatives that reflect country-specific conditions and priorities,
while at the same time taking into account the importance of efforts at the
regional level. It was acknowledged that while the increased focus on the
Millennium Development Goals has resulted in large amounts of aid flowing

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into specific areas, this could result in a decrease in innovation in the use of
such development assistance.
Overcoming obstacles and looking forward
It was stressed that unless there is a radical change in how poverty is
addressed by governments and the international community, the poverty
targets, including the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved. It
was noted in this context that while the World Summit on Social Development
targeted poor people around the world, both in developed and developing
countries, the current emphasis on the Millennium Development Goals directs
attention mainly to the plight of the poor in developing countries.
It is important to recognize that growth alone is insufficient to reduce
poverty. The quality of growth, that is the distribution of the benefits of
growth, is also important. There is therefore a need to link growth centres with
the rest of the population so that the benefits of growth are broad-based and
widespread. In addition, the link between poverty eradication and full and
productive employment was emphasized. In this context, the International
Labour Organization decent work agenda was highlighted. Self-employment
and microenterprises are the backbone of many economies, but for these types
of enterprises to provide an exit out of poverty, poor people need to move into
higher value activities. In this regard access to education is a critical
component.
The private sector can play an important role in poverty eradication. In
the microfinance sector, for example, the private sector has been an important
component in expanding access of microfinance to women and youth. It is
therefore necessary for the private sector to work with policymakers to achieve
poverty eradication.
Finally, an important development during the first United Nations
Decade for the Eradication of Poverty has been enhanced partnerships. These
can take the form of public-private, public-private-civil society or developeddeveloping
countries partnerships. Partnerships between governments, civil
society and the private sector, for example, have been shown to enhance
efforts to eradicate poverty.
Decision 44/103
Documents considered by the Commission for Social
Development under agenda item 3
The Commission for Social Development takes note of the following
documents which were before it at its forty-fourth session:
(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the first United Nations Decade for
the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006);23
(b) Report of the Special Rapporteur on disability of the Commission for
Social Development on the monitoring of implementation of the Standard Rules on
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.24
__________________
23 E/CN.5/2006/3.
24 E/CN.5/2006/4.

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Chapter II
Organizational matters: further review of the
methods of work of the Commission
A. Future organization and methods of work of the
Commission for Social Development
1. The Commission considered the review of its methods of work under agenda
item 2 at its 9th, 10th and 12th meetings, on 14, 16 and 17 February 2006. It had
before it a note by the Secretariat on the future organization and methods of work of
the Commission for Social Development (E/CN.5/2006/5).
2. At the 9th meeting, on 14 February, the Director of the Division for Social
Policy and Development made an introductory statement.
3. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of India and
South Africa, by the observers for Cuba and Austria and by the Director of the
Division.
Action taken by the Commission
4. At its 10th meeting, on 16 February, the Vice-Chairperson (South Africa)
introduced a draft resolution entitled, “Future organization and methods of work by
the Commission for Social Development” (E/CN.5/2006/L.5) submitted on the basis
of informal consultations.
5. At its 12th meeting, on 17 February, the Commission was informed that the
draft resolution contained no programme budget implications.
6. At the same meeting, the Vice-Chairperson (South Africa) introduced revisions
to the draft resolution, which were circulated in an informal paper.
7. Following the adoption of the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. A, draft
resolution IV), the representative of South Africa made a statement.
8. At the resumed 12th meeting, on 22 March, the observer for Cuba made a
statement.
B. International migration and migrants from a
social perspective
9. At its 2nd meeting, on 8 February, the representative of El Salvador made a
statement in connection with General Assembly resolution 60/227.
Action taken by the Commission
10. At its 10th meeting, on the proposal of the Chairperson, the Commission
decided, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/227, to transmit,
through the Economic and Social Council, to the high-level dialogue of the General
Assembly, the Chairperson’s summary of the panel discussion on “International
migration and migrants from a social perspective” during its forty-second session in
February 2004.

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Chapter III
Follow-up to the World Summit for Social
Development and the twenty-fourth special
session of the General Assembly
1. The Commission considered item 3 of its agenda at its 2nd to 8th and 10th to
12th meetings, from 8 to 10, 13, 16 and 17 February 2006. It had before it documents
E/CN.5/2006/2, E/CN.5/2006/3, E/CN.5/2006/4 and E/CN.5/2006/NGO/1-14.
2. At the 2nd meeting, on 8 February, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic
and Social Affairs addressed the Commission, after which the Director of the
Division for Social Policy and Development made an introductory statement on item
3 as a whole.
3. Also at the same meeting, following the statement by a representative of the
community of non-governmental organizations on the outcome of the Civil Society
Forum, the keynote speaker, Clare Short (United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland) addressed the Commission.
4. At the same meeting, comments were made by the delegations of China, Cuba,
the Dominican Republic, Finland, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Action taken by the Commission under agenda item 3
as a whole
Social dimensions of the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development
5. At its 10th meeting, on 16 February, the representative of South Africa (Group
of 77 and China) introduced a draft resolution entitled “Social dimensions of the
New Partnership for Africa’s Development” (E/CN.5/2006/L.6).
6. At its 12th meeting, on 17 February, the Commission was informed that the
draft resolution contained no programme budget implications.
7. At the same meeting, the representative of South Africa (Group of 77 and
China) introduced revisions to the draft resolution, which were circulated in an
informal paper.
8. Also at the same meeting, following the adoption of the draft resolution, as
revised (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution III), statements were made by the
representatives of Pakistan and the United States of America and by the observers
for Austria (European Union) and Cuba.
A. Priority theme: review of the first United Nations
Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006)
(agenda item 3 (a))
9. At its 4th and 5th meetings, on 9 February, the Commission held a general
discussion on agenda item 3 (a).

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10. At the 4th meeting, on 9 February, statements were made by the
representatives of South Africa1 (Group of 77 and China), Finland, Turkey,
Suriname (Caribbean Community), Argentina, the United Republic of Tanzania,
China, Spain, the Republic of Moldova and Bangladesh, and the observers for
Austria (European Union), Israel, Guyana1 (Rio Group), Egypt and the Holy See.
11. At the same meeting, a statement was made by the representatives of the
United Nations Population Fund, the International Council on Social Welfare2 and
Triglav Circle.2
12. At the 5th meeting, on 9 February, statements were made by the
representatives of Pakistan, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
India, Paraguay, the Republic of Korea, Chile, the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela, the Russian Federation, Monaco, Angola, Peru and Zambia, and the
observers for Iraq, Lithuania, Belarus, Morocco1 and Colombia.
13. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representative of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the observer
for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the representatives of
the International Chamber of Commerce,2 jointly with the International Association
of Employers,2 VIVAT International2 and International Movement ATD Fourth
World.2
14. At its 3rd meeting, on 8 February, the Commission held a panel discussion
under sub-item 3 (a) moderated by the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and
Social Affairs. Presentations were made by J. M. Bahemuka, Permanent
Representative of Kenya to the United Nations; Nancy Barry, Women’s World
Banking, New York; Roberto Bissio, Third World Institute, Uruguay; and Professor
Sanjay Reddy, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, who also engaged
in an interactive dialogue with the representatives of the Dominican Republic,
Finland, India, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea. The observer for the
International Right to Life Federation, Inc.2 also made a statement.
15. At its resumed 12th meeting, on 22 March, on the proposal by the Chairperson,
the Commission decided to take note of documents E/CN.5/2006/3 and
E/CN.5/2006/4 (see chap. I, sect. C, draft decision 44/103).
Action taken by the Commission under agenda item 3 (a)
16. At its 12th resumed meeting, on 22 March, on the proposal of the Chairperson,
the Commission decided to transmit the Chairperson’s summary of the panel
discussion on the priority theme to the coordination segment of the 2006 substantive
session of the Economic and Social Council (see chap. I, sect. C, draft decision
44/102).
17. At the same meeting, the representative of South Africa (Group of 77 and
China), made a statement.
__________________
1 On item 3 as a whole.
2 Non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.

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B. Review of relevant United Nations plans and
programmes of action pertaining to the situation of
social groups (agenda item 3 (b))
18. At its 6th and 8th meetings, on 10 and 13 February, the Commission held a
general discussion on agenda item 3 (b).
19. At its 6th meeting, on 10 February, following the statement by the Director of
the Division, the Commission heard a presentation on the technical cooperation
project entitled “Tackling poverty together: the role of young people in poverty
reduction” by the United Nations Programme on Youth.
20. Also at the 6th meeting, statements were made by the representatives of
Bangladesh, China, Spain and Haiti,3 and the observers for Austria, Cuba,1
Azerbaijan,1 Algeria1 and Sierra Leone1 (African Group).
21. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of the
International Federation of Association of the Elderly,2 Interreligious and
International Federation for World Peace,2 International Federation on Ageing,2
International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse2 and Help Age
International.2
22. At the 7th meeting, on 10 February, statements were made by the
representatives of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(also on behalf of the Economic Commission for Europe) and the Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
23. At its 7th meeting, the Commission held a panel discussion on the review and
appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. Presentations were
made by Ms. Mery Lozana de Aranibar, Association of Older People “Experience
and Life” (Bolivia), Mr. Bienvenido Rola, Institute of Strategic Planning and Policy
Studies (Philippines), and Dr. Irina Nicolae Baicalov, “Second Breath for Moldova”
(Republic of Moldova).
24. At the 8th meeting, on 13 February, statements were made by the
representatives of Japan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Monaco, the
Republic of Korea, Peru, the Central African Republic, Indonesia, Senegal and
Mali,1 and the observers for the Philippines,1 Kazakhstan,1 Qatar and the Sudan.1
25. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representative of the
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the observers for the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International
Labour Organization (ILO)2 and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.1
26. Also at the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of the
International Federation of Pedestrians,2 Observatory for Cultural and Audiovisual
Communication,2 New Humanity,2 International Federation for the Family2 and
World Youth Alliance.2
__________________
3 On sub-item 3 (a).

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Action taken by the Commission under agenda item 3 (b)
Comprehensive and integral international convention to
protect and promote the rights and dignity of
persons with disabilities
27. At its 7th meeting, on 10 February, the Commission decided to annex the
Chairperson’s summary of the panel discussion on the review and appraisal of the
Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002 to the report on its 44th session
(see annex).
28. At the 10th meeting, on 16 February, the representative of Mexico, on behalf
of Colombia,4 Costa Rica,4 Cuba,4 Dominican Republic, El Salvador,4 Guatemala,4
Israel,4 Japan, Mexico,4 Morocco,4 Paraguay, Philippines,4 South Africa and
Uruguay,4 as well as Ecuador,4 Panama,4 Peru and Switzerland,4 introduced draft
resolution E/CN.5/2006/L.4. Angola, Chad,4 Qatar,4 Republic of Korea, Senegal and
Zambia joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
29. At its 11th meeting, on 17 February, the Commission was informed that the
draft resolution contained no programme budget implications.
30. At the same meeting, the representative of Mexico announced that Argentina,
Bangladesh, Brazil,4 China, Indonesia and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela had
joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. Algeria,4 Cameroon,4 Jamaica4 and the
United Republic of Tanzania joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
31. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted draft resolution
E/CN.5/2006/L.4 (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution II).
32. At the 12th meeting, on 17 February, the observer for Thailand made a
statement.5
Promoting youth employment
33. At the 10th meeting, on 16 February, the representative of Senegal, on behalf
of Azerbaijan,4 Colombia,4 Indonesia, Kenya,4 Mali, Morocco,4 Nigeria,4 Senegal,
Sierra Leone4 and the Sudan4 introduced draft resolution E/CN.5/2006/L.3. Angola,
Chad4 and South Africa joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
34. At its 12th meeting, on 17 February, the Commission was informed that the
draft resolution contained no programme budget implications.
35. At the same meeting, the representative of Senegal introduced revisions to the
draft resolution which were circulated in an informal paper, and announced that
Guatemala,4 Guinea,4 Spain, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia had
joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. Algeria,4 Austria,4 Brazil,4 the Czech
Republic, the Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,4 Haiti,
Ireland,4 Italy, Japan, Malta, Namibia,4 the Netherlands, the Philippines,4 Poland,4
__________________
4 In accordance with rule 69 of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the
Economic and Social Council.
5 The observer for Thailand indicated that he would have joined in sponsoring the draft resolution
had he been present at the time of its adoption.

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Portugal,4 the Republic of Moldova, Slovenia,4 Sweden,4 Thailand,4 Turkey and the
United Kingdom4 joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
36. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted draft resolution
E/CN.5/2006/L.3, as revised (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution I).
Modalities for the first review and appraisal of the
Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002
37. At the 10th meeting, on 16 February, the representative of Monaco, on behalf
of Andorra,4 Austria,4 Bolivia, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark,4 Estonia,4
Finland, France, Germany, Greece,4 Hungary,4 Ireland,4 Italy, Malta, Monaco, the
Netherlands, Poland,4 Portugal,4 the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Moldova,
Romania, Slovakia,4 Slovenia,4 Spain, Sweden,4 and the United Kingdom,4 as well
as Israel,4 introduced and orally revised draft resolution E/CN.5/2006/L.2. Angola,
Chad4 and South Africa joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
38. At its 11th meeting, on 17 February, the Commission was informed that the
draft resolution contained no programme budget implications.
39. At the same meeting, the representative of Monaco further orally revised the
draft resolution and announced that Argentina and Japan had joined in sponsoring it.
The Dominican Republic, Guatemala,4 Haiti, Qatar,4 Turkey and Uruguay4 joined in
sponsoring the draft resolution.
40. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted draft resolution
E/CN.5/2006/L.2 as further orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 44/1).
41. At the 12th meeting, on 17 February, the observer for Thailand made a
statement.5
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24
Chapter IV
Provisional agenda for the forty-fifth session of
the Commission
1. The Commission considered item 4 of its agenda at its resumed 12th meeting,
on 22 March 2006, and adopted the draft provisional agenda and documentation for
the forty-fifth session of the Commission as contained in document E/CN.5/2006/L.7
(see chap. I, sect. B).

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Chapter V
Adoption of the report of the Commission on its
forty-fourth session
1. At the resumed 12th meeting, on 22 March 2006, Victor Leu (Republic of
Moldova), Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur, introduced the draft report
(E/CN.5/2006/L.1).
2. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft report and entrusted
the Rapporteur with its completion.
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26
Chapter VI
Organization of the session
A. Opening and duration of the session
1. The Commission for Social Development held its forty-fourth session on
18 February 2005 and 8 to 17 February and 22 March 2006 (it held 12 meetings)
(1st to 12th).
B. Attendance
2. The session was attended by representatives of 45 States members of the
Commission. The list of participants is issued as document E/CN.5/2006/INF.1.
C. Election of officers
3. In accordance with decision 2002/210, the Commission held the first meeting
of its forty-fourth session on 18 February 2005 and elected the following officers by
acclamation:
Chairperson:
Ernesto Araníbar Quiroga (Bolivia)
Vice-Chairpersons:
Valérie Bruell-Melchior (Monaco)
Victor Leu (Republic of Moldova)
and postponed the election of the remaining members of the Bureau.
4. At its 2nd meeting, on 8 February 2006, the Commission was informed that
Mr. Araníbar Quiroga could no longer carry out his functions as Chairperson and the
Commission elected Javier Loayza Barea (Bolivia), by acclamation, as Chairperson
of its forty-fourth session.
5. At the same meeting, the Commission elected, by acclamation, Nina Saraswati
Djajaprawira (Indonesia) and Luvuyo Lonsdale Ndimeni (South Africa) as Vice-
Chairpersons, and also designated the Vice-Chairperson Victor Leu (Republic of
Moldova) as Rapporteur.
D. Agenda and organization of work
6. At its 2nd meeting, on 8 February, following the statement by the observer for
El Salvador, the Commission adopted its provisional agenda, as contained in
document E/CN.5/2006/1, as revised. The agenda read as follows:
1. Election of officers.
2. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters: further review
of the methods of work of the Commission.
3. Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development and the twentyfourth
special session of the General Assembly:

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(a) Priority theme: review of the first United Nations Decade for the
Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006);
(b) Review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action
pertaining to the situation of social groups:
(i) World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons;
(ii) World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and
Beyond;
(iii) Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002;
(iv) Family issues, policies and programmes.
4. Provisional agenda for the forty-fifth session of the Commission.
5. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its forty-fourth session.
7. Also at the 2nd meeting, the Commission approved its organization of work
contained in annex I to document E/CN.5/2006/1.
8. At the same meeting, the Commission decided to annex the Chairperson’s
summary of the panel discussion on the review and appraisal of the Madrid
International Plan of Action on Ageing to its report.
E. Documentation
9. The documentation before the Commission at its forty-fourth session is
contained in document E/CN.5/2006/1.

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Annex
Chairperson’s summary of the panel discussion on
the review and appraisal of the Madrid International
Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002
The objective of the panel discussion was to illustrate the value of
participatory methodologies and to provide practical examples of how bottom-up
approaches can inform policy implementation and review and appraisal exercises.
The Commission agreed, in its resolution 42/1, to adopt a bottom-up approach for
the review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing,
2002.
Participatory bottom-up monitoring by civil society
A project in Bolivia illustrates how older persons can contribute to the policy
process with sufficient support. Monitoring groups of older persons in five cities
were established by a non-governmental organization that monitored the entitlement
to free medical insurance for older persons. The monitoring groups wanted to find
out whether older persons knew about their right to health care (free for persons
over age 60), had access to it and were being treated with respect when seeking it.
The groups also wanted to see if health care was being funded according to law.
It was found that older persons were discriminated against if they were only
able to speak in their native language; they were sometimes treated badly by health
care staff or not treated because they are old; and often had to wait for 5 to 8 hours
to see a doctor. In rural areas, older persons had no access to free medical care.
Many lacked the documentation needed to access their right to free care and did not
know where or how to get it. Doctors and administrators indicated that a major
problem was that the national health fund was not receiving adequate resources to
fund the free health care programme. Therefore, the monitoring groups met with the
responsible local and national authorities, with an improved outcome: older persons
no longer have to wait as long to see a doctor, and the Ministry of Finance is
providing payment to the health services for older care.
Benefits of bringing older persons into the policy process
A key issue for older persons in the Republic of Moldova was rapid emigration
of youth (up to half of the population in some villages), which had left many older
persons without family support. More than one in six of those remaining in the
country were older persons, approximately 44 per cent of whom were considered to
be poor because pensions provided only about one quarter of the minimum
subsistence. There had been attempts by the Government in recent years to provide
some minimum level of additional benefits but there was no national plan of action
on ageing.
A national non-governmental organization undertook a participatory mapping
exercise with older persons in 2005 which identified priority areas for policy
changes. The results, which were presented to Government officials, civil society
and the media in 2005, included older persons having more self-confidence and
knowledge about their rights; a feeling of being more useful to society as a result of

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volunteer activities and training others; more contact with younger persons; and a
better understanding from the Government on issues concerning older persons.
Government/civil society mechanisms for review and appraisal
The “bottom-up approach” to review and appraisal was a process that should
involve all stakeholders. The Philippines had a long history of participation between
non-governmental organizations and the Government. Non-governmental
organizations were represented at the national and regional levels. An office of
senior citizens affairs was to be established in each municipality under a new plan of
action, to be headed by a senior citizen. The Philippines had the building blocks in
place for a more in-depth participatory approach as envisioned in the Madrid review
and appraisal process.
However the evaluation undertaken by the inter-agency committee on the
implementation of the previous national plan of action (1999-2004) had shown little
participation in policy formulation by older persons due to poverty, lack of
knowledge or indifference. Pilot community workshops and seminars recently held
pointed to a lack of awareness of laws, rights and entitlements of older persons and
low participation rates by the poor, due mainly to financial constraints. The case
studies of projects in Bolivia and Moldova illustrated how including older persons
into the policy process can overcome these issues.
These few examples made it clear that bottom-up, participatory review and
appraisal can be a tool for better decision-making and improved policies and
programmes. Participatory methods provide essential information to policymakers
and help older persons feel more connected to their societies. The approach is in line
with the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, which views older persons
as active contributors rather than passive recipients of care.
06-28849 (E) 260406
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