[governance] FYI CS & Mr. Sha

[Jeanette Hofmann]

Thank you Wolfgang,

really revealing. At least the devision of roles is
clear: Governments make and adopt policy frameworks while civil society 
is being subject to such frameworks; and may contribute to social 
integration, preferably of the most vulnerable. Multi-stakeholder 
approaches belong to another planet.
jeanette



Kleinwächter, Wolfgang wrote:
> Statement by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and
> Social Affairs to the Civil Society Forum, "Copenhagen+15: Achieving
> a Society for All" New York, 2 February 2010
> 
> 
> Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> 
> I am pleased to address this Civil Society Forum, focused on
> "Copenhagen + 15: Achieving a Society for All".
> 
> You have set yourselves the task of assessing the progress made since
> the World Summit for Social Development in 1995. Such an assessment
> should help identify how best to advance social development through
> social integration, the theme of the Commission for Social
> Development.
> 
> We have seen some real progress at the global level. Copenhagen
> recognized that working towards an inclusive society requires urgent
> action to remove the barriers to inclusion faced by many groups. This
> recognition led to the development of significant mandates and
> instruments in the years following the World Social Summit.
> 
> Let me illustrate a few of the important frameworks, in which Civil
> Society played a critical role.
> 
> In 1995, a global agenda for youth was established by the World
> Programme of Action for Youth, which set in motion the identification
> of new priority areas for action. The World Assembly on Ageing
> adopted the International Plan of Action on Ageing in 2002. Its first
> review and appraisal five years later indicated several areas of
> success, including new social protection mechanisms to assist older
> persons.
> 
> In 2006, the groundbreaking Convention on the Rights of Persons with
> Disabilities was adopted. Following its ratification, many Member
> States have enacted national legislation frameworks banning
> discrimination against persons with disabilities, and introduced
> policies to promote greater access to education, employment and
> health services.
> 
> The rights of indigenous peoples are being more widely recognized in
> large measure, thanks to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights
> of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly in 2006. The
> Declaration advocates social inclusion of indigenous people in
> society, at the same time affirming their right to maintain their
> distinct social and cultural institutions and practices.
> 
> All these instruments have served as guidelines for the development
> of national policies and programmes to improve the situation of
> social groups.
> 
> For instance, some Governments established or reformed social
> protection mechanisms for the most vulnerable.
> 
> Many took measures to improve employment opportunities for young
> people and persons with disabilities.
> 
> National legislation was adopted to do away with ageism, sexism and
> other forms of discrimination.
> 
> Parliamentary quota systems improved the participation of women and
> minority groups in political decision-making in many countries as
> well.
> 
> In addition to mandates aimed at improving the situation of specific
> groups, several regional and national frameworks for social
> integration have been recently established, such as "African Common
> Position on Social Integration", "Social Inclusion Principles for
> Australia" and National Action Plans for Social Inclusion in the
> member countries of the European Union to name but a few.
> 
> Yet, despite this progress, much remains to be done. As social
> integration, together with poverty eradication and full employment,
> form the three mutually reinforcing pillars of Copenhagen, overall
> social development cannot be achieved without further efforts on this
> front.
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> Civil society has a vital role to play in achieving social
> integration. Your support in designing, implementing and monitoring
> comprehensive and inclusive social policies is essential for these
> efforts to succeed.
> 
> You can send a clear message to Governments that national policies to
> advance social integration should be based on global mandates already
> agreed upon and anchored within the frameworks of social justice,
> non-discrimination and inclusion of all members of society.
> 
> You are in the best position to inform local Governments. What are
> the priorities of your communities? What needs to be done to improve
> conditions, on an urgent basis and over the longer-term?
> 
> You have a special capacity to reach out to the marginalized and
> excluded among us, helping voices to be heard; supporting the
> fulfilment of their human rights.
> 
> Your work at the grassroots level can mobilize local communities for
> collective action.
> 
> You can help to develop concrete benchmarks for Governments to
> measure the progress of the social integration strategies they adopt.
> 
> 
> In sum, you have two profoundly important contributions to make: to
> help hold Governments accountable for the promises they have made at
> Copenhagen and since then; and to assist Governments and other
> partners in turning these commitments into reality on the ground.
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> My Department greatly recognizes the efforts you have made to promote
> social integration. The recent survey on social integration, prepared
> by the NGO Committee for Social Development entitled: Social
> integration in action: stories from the grassroots provide many
> examples of the kind of good work that civil society organizations
> are doing. The survey demonstrates that action at the local level is
> making real progress. We need to draw on the extensive practical
> experience of your organizations and your support for those most
> marginalized and excluded.
> 
> Let me close by thanking you for all your hard work in support of
> development efforts world-wide, and social integration initiatives on
> the ground. My Department also counts on your continuing commitment
> to bringing the world closer to the political, economic, ethical and
> spiritual vision for social development expressed 15 years ago: one
> "that is based on human dignity, human rights, equality, respect,
> peace, democracy, mutual responsibility and cooperation..."
> 
> I hope that this session of the Commission for Social Development
> will result in concrete policy recommendations on how to bring us
> closer to this goal, a goal that cannot be achieved without your
> continuous support.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> http://www.un.org/esa//desa/ousg/statements/2010/20100202_Civil_Society_Forum.html
> 
> 
> 
> 
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