Background Guide: Economic and Social Council
The United Nations’ largest and most complex subsidiary body is the Economic and Social Councilor as it is more commonly referred to,ECOSOC. Established in 1967 along with the amendment to the UN Charter, ECOSOC was the first major council created to work with the global issues not pertaining to security and war. The ECOSOC is the only council that maygive consultative status tonon-governmentalorganizations or NGOs. There are three types of consultative status that a NGO can receive, these include: general status, special status, and roster NGOs. General status is gives permission to speak in front of the delegation; special status allows for papers to be given to the delegation; and the Roster NGOs are considered experts on specific topics and are consulted when their expertise could be useful. At the start of the NGO integration process in 1945, there were 41 organizations given consultative status. Today these numbershavegrown to 3,900(csonet.org). These NGOs aid the council in its decision making andare integral to ECOSOC functions.
Topic A: Sustainable Urbanization
Over 50 percent of the global population lives in cities (Integration segment background).Having such a large portion of the human race all living in such close proximity to each other, brings with itself many benefits and many concerns. These populous hubs provide a great opportunity for growth and increased productivity; while these closed quarters, often lead to unsanitary living conditions that hinder the health of those living there.Some issues include inadequate access to food and water, and unsatisfactory sanitation and living conditions. The industry that is powering the city is at the same time harming it environmentally especially in terms of air and water quality.
In May of 2014, the UN ECOSOC held its first Integration Segmentwhere members of the UN, national political leaders, mayors of major cities, and private corporations gathered to figure out how to better implement sustainable urbanization. In their summarizing statementVice PresidentVladimirDrobnjakstated“Urbanization can serve as a transformational force for achieving and advancing sustainable development. To this end, an integrated approach that engages all key stakeholders in order to produce innovative solutions to foster economic, environmental and social sustainability, will be required”(Summary statement).
There are several ways sustainable urbanization could be achieved. Environmental protocols within citieswith highlyindustrialized economieshelp to create a better living condition for their citizens. As cities grow and expand, they begin to attract new businesses and with them the employees and the consumers. Faced with such a large population it becomes incredibly important to be able to accommodate for the needs of every individual, especially their access to potable water and food. Urban farming has become an answer to the issue of accessible, affordable and healthy food in many of today’s metropolises.Community gardensare also a good way of introducing fresh produce to urban areas where there is otherwise a lack of fresh food. One final strategy to achieve sustainable urbanization is improved governance. This includesplanned city expansion which leads to better living areas for the citizens living in these crowded areas.
Questions to Consider
Is urbanization an issue in your country? What is your country’s policy on sustainable urbanization?What can we do to balance the pursuit of monetary enrichment with people’s health and happiness?
Topic B: Reducing Economic Inequality
Since the industrial revolution, there has been an extreme separation of the classes and a harsh contrast between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have not’s’.This concept not only applies to individuals but also to the international arena.On the global scale, the 'haves' and 'have not's' turn into developed and developing nations.Very fewdeveloping countries have been growing at sustained rates in recent decades, outof these developing nationsChinaandIndiaare the most prominent. The amount of growth seen from these two countries makes the global average of economic inequality between countries appear to be fading.However, with such large populations in these two nations, the numbers become an inadequate reflection of the true situation faced by their citizens.Considering that these two countries alone account for more than one third ofthe world’s populationwe must be carefulwith how we view these statistics.When these countries are left out, however, international income inequality is seen as having continued to rise strongly from already high levels (World Economic and Social Survey 2006).
Economic inequality affects many people around the world. When there is drastic income inequality, success in development depends both on country efforts and on an appropriate international environment. Greater income divergence is partly explained by a rising number of growth collapses. Countries with weak economic structures and institutions, and low infrastructural and human development have less capacity to gain from integrating into global markets. Such conditions make it more difficult for developing countries to grow out of poverty and reduce their vulnerability to globaleconomicshocks. Hence, the greater the likelihood of growth collapses and conflict, the easier it is for global inequality to raise. The problem of rising global inequality thus has an important bearing on the implementation of the United Nations development agenda.
There are many different areas in which the UN is working to reduceeconomicinequality. These areas include education, access to good work, and minimizing the wage gap. There are numerous programs in place that are working toward bettering the education systems around the world. Good work with proper wages have been argued over for years but were most recently discussed at the 2013 Organizationfor Economic Cooperation and Development forum. As we enter into this fast paced age of technology, many jobs are becoming obsolete as humans are being replaced by robots(Inequality Matters document). The UN has long pushed for better access to primary education and has been relatively successful in that endeavor. With increasing thenet enrolment of the world’s primary school-age population from 82% to 88% in ten years, their focus now is on making sure the education is of good quality (UN press release).
Questions to Consider
What is your country’s policy on economic inequality?What other ways can economic equality be achieved?
Extra sources
Background sources:
http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/newfunct/index.shtml
http://csonet.org/?menu=100
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/178315/Economic-and-Social-Council-ECOSOC
http://www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?page=article_s&id_article=799
Topic A sources:
http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/integration/pdf/ecosoc_vp_summary.pdf
http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/integration/2014/documentation.shtml
http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/integration/pdf/integration_segment_background_note_2014.pdf
Topic B sources:
http://csonet.org/?menu=123
http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/sustainable.shtml
http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/financing.shtml
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1224
http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
http://www.un.org/press/en/2011/dsgsm565.doc.htm
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/reports/InequalityMatters.pdf
http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/ecosoc6649.doc.htm (economic growth for poor nations)
Works Cited
"2014 INTEGRATION SEGMENT: SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION." ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (n.d.): n. pag. Un.org. United Nations. Web. <http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/integration/pdf/ecosoc_vp_summary.pdf>.
"UN Economic and Social Council; Resolutions; Decisions." UN News Center. UN, 27 Apr. 2006. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/report.asp?id=1122>.
"Welcome to Csonet.org | Website of the UN DESA NGO Branch. At Your Service." Website of the UN DESA NGO Branch. United Nations, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014. <http://csonet.org/?menu=100>.