Poverty Eradication General Assembly

At its 3rd plenary meeting, on 16 September 2022, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the General Committee, decided to include in the agenda of its seventy-seventh session the item entitled: “Social development: “(a) Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly; “(b) Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, persons with disabilities and the family; “(c) Literacy for life: shaping future agendas” and to allocate it to the Third Committee.

The present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 76/218, provides a review of the progress made and the gaps and challenges in implementing the Third United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2018–2027), including the socioeconomic impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the responses thereto. Policies for an inclusive and sustainable recovery from these crises are discussed and recommendations made.

In the present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 76/134, the Secretary-General emphasizes the need for decisive national actions and international cooperation to eradicate poverty and achieve the goals of the World Summit for Social Development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He examines the multifaceted impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine on social development and underscores the importance of strengthening global solidarity and multilateral cooperation.

The Secretary-General calls for the further strengthening long-term social policies to enhance people’s capacities for and resilience to future crises, as well as for preserving social spending to support such national policies and strategies to fully implement the 2030 Agenda, leaving no one behind. He presents the outcomes of the sixtieth session of the Commission for Social Development and an analysis of policies to address emerging challenges to social development in order to accelera te the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. He advocates for recommitting to multilateralism to tackle global crises and concludes with policy recommendations for consideration by the General Assembly.

The report has been prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 74/120 on promoting social integration through social inclusion. The report focuses on digital and financial inclusion and their importance for the overall social inclusion of all, in particular young persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, and indigenous peoples.

In the present report, the Secretary-General emphasizes the need to strengthen national action and regional and international cooperation for social development, focusing on a significant increase and/or more efficient utilization of the resources allocated to social development, in order to achieve the goals of the World Summit for Social Development, taking into consideration the multifaceted impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its consequences, especially on social development. He examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on social development and underscores the importance of developing long-term social policies to enhance people’s capacities and resilience for future shocks, and of preserving social spending to support such national policies and strategies so that countries can recover better and get back on track to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Secretary-General also presents the outcomes of the fifty-ninth session of the Commission for Social Development and concludes by setting out policy recommendations for consideration by the Assembly.