61st Session of the Commission for Social Development draws to a close

Feb14

Tomorrow, February 15 is the closing day of the Commission for Social Development. It has been an engaging two weeks – the first in-person meeting of the commission since February 2020. The Commission meetings were dominated by the impacts of the pandemic, the climate crisis and geopolitical conflicts all contributing to and exacerbating inequalities in access to health, education and jobs. The continual call was for countries to create productive employment and decent work and ensure universal social protection by right to all including all disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. We are awaiting the adoption of the resolution on the priority themes to judge if actions committed to by member states are commensurate with the scale of the problem. Cuba’s representative speaking on behalf of G77 and China put price tag of $3.3 to $4.5 trillion per year as the amount required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals within the given timeline in developing countries.

The formal program of panels and general discussion were accompanied by activities of the NGO Community delivering the Civil Society Declaration at the opening session, hosting multiple side events on related topics, moderating and speaking as experts on panels, leading at the Civil Society Forum on Friday February 10 and making oral statement at the conclusion of the general discussion on Monday February 13. Many of you were signatories to the Civil Society Declaration.

The Civil Society Declaration in English; La Declaración de la Sociedad Civil en Español; La Déclaration de la société civile en français; A Declaração da Sociedade Civil em Português; إعلان المجتمع المدني باللغة العربية

Group of NGO’s who made oral statements on Monday February 13, 2023

Winifred Doherty delivers an oral statement on behalf of the Congregation

congregation-of-our-lady-of-charity-of-the-good-shepherd-oral-statement-csocd61 Download

The Congregation co-sponsored a side event on Tuesday February 7 entlitled: “Decent work for all: Ending vulnerability through education and economic empowerment.” The keynote speaker for this event was : Ambassador Amara Sowa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone, who has a distinguished career in education and government. The Ambassador is passionate about education for all but particularly concerned for the importance of KG for all children and education for girls including girls who may be pregnant. The range of projects presented covered multiple issues. Chirag Education Culture and Health Awareness Centre, an NGO under the jurisdiction of Patna Province of the Congregation of Jesus presented on women’s self help groups. Rhea Sethi, Child Development Program Officer at the Red Dot Foundation, Satara District of Maharashtra, India outlined empowerment programs with women and children. Sister Jackline Mwongela, an advocate against human trafficking in Kenya spoke of the vulnerability of young people to traffickers and Sister Silvia Zábavová, an activist and professor working among the Roma community in Slovakia presented various projects conducted since 2011 including a project in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Sloval Republic, called “Prevention and elimination of discrimination against Roma women in the municipality of Jarovnice” This training took place from Oct 2019 to July 2022 and helped 140 Roma women and girls with pre-employment training. It was co-financed by the EU. Anjali Singh, a teacher at the Kolkata Mary Ward Social Centre, Jamshedpur, India shared a beautician training for girls and women as a way to assist with financial issues, increase self-reliance, and empowerment. The session was moderated my two impressive youth leaders. We co-sponsored this event because it echoes in so many way the ministries that Good Shepherd engage in around the world in anti- human trafficking work, skills development, empowerment and financial inclusion with girls, women and children.

The second side event was on Wednesday February 8 entitled “On the Road to 2025: A new Social Contract Implementing Universal Social Protection, Ensuring Full Employment and Decent Work for All” We were honored to have Ms. Hanna Sarkkinen, Minister of Social Affairs and Health of Finland. This event demonstrates the many positive steps forward since 2011that have been taken in embedding social protections systems and floors for all within national legislation and programs. The event was dedicated to the memory of Prof. Michael Cichon. Michael was the inspiration behind and driver of Recommendation 202, founder of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors and he has been an inspiring example to so many people around the world. Winifred Doherty has been a member of the Global Coalition since its beginning.

It has been recorded and you can read more about the event and speakers HERE

The Civil Society Forum started on Sunday February 5 during the full day of February 10th. Sude Gorke, an intern at the GSIJP Office facilitated a very engaging Networking Session. She was engaged throughout the Commission and outlines her experience here.

My Experience at the Civil Society Forum and CSocD61

As a political science student, I was overjoyed at the prospect of attending a UN Commission and learning more about international cooperation. Thus far, my education about the UN and other international organizations had only been in classroom settings. Real first hand experience, such as attending CSocD61, has been difficult to come by with the current pandemic crisis. For this reason, I am thankful to the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd and the NGO Committee for Social Development for allowing me to attend this year’s session.

The speakers at each event were highly knowledgeable in the economic and social sectors of governments and voiced their opinions proudly. Many topics were on the agenda, including social protection floors, working towards increasing decent jobs, youth unemployment, and gender equality. These are all topics that affect me as a young woman living in the United States and I am thankful for the speakers for addressing awareness on issues pertaining to not only my future, but also everyone’s future, in which concrete policies and social protection reforms can be realized and upheld.

From attending CSocD61, I have become more hopeful in the prospects of our futures on this Earth. It is not often that you are able to recognize first-hand the work being done on the international level to address our global issues. Witnessing the speakers actually fight for a just labor market gives me hope that the future can be more equitable and equal for us all.

One of the most outstanding speakers of the 10 days has been Dr. Arash Fazli, Baha’i International Community. Dr Arash spoke on February 10th at the Civil Society Forum Thematic Session No 2: Rethinking the Dominant Economic Paradigm – Ensuring Social Protections and Just Transitions in the World of Work. 3pm-4:30pm. Sude Gorke compiled the following notes on his presentation:

When we look at the post-COVID world, there is a great deal of soul searching that is happening amongst world leaders, because there is a deepening consciousness that the systems of our world are not working, that something fundamental must change, it is no longer enough to tinker with the systems that exist to make small adjustments.
There is something wrong with the development model that we’ve adopted. Based on neoclassical economic thinking, it was basically one that saw the human being as a bundle of needs and wants and the characterization of the human being was of utility-maximizing, self-interested actor. The understanding was that the kind of structure that we need for society is one of constant consumption and production. You create a society which has at its center the pursuit of economic growth and limitless wealth. This is the fundamental problem; most of our problems in the world stem from this organizing logic; the pursuit of unlimited economic growth.
The market has become the mediator of all the needs and all the aspirations of humanity.
Commodification of relationships, everything in human nature.
Market values crowd out all other values. They become token values and what ends up mattering most is economic considerations.
The problem is when something that is meant to be a means to an end becomes the end itself. Economic growth has always been a means to an end, the means by which people would be productivity employed so that they could then pursue the higher goals, the goals around which our civilization could flourish. However, what ended up happening was that the means to an end became the end itself.
If one is saying that endless economic growth should not be at the center of our enterprise, what should?
- The pandemic has taught us a few things about this. We are fragile and even the strongest of us can be brought down very easily. We are completely interconnected. We depend on each other. Dependence is seen as weakness. But actually what you need is a system that is built on this interconnectedness and interdependence.
- We need a new set of values to center our society which are based on reciprocity, collaboration, cooperation– and on the highest aspirations of human societies everywhere is this conception of development as being just the provision of material needs and wants needs to be broadened to include people’s spiritual aspirations. People do not see themselves as just a bundle of needs and wants.
What implications does this new view of society have for the economy?
- Economic institutions have an organic relationship with the values in society. Neoclassical economists assume that values are givens, that they are there in the world the way you have geographical formations, that you can let society function, you can let the economy function, and it just stays that way. This is not correct.
- Values can strengthen or weaken economic institutions. In our current system, you are under competitive pressures constantly that the system creates that even if a person wants, they cannot even begin to think about assisting others.
Climate change requires our generation to sacrifice its self-interest for people living in the Pacific. We have to make serious changes to our lives, fundamental changes to our lives. For generations to come. There is no way this generation which is somehow fed on the idea of self-interest cannot develop these qualities.
Our economic system has to create a new system of awards and incentives so that behaviors which are in alignment with altruism are rewarded.
Our concept of efficiency must change. Currently, efficiency is based on the least amount of input for the most amount of output. The damage to the environment, cultural practices, and people’s social relationships are all considered externalities and not calculated in the input.
All economic activity will have to be limited by the goals of sustainability, by the goals of building societies with strong relationships of solidarity, and by the necessity of holding higher aspirations of the people of that society.

The full recording of the session is available HERE. Following his presentation Winifred Doherty made this comment from the floor

The Position Paper of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors at the Commission for Social Development 61st Session. Winifred Doherty of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd prepared the position paper. International KOLPING, International Presentation Association, Social Justice in Global Development, JusticeMakers Bangladesh, and Free Trade Union Development Center Sri Lanka, all members of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors endorsed the paper.

2023-csocd61-position-of-gcspf Download

Winifred Doherty asked a question during the 9th Plenary Meeting – Multi Stakeholder Session – on February 9 which was moderated by Jean Quinn the Chair of the NGO Committee for Social Development. Full session is available HERE

Acknowledgement – We are grateful to Kimberly Moloche (GSIJP Office) who prepared the shortened video clips

One more outstanding presentation was made by Ms Lara Hicks of UNANIMA INTERNATIONAL at the 7th plenary Session of the Commission “Addressing the social impacts of multi-faceted crises to accelerate recovery from the lingering effects of the pandemic through the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This presentation is impressive and models how we can make effective contributions from experience in ministry to the halls of policy making. Lara’s segment begins at 01.01.10 and is well worth reviewing.

Commission for Social Development February 10 – 19, 2020

Jan14

The annual Commission for Social Development will take place from February 10 – 19, 2020 in New York. This is the 58th session and marks 25 years since the Social Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995. The outcome of the Social Summit was contained in a document entitled ‘The Copenhagen Declaration and Platform for Action’ In brief it contained 3 Pillars – (i) Poverty Eradication, (ii) Full Employment and Decent Work, (iii) Social Inclusion, 10 Commitments, and put PEOPLE at the center of development. The Priority theme this year is Affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness.

The Secretary General has prepared a report on the theme – English, French, Spanish, Arabic It is 19 pages. There are some interesting point of information. Recent trends show that housing has become the single largest household expenditure and has become less affordable (paragraph 7) and the younger generation (20 – 34 years old) are facing increasing difficulties in becoming homeowners. Homelessness is a global problem in developing and developed countries. There is an interesting section on Drivers of Homelessness as a structural issue; (Paragraphs 16 – 24) The reports notes that domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children under personal and family circumstances. Is domestic violence, divorce, separation, and abandonment a personal and family circumstance or a structural issues? Two global issues today causing homelessness are climate change and conflict.

Strategies to address homelessness are two fold: – provide affordable housing (paragraphs 33 – 48) and social protection (paragraphs 49 – 53). The Commission for Social Development focuses on specific social groups and thus there are suggested policies to address challenges faced by these specific groups – family, persons with disabilities, youth, older persons, and indigenous peoples. The reports concludes with some recommendations paragraph 72 (a) to (h)

Opportunities to engage with the Commission for Social Development are through written statements, oral statements and in Side Events. The Good Shepherd written statement to the Commission has just been published on the Commissions’s Website. (French; Spanish.) Some structural issues, raised in the SG’s report are elaborated in the statement – commodification of housing and the financialization of housing projects promoted by financial institutions in the name of public-private partnerships. These are antithetical to the provision of affordable housing.

This graphic from OXFAM illustrates the structural and systemic issues confronting us – growing inequality, commodification even of people, financialization of public good and services

“When confronted by such realities, we are decidedly on the side of people and planet, particularly those who live the experience of multi-dimensional poverty, lack access to social protection and social services, and are excluded from financial services, yet show resilience in the face of homelessness and marginalization. Our ministries are undertaken in the context of upholding and addressing the human rights of girls, women and children in the absence of policy and/or public goods and services to ensure their most basic needs and inclusion. Through innovative learning and new approaches, global advocacy on social protection floors, capacity building, education and empowerment, Good Shepherd ministries on the ground seek to implement services and programmes including financial inclusion, and empowerment in the context of family and local community. ” The statement was supported by the following organizations.

In writing the statement we referenced the work of Good Shepherd Microfinance, Australia. The Financial Action Plan report of June 2019 noted that safe and secure housing is a key factor influencing positive social outcomes. Sharing two life experiences – one from Honduras and one from India – illustrate what financial resilience looks like, and feels like. (Bottom of page 2 and top of page 3). Addressing multidimensional poverty and social inclusion is not about people aspiring for a place in the global financial markets or seeking ‘handouts’, but women and families seeking sufficiency, well-being and security in the face of global processes that exploit through advertising, marketing, the undercutting of wages, the continuance of the gender pay gap and lack of recognition of women’s unpaid care work. Affordable housing and social protections systems for all in collaboration with local initiatives can only strengthen human dignity and human well-being to create as outlined in Commitment 1 of the World Summit for Social Development, “an economic, political, social, cultural and legal environment that will enable people to achieve social development.”

Read more about the Commission for Social Development . Join the social media campaign from now until February 19 – retweet, share, like and comment on the content concerning homelessness. Facebook and Twitter #csocd58 #endhomelessness #SDG’s #LeaveNoOnebehind #Solidarity #TogetherStronger

Attended – Special Meeting on “Towards sustainable, resilient and inclusive societies through participation of all” May 23, 2018

May24

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On May 23 the President of ECOSOC H.E. Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic, held a Special Meeting entitle “Towards sustainable, resilient and inclusive societies through participation of all.” Here is the Agenda for the meeting. I was privileged to have Joan Wu accompany me to this meeting. It was a full day. The panelists were excellent and provided a wide range of perspectives and suggestions. See who’s who in the Biographies of the various panelists. The ones that interested me most were H.E. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. I liked her capturing of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as ‘an agenda of the people, by the people and for the people, and it is an agenda to be achieved with the people.’ To conclude Her Excellency said ‘The 2030 Agenda needs the participation of all actors to ensure no one is left behind and that all can enjoy prosperity, dignity and opportunity in a world of peace. Let us, therefore, join our efforts for a sustainable, resilient and inclusive future.’ A summary of Session 2 and 3 can be read HERE If you prefer see and hear the WEBCAST I added to the discussion see marker 1:18 focusing on ‘leave no one behind.’ “Many of the people whom Good Shepherd represents are outside the political arena. Until such time as we address the divide that exists between this meeting here this morning and the people I represent in these countries, whom I say are outside of the political arena, I don’t think we will have movement and progress because of growing inequality, threat of conflicts, climate change and disasters, as some of the panelists have already noted. We have to walk the talk by putting the resources at the most vulnerable, most excluded groups and bringing them into the political arena to talk about how they wish to participate and what can be done in these situation. They work in groups in terms of their own empowerment but are not contributing to local and national development. I would like to raise this issue this morning in the light of moving forward. Thank you.”

Michale Shank the moderator of panel two offered 7 c’s with regard to citizen participation and community engagement. Tactic (1 and 2); Objective (3 and 4); Process (5) and Results (6 and 7)

campaign mode
crowd-sourcing – not merely using internet
consensus building
community wide engagement
communication – not PR or selling but reflecting back what the community is doing so the feel part of the process
concrete commitment
conflict prevention

Do you know about participatory budgeting? This was presented by Francesco Tena. Check out Participatory Budgeting

money that matters
grassroots leadership
inclusive design
targeted outreach
equity criteria.

What is e-governance and e-participation? Listen to Dr Aroon Manoharan.

Session 4 was in the afternoon – a good opportunity to hear Andrew Gilmore, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Head of New York OHCHR Office. Human Rights are paramount. Session 4 I was interested to know that sometimes Parliaments don’t know about ‘Voluntary National Reviews’ (VNR’s) and it was noted by Tomáš Rákos that participation would be much more robust if quality civic education was imparted to all coupled with the existence of trust between people and government!

Toward the end of this panel Margaret O’Dwyer, Daughters of Charity were able to share SEE

Social Development

Jan31

” … Almost 40 years later, on 3-12 February 2016, CSocD will meet again under the Romanian chairmanship and, as Ambassador of Romania to the UN, I will chair this 54th session. The reform of the UN social sector is once more on its agenda, this time in the context of implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted last September. After all, as the UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson remarked a few days ago: “Development is a work in progress. Development is never finished”. Read more here

H.E. Mr. Ion Jinga Ambassador of Romania to the UN (center) is chair of the 5 member-state bureau of the Commission for Social Development. There other members are Mr. Andreas Glossner (designate) Germany; Ms. Amina Smaila. Nigeria; Luz Andujar, Dominican Republic; and Mr. Mohammad Hassani Nejad Pirkouhi (designate) Islamic Republic of Iran.

For each Commission the Secretary General prepares a report on the theme of the Commission. For the 54th session the theme is ‘Rethinking and strengthening social development in the contemporary world‘ It is in Spanish, English, French, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.

There are 5 sections including Introductions and Conclusions and Recommendations.

Section 2: Social Policies for sustainable development has two subsections.

A. Supporting a people-centered, inclusive, and integrated 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
B. Eradicating poverty, promoting equality and decent work and respecting human rights.
- A universal policy framework centered on social justice, inclusion and participation. 2
- Promoting inclusion through special, targeted measures.

Principles and values are well enunciated – people-centered, inclusive, integrated, equality, human rights, and social justice. However, the challenge is how to close the gap between the values and the reality. One mechanism that Good Shepherd is supporting is the implementation of National Floors of Social Protection reference in Paragraph 19 as one example of a concrete action, and it is achievable but requires political will. Such implementation Social protection floors is an intergal part of the right to social security coming form Article 22 of the Declaration on Human Rights . Article 22 “Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.” It is encouraging to read of the movement towards universal health coverage in Indonesia, Rwanda, Thailand and Vietnam.

C. Promoting inclusive institutions and participation
D. Social policies as a means for inclusive growth and environment protection.

Section 3 Strengthening coherent approaches to policymaking for sustainable development

This is a direct challenge to the silo approach focusing only one policy to the detriment of others. The Secretary General report call for the aligning of macroeconomic policy frameworks with social and environmental goals. (Paragraph 34) What could be the scenario in Kolwezi where the documentary Maisha – A life outside the mines was filmed if in the first instance macroeconomic policy was aligned with social and environmental goals? Even today, how can the empowered people of Kolwezi move towards participation in decision making in all that affects the life of the community at the social, environmental and economic level, locally, nationally and internationally? Maisha CSocD Side Event Concept Note (1) The end of Paragraph 35 suggests that social and environmental policies should be integrated into macroeconomic policy frameworks. This, in my opinion is to continue with the same model that caused the problem in the first place. Rather, we should be attempting to integrate the macro-economic policy into robust social and environmental policy framework thus addressing ‘the underlying structural causes of development challenges’ (Paragraph 5). Social injustice, environmental injustice, systemic exclusion, poverty and inequality are largely the results of dominant macro economic policy. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has the vision but do we have the will and the courage to implement it?

Section 4 Financing a social perspective on development

Successful implementation of any policy requires sufficient and sustainable financing. Resources are in abundance. There never appears to be shortage of resources for military operations. The cleft between richness and poverty is gross. A human rights framework underpins true social development with the principles of equity, social justice and solidarity that were the foundation of the World Summit for Social Development.

Some quotes from Laudato Si on Inequality

Para 48 The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation.

Para 49 … Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

Para 82 Yet it would also be mistaken to view other living beings as mere objects subjected to arbitrary human domination. When nature is viewed solely as a source of profit and gain, this has serious consequences for society. This vision of “might is right” has engendered immense inequality, injustice and acts of violence against the majority of humanity, since resources end up on the hands of the first comer or the most powerful: the winner takes all. Completely at odds with this model are the ideals of harmony, justice, and peace.

Some Reflection of Commission for Social Development 52nd Session

Feb13

Today is the third day of the Commission for Social Development and despite yet another snow storm in New York the UN is open. Today’s agenda focuses on the United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups – persons with disabilities, youth, aging and the family. It is the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family. If you are interested in following specifically any of these groups because your ministry is centered around building capacity and creating enabling and empowering environments for any of these groups please look at the Secretary Generals Reports as they relate to your specific social group. You can access the documents here in English, Spanish and French.

Tomorrow Friday there will be a high level panel on the social drivers of sustainable development. The concept note is in English, French and Spanish Concept note A few points that I would like draw your attention to. The new development agenda known as the ‘Post 2015 Development Agenda’ seeks the integration of economic growth, social justice and environmental stewardship. The discussion of sustainable development has tended to focus on environmental sustainability while neglecting the social dimension. Integration calls for clarifying what the social dimensions are and how they can be addressed. The concept note in paragraph two refers to social conditions that influence processes of change. Another term is ‘social drivers’. What are these ‘social drivers’ in your experience? They are social structures that shape people’s behavior and opportunities. These social structures also affect the capacity of individuals and groups to influence change. Social drivers are about how individuals and groups respond and adapt to circumstances, including how they cope and organize in defense of their interests or their rights. Remember the ‘Arab Spring’, or the ‘Occupy’ movement. Yesterday I heard Mr Abdul-Kareem Al Eryani, former PM of Yemen, Club de Madrid Member remembering how the Arab Spring began in Tunisia which was one of the best countries in the region economically. Marginalized people were the leaders and women took a significant role. There was a 10 month period of national dialogue. Mr Abdul-Kareem Al Eryani noted that when human dignity is violated people are not content. Economic development without social development leads to conflict and tension. The former Prime Minister went on to say that sustainable development must be balanced with good governance and implementation of human rights. The Club of Madrid promote the idea of ‘shared societies’. Social development is as critical as economic development. The mega programmes of the 20th century based on ‘trickle down effect’ to end poverty have not worked. People have not been empowered.

What about class, ethnicity, gender and location (rural vs urban) both informal and formal institutions, including the norms and values that pattern behaviour, and the way people and organizations interact in networks. Here I think back to the panel I moderated at the Civil Society forum and the experience shared my Mr. Jose Nunez (See posting on February 11 and the presentation of Fabio Palacio posted on February 12) Some tweets of February 11 quoting from Jose Nunez illustrate the point. “Just accessing social protection can be disempowering because of ‘put downs’… Giving people money is not enough …it’s not transformative… I believe that without empowerment we cannot end poverty…True empowerment is about how you carry yourself not how much you own… Empowerment is not about making more money or having more power than someone else.”

In our Good Shepherd Statement to the Commission for Social Development we quoted the following definition of empowerment “Empowerment happens when individuals and organized groups are able to imagine their world differently and to realize that vision by changing relations of power that have kept them in poverty, restricted their voice and deprived them of their autonomy.” (Rosalind Eyben’s paper in Pathways Policy Paper Brighton, 2011) This definition places empowerment squarely in the minds and hearts of persons and communities living in poverty, seeking a proper balance between enhancing their own sense of agency and making the structural changes to institutions and policies that are needed for emancipation. What do you think of the three aspect of power, ‘power within’, ‘power to’, and ‘power with’ as elaborated in our statement? How do we facilitate structural and systemic change? Our direction statement of 2009 called us to “confront unjust systems and take a “corporate stance” when appropriate.”

See paragraph 52 of Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation Click here Page 44 “In our time humanity is experiencing a turning point in its history, as we can see from the advances being made in so many fields. We can only praise the steps being taken to improve people’s welfare in areas such as health care, education and communications. At the same time we have to remember that the majority of our contemporaries are barely living from day to day, with dire consequences. A number of diseases are spreading. The hearts of many people are gripped by fear and desperation, even inn the so-called rich countries. The joy of living frequently fades, lack of respect for others and violence are on the rise, and inequality is increasingly evident. it is a struggle to live and, often, to live with precious little dignity. This epochal change has been set in motion by the enormous qualitative, quantitative, rapid and cumulative advances occurring in the sciences and in technology, and by their instant application in different areas of nature and life. We are in an age of knowledge and information, which has led to new and often anonymous kinds of power.”

The commission for Social Development and the Post 2015 Development Agenda in its multiple discussions are desiring to analyze and understand these ‘anonymous kinds of power’ that have created growing inequalities and the empowerment of peoples.

Read the statement of the Chair of the NGO Committee for Social Development (Margaret Mayce) to the Commission. Access statement by clicking here See in particular page 4 and I quote “In a globalized world too often driven by economic and financial engines, it is easy to lose sight of people, and of the Planet which serves as our one, common home. When wealth and power are sought as ends unto themselves, there is a the danger that society can be reduced to a collection of nameless, faceless individuals, and the common good is reduced to fit the outcome achievable by private, for profit firms. The market based approach to development has tended to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few, while countless numbers of our brothers and sisters have seen their economic power, and their real power to influence decisions that affect their lives diminish. In this regard we turn to the words of Pope Francis, who spoke of “the scandal of poverty in a world of plenty as a piercing moral challenge for the whole human community.” He continues, “A way has to be found to enable everyone to benefit from the fruits of the earth, and not simply to close the gap between the affluent and those who must be satisfied with the crumbs falling from the table…there must be a new stimulus to international activity on behalf of the poor, inspired by something more than mere goodwill, or worse, promised which all to often have not been kept.”

Good Shepherd Statement to the Commission on Social Development now published

Jan17

The Good Shepherd Statement to the Commission for Social Development is now published in the 6 official languages of the United Nations .

N1357408 Statement Spanish CSocD RGS 2014 N1357404 Statement Chinese CSocD RGS 2014 N1357407 Statement Russian CSocD RGS 2014 N1357403 Statement Arabic CSocD RSG 2014 N1357404 Statement Chineese CSocD RGS 2014 N1357405 Statement English CSocD RGS 2014

The Priority theme of the Commission in 2014 is: “Promoting empowerment of people in achieving poverty eradication, social integration and full employment and decent work for all“.

The Emerging issues: the social drivers of sustainable development.

Issues concerning special groups – Persons with Disabilities, Youth, Aging and Family will also be addressed. For more information and the reports prepared for the Commission can be read HERE

Our statement references the work done in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a focus on empowerment of the local people. The statement is identifying systems and structures of power that actually keep people in poverty and deny them access to decent work.

“Empowerment happens when individuals and organized groups are able to imagine their world differently and to realize that vision by changing the relations of power that have kept them in poverty, restricted their voice and deprived them of their autonomy.” Read Duncan Greens background paper ”The role of the State in empowering poor and excluded groups and individuals” . We are looking at the centrality of “power” to empowerment. The statement ends with a question ‘have Governments the political will and determination to enter into dialogue with citizens in “power with” and “power to” making the structural changes to institutions and policies that promote the empowerment of people?

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