Committee on Social Development, Third Session

The ESCAP Committee on Social Development was established to address:

1. implementation of internationally agreed commitments, including those on social development, population, ageing, disability, youth and disadvantaged groups, gender equality and health;
2. policy options, strategies and good practices in social policy and protection; and
3. social policies and financing aimed at building inclusive societies.

In 2014, the Third Session of the ESCAP Committee on Social Development was attended by 22 members and one associate member of ESCAP as well as representatives of UN agencies, international organizations and civil society.

The Session achieved the following outcomes:

1. Priority social development trends and issues in the region were identified for the post-2015 period.
2. Preliminary results of the Beijing+20 regional survey were validated.
3. Main elements of a draft outcome document for the “Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Beijing+20”, to be held in Bangkok from 17 – 20 November 2014, were reviewed.
4. Proposed outputs for the 2016-2017 programme of work on social development were endorsed.

A side-event on “Addressing inequalities in Asia and the Pacific” was also organized on 18 August 2014, with the participation of the following panellists:

• Mr. Rathin Roy, Director-General, National Institute of Finance and Public Policy, India;
• Mr. Bart Édes, Director, Poverty Reduction, Gender, and Social Development Division, Asian Development Bank; and
• Ms. Wenyan Yang, Chief, Social Perspectives on Development Branch, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York.

The side event was moderated by Ms. Thin Lei Win, Correspondent for the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The key messages emanating from discussion during the the side-event included the following: a) rising inequalities in several countries of Asia and the Pacific can threaten poverty reduction efforts in the region; b) social inequalities are often the root cause for income inequalities; and c) inequalities need to be addressed through a set of policies, such as enhancing social protection, providing decent work for all and strengthening redistributive policies.

Delegates Assessment

Following the meeting delegates who attended filled out questionnaires regarding the session. A summary of the results is available for download.

DOCUMENTS

Documents for Committee on Social Development, Third Session

RELATED DOCUMENTS

DOCUMENTS

1. ESCAP Committee on Social Development Terms of Reference
2. Annotated Provisional Agenda of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (Chinese)
3. Annotated Provisional Agenda of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (English)
4. Annotated Provisional Agenda of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (French)
5. Annotated Provisional Agenda of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (Russian)
6. Dates for the fourth session of the Committee on Social Development (Russian)
7. Asia-Pacific road map for the 20-year review of progress in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (English)
8. Dates for the fourth session of the Committee on Social Development (French)
9. Confronting rising inequalities in Asia and the Pacific: trends and opportunities in the context of the development agenda beyond 2015 (English)
10. Dates for the fourth session of the Committee on Social Development (English)
11. Information for participants of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session
12. Dates for the fourth session of the Committee on Social Development (Chinese)
13. Programmatic focus and planned outputs in the field of social development for the biennium 2016-2017 (Russian)
14. Programmatic focus and planned outputs in the field of social development for the biennium 2016-2017 (English)
15. Programmatic focus and planned outputs in the field of social development for the biennium 2016-2017 (Chinese)
16. Asia-Pacific road map for the 20-year review of progress in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Russian)
17. Confronting rising inequalities in Asia and the Pacific: trends and opportunities in the context of the development agenda beyond 2015 (Russian)
18. Asia-Pacific road map for the 20-year review of progress in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Chinese)
19. Elements of a draft outcome document for the Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Beijing+20 Review
20. Confronting rising inequalities in Asia and the Pacific: trends and opportunities in the context of the development agenda beyond 2015 (Chinese)
21. Asia-Pacific road map for the 20-year review of progress in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (French)
22. Tentative Programme of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (English)
23. Tentative Programme of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (Russian)
24. Confronting rising inequalities in Asia and the Pacific: trends and opportunities in the context of the development agenda beyond 2015 (French)
25. Tentative Programme of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (French)
26. Tentative Programme of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (Chinese)
27. Programmatic focus and planned outputs in the field of social development for the biennium 2016-2017 (French)
28. Report of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (English)
29. Report of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (Chinese)
30. Report of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (Russian)
31. Report of the Committee on Social Development, Third Session (French)