30 May 1991

12th plenary meeting

Monitoring of international plans and programmes of action in the field of social development

The Economic and Social Council

Recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolution:

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 42/125 of 7 December 1987, in which it endorsed the Guiding Principles for Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes in the Near Future and requested the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps to ensure the implementation of, and follow-up action to, the Guiding Principles,

Reaffirming the continued importance and value of strategies and plans of action in different social policy areas directly related to the Guiding Principles, notably those concerning the status of women, the ageing, youth and disabled persons, as well as crime prevention and drug abuse, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration on Social Progress and Development,

Recalling its resolution 44/65 of 8 December 1989, in which it decided, inter alia, that social issues as conceived in the Guiding Principles should become a major part of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade,

Stressing the validity of Economic and Social Council resolution 1987/48 of 28 May 1987, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to redeploy resources to ensure appropriate follow-up action to the Interregional Consultation on Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes,

Concerned about the lack of appropriate follow-up action to the comprehensive programme of the Guiding Principles in the regions of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and Western Asia,

1. Reaffirms the validity of the Guiding Principles for Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes in the Near Future as a major framework for action at the local, national, regional and international levels in the field of social welfare and development;

2. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on major issues and programme activities of the Secretariat and the regional commissions relating to social development and welfare and specific social groups;

3. Stresses the interrelationship between economic growth and human welfare as one of the principal themes of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade;

4. Appeals to Governments to make use of the Guiding Principles and to apply their recommendations, as appropriate and in accordance with their national structures, needs and objectives, to inform the Secretary-General of problems in their implementation and to accelerate the follow-up action to the Interregional Consultation on Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes;

5. Welcomes the inclusion of the implementation of the Guiding Principles in the medium-term plan for the period 1992-1997 and the programme budget for the biennium 1990-1991, as requested in its resolution 44/65;

6. Urges the Secretary-General and the organizations of the United Nations system concerned to continue to include the implementation of the Guiding Principles in their programmes of work and to assist Governments, particularly those of the developing countries, in formulating appropriate social welfare policies in setting up effective programmes according to their needs;

7. Urges the executive secretaries of the regional commissions to give adequate attention to the recommendations for action at the regional level contained in the Guiding Principles;

8. Stresses the role of non-governmental and voluntary organizations in the implementation of the relevant recommendations of the Guiding Principles, particularly in social crisis management, as reflected in the proceedings of the international expert meeting on the role of voluntary organizations in crisis management: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, drug abuse and mass migration as cases in point, held at Berlin, from 18 to 22 November 1990;

9. Urges Member States in all regions to initiate regional expert group meetings devoted to issues raised in the Guiding Principles and to translate their recommendations into specific social policy activities;

10. Welcomes the idea of holding regional conferences, for example, the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Social Affairs within the European Region, to be held in Czechoslovakia in 1992, and the Fourth Asian and Pacific Ministerial Conference on Social Welfare and Social Development, to be held in the Philippines in October 1991;

11. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To strengthen the follow-up action to the Interregional Consultation by, inter alia, appropriately reflecting the Guiding Principles in global programmes and events, including the preparations for and observance of the International Year of the Family;

(b) To strengthen advisory services to Governments, especially those of developing countries, focusing on the policy, institution-building capacity, planning, administration and training aspects of developmental social welfare;

(c) To ensure that the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Guiding Principles, is provided with sufficient resources, without incurring additional expenses, through the regular budget of the United Nations, for an effective follow-up to the Interregional Consultation;

(d) To reflect appropriately resource and programme requirements for monitoring the implementation of the Guiding Principles in the proposed programme budget for 1992-1993;

(e) To report to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session, through the Commission for Social Development and the Economic and Social Council, on the progress achieved in the implementation of and follow-up action to the Guiding Principles and the present resolution;

12. Decides to consider the question of the implementation of the Guiding Principles for Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes in the Near Future at its forty-eighth session under the agenda item entitled "Social development".