United Nations Economic and Social Council
As one of the five principal organs of the United Nations, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) plays a pivotal role in facilitating international co-operation on economic and social issues in countries around the world. Not only does ECOSOC serve as an information and statistic gathering body for the wider UN system, it coordinates the workings of specialized agencies as diverse as the International Labor Organization, the World Health Organization and UNICEF. With the mandate to discuss and make policy recommendations on areas as distinct and essential as economic development, universal respect for human rights, as well as cultural and educational co-operation across national borders, ECOSOC controls over 70% of the United Nations' financial and human resources.
Through its many subsidiary agencies, ECOSOC has helped to implement countless programs aimed at improving the quality of life of communities around the globe. It has the potential to serve as a powerful forum for the discussion of pressing issues, and routinely makes recommendations to the General Assembly and other organs of the UN.
ECOSOC is the ideal environment for discussions regarding political transformations to take place. With a broad mandate and influence on other important organs of the United Nations, ECOSOC is well-suited to target the intricacies and multi-faceted perspectives regarding democracy and its influence in the world.
- Official ECOSOC website: www.un.org/ecosoc
- Background Information: www.un.org/docs/ecosoc/ecosoc_background.html
Topics:
Topic 1- Eradicating Poverty and Hunger as a Precondition for Stable Democratic Societies
The first topic on the agenda is the question how to eradicate poverty and hunger as precondition for stable and democratic societies. Poverty and hunger are the main reasons why less developed countries struggle with the idea of democracy. People who are forced to live on $1 a day may hardly find the time to think about their form of government or - given that it exists already - support it sufficiently. Even worse, this situation is often being exploited by corrupt elites. In order to combat this untenable but recurring situation, the UN adopted the Millennium Development Goals in 2000. The first target postulates that between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day should be halved. Target three states that, within the same period of time, the number of people who are starving should also be halved. Today, only 6 years separate the world community from the 2015 deadline. Time for the ECOSOC to evaluate the progress since 2000 and to assess whether the programs currently being implemented by the many sub-organs of the ECOSOC can still achieve these highly ambitious targets. They should be seen as a universal responsibility of the international community to ensure that every people may make use of their inherent right to freely determine their form of government.
Topic 2 - Democratic Approaches to Coping with the Global Economic Crisis within the context of ECOSOC's development programmes
The global banking system steers at the brink of collapse: While the industrialized economies are struggling to manage the consequences of the current economic crises, developing countries are faced with outright disaster. Assets are being withdrawn and development projects are being cancelled on a large scale. Yet, the possible solutions for combating the dire consequences of this crisis are not being discussed and decided upon in Abuja or Addis Abeba, but in Davos and Washington. The ECOSOC should be occupied at this year's sessions with the question how to overcome this apparently undemocratic global economic regime. Whether the answer will be an extended G20 or some totally new form of economic government under the auspices of the UN will be left for the delegates to decide.
Chairs:
- Christian Schiller, Germany - University of Dresden
- Gregor Semieniuk, Germany - University of Dresden
Log-In for contact information!