Publications

The 2016 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) took place from 11 to 20 July 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Twenty-two countries presented voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and particularly the sustainable development goals (SDGs), over a day and a half during the Ministerial Segment of the HLPF under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This report synthesizes some of the findings of the VNRs, drawing primarily from the written reports and executive summaries of the majority of countries. It uses a theme based analysis drawn largely from the voluntary common guidelines contained in the Annex…

Despite unprecedented social progress around the world, many people continue to face social exclusion and limited access to social, economic and political opportunities, warns a new United Nations report. The 2016 Report on the World Social Situation, entitled Leaving No One Behind – The Imperative of Inclusive Development, released today by UN DESA, examines the social, economic and political disadvantages that some groups of the population face, namely youth, older persons, ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples, migrants and persons with disabilities.

It also makes policy recommendations to help governments overcome development hurdles and address barriers that limit people’s…

By 2050, it is expected that about 6.25 billion people, 15 per cent of whom are persons with disabilities, will be living in urban centres. Urbanization has the potential to be an engineer for achieving sustainable and inclusive development for all. This new publication on “Good Practices of Accessible Urban Development” illustrates and encourages more initiatives and concrete actions from both developing and developed countries in advancing urban development to be accessible and inclusive to all, including persons with disabilities and other special needs.

Highlighting key experiences and lessons learned from 24 case studies, the publication contributes to the ongoing discourse…

The responsibility for finding solutions to the problems affecting young people – such as unemployment, low representation in political processes, and social exclusion – lies largely with Governments, according to a United Nations report on youth engagement released today.

The World Youth Report on Youth Civic Engagement, compiled by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), explores young people’s participation in economic, political and community life, and is intended to serve as an impetus and tool for policy discussion between youth and government.

On economic engagement, the report notes that unemployment affects more than 73 million young people…

The first edition of the report of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development maps out the commitments and action items contained in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and lays out how the Task Force will monitor their implementation in future years.

The Task Force has carefully gone through the full range of these commitments and action items to create a framework for monitoring. It compiled them into nine chapters — on cross-cutting issues, the seven action areas of the Addis Agenda, and on data. In each chapter, commitments and actions are organized by thematic clusters, for which the Task Force presents options for monitoring.

In adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders committed themselves to leaving no one behind in pursuit of the eradication of extreme poverty and protection of the planet. Through concerted efforts galvanized by the MDGs, the world has made progress in reducing poverty, but social exclusion persists in both developed and developing countries. At the same time, some countries have been able to effectively promote inclusion even at low levels of income and development.

This volume of the Report on the World Social Situation (RWSS) will focus on social inclusion. In particular, it will examine patterns of social exclusion and will assess whether growth…

The lives of women and girls around the world have improved in several areas over the last 20 years, according to the new UN DESA report “The World’s Women 2015,” launched today. Coming on the heels of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this new set of data on women and girls worldwide brings into sharp perspective the need for gender equality outlined in Goal 5.  

“We cannot achieve our 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development without full and equal rights for half of the world’s population, in law and in practice,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a recent event on gender equality organized on the side of the Sustainable Development Summit.…

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) achieved significant progress over the past 15 years, but persistent gaps in official development assistance and an insufficient access to markets, affordable medicines and new technologies have highlighted the need for a rejuvenation of the global partnership for development, according to a new report launched today by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The “Taking Stock of the Global Partnership for Development” report of the United Nations MDG Gap Task Force monitors the recent achievements and challenges in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goal 8, while looking ahead towards the new…

This publication sets out to examine the major challenges for indigenous peoples to obtain adequate access to and utilization of quality health care services. It provides an important background  to many of the health issues that indigenous peoples are currently facing. Improving indigenous peoples’ health remains a critical challenge for indigenous peoples, States and the United Nations.

Parliaments play a central role in enacting legislation that recognizes indigenous peoples’ rights and adopting budgetary measures to implement those rights, both of which are critical enablers to drive the implementation of the UN Declaration at the national level. This handbook aims to be a practical instrument to enable parliamentarians around the world to understand indigenous peoples’ rights better and to provide practical ideas for the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which defines the minimum standards necessary for the survival, dignity and well-being of indigenous peoples of the world.

The handbook presents good practices in…

Targets for the Millennium Development Goals related to the global partnership to improve people’s lives and end poverty show mixed results on providing the poorest developing countries with greater access to aid, trade, debt relief, essential medicines and technologies, according to a new report launched today by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The lives of millions of people worldwide have improved due to concerted efforts – at the global, regional, national and local levels – to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Recent statistics show that with many MDG targets already met – including reducing poverty, increasing access to clean drinking…

In General Assembly resolution A/RES/50/81 the World Programme of Action for Youth, Member States were called upon to address health issues of young people. In this context, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs has prepared a publication on the emerging issue of the Social Inclusion of Youth with Mental Health Conditions.

The publication raises awareness on the situation of youth with mental health conditions among relevant stakeholders and aims to start a global conversation regarding strategies for addressing the specific challenges faced by young people with mental health conditions.  It underscores the critical need to move beyond treatment-oriented mental health…