Publications

“The social, economic and political costs of a prolonged youth unemployment crisis are high. It is therefore obvious that there is an urgency in addressing the youth employment crisis, but youth employment cannot be tackled without the involvement and participation of youth. It is with this in mind that the current World Youth Report is dedicated to the voices of young people themselves,” said Ms. Daniela Bas, Director of UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development at today’s launch.

Released in December 2011, the report Disability and the Millennium Development Goals: A Review of the MDG Process and Strategies for Inclusion of Disability Issues in Millennium Development Goal Efforts, examines the MDGs and its relation to disability issues with a view to impact the post-2015 development agenda. It is intended to provide a “road map” for how and why disability can and should be included in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of MDG-related programmes and policies.

The report focuses on the social and economic wellbeing of older persons and documents the demographics of older age; their economic status and participation in the labour force; the health of older persons; and the societal perceptions and social integration of older persons. On each of these topics, the report attempts to account for the diversity of situations of older persons in society and across the world. It also attempts to capture the changing reality and perceptions of old age as well old persons’ own views.

The report is based on recent research and empirical data from various sources available to the United Nations Secretariat, and includes a range of up-to-…

“The economic crisis reminds us that it is essential for people to be healthy, educated, adequately housed and well fed to be more productive and better able to contribute to society,” said Jomo Kwame Sundaram, DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development. “Social policy should be an integral part of economic policy.”

The perceptions of the role of women and men in families have changed over the past few decades. Men are no longer perceived as the economic providers to families.  The role of men in the family has undergone many “diverse demographic, socio-economic and cultural transformations” impacting the formation, stability and overall well-being of families. In light of this development, DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) launched a new publication on “Men in Families and Family Policy in a Changing World” on 17 February focusing on the shifting roles and views of men in families.

The World Youth Report focus on youth and climate change, and is intended to highlight the important role young people play in addressing climate change, and to offer suggestions on how young people might be more effectively integrated as individuals and collective agents of change within the realm of climate change adaptation and mitigation. The Report is designated to assist youth and youth organizations in educating themselves and to become more actively involved in combating the threat of climate change. It is also meant to affirm the status of young people as key stakeholders in the fight against climate change. The publication comes at a time when efforts to address climate change…

This Publication contributes to the series of events, conferences and publications related to the first review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. It highlights priorities, as well as recent trends and policy developments, in the five UN regions of the world.

The publication, which is a joint effort of UN staff and international experts, aims to assist national governments, the international community and the public at large to better assess the situation of older persons five years after the Second World Assembly on Ageing. It should better inform the debate on how to align priorities, policy innovations and technical cooperation to implement the…

The objective of the study is to serve as a guiding framework for policymakers, researchers and practitioners interested in developing practical tools for evidence-based policymaking, impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation in the area of social inclusion. It provides guidance on how to develop tools, taking into consideration the historical, cultural and contextual backgrounds of one’s own society.

The study also builds on the work on social indicators that has already been undertaken by many people at local, national, regional and international levels. It is hoped that the study will help to inspire new ideas and to generate innovative…

Issued in support of the five-year review of the Mauritius Strategy of Implementation for the sustainable development of SIDS, the report highlights the vulnerabilities of SIDS and recent trends in their sustainable development. The key areas covered by the report are climate change, disaster management, trade and finance, tourism and energy. It also covers energy, natural resources and social development. In addition, the report provides a visual summary of progress made by SIDS in attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), based on analysis performed by UNDP and ESCAP.

SPFII, in cooperation with ILO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA and SCBD has published the Resource Kit on Indigenous Peoples Issues. The Kit is aimed UN Country Teams (UNCTs), and other development agents, providing them with guidance as to how to engage indigenous peoples and include their perspectives in development processes.

The world needs to reassess the notion of poverty and the means for its eradication, according to a new report published by DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development. The Report on the World Social Situation 2010 entitled “Rethinking Poverty” was critical of the current way that the international community identified and addressed poverty. The Report argued that “although the current monetary poverty-line approach...

There are over 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries, living in all regions of the world. The situation of indigenous peoples in many parts of the world is critical today. Poverty rates are significantly higher among indigenous peoples compared to other groups. While they constitute 5 per cent of the world's population, they are 15 per cent of the world's poor. Most indicators of well-being show that indigenous peoples suffer disproportinately.