Publications

Calling for inclusive, agile and coordinated action to usher in an era of sustainable development for all, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 4 December presented the UN General Assembly with an advance unedited version of his “synthesis report,” which will guide negotiations for a new global agenda centred on people and the planet, and underpinned by human rights. The report was formally issued in the six official UN languages on 31 December 2014.

“Next year, 2015, will herald an unprecedented opportunity to take far-reaching, long-overdue global action to secure our future well-being,” Mr. Ban said as he called on Member States to be “innovative,…

Millions of people’s lives have improved due to concerted global, regional, national and local efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which serve as the foundation for the next global development agenda, according to the report launched by the Secretary-General on 7 July 2014.

With many MDG targets already met on reducing poverty, increasing access to improved drinking water sources, improving the lives of slum dwellers and achieving gender parity in primary school, the report says many more targets are within reach by their 2015 target date. If trends continue, the world will surpass MDG targets on malaria, tuberculosis and access to HIV treatment, and the…

This E-publication is based on papers presented at two Expert Group Meetings (jointly organized by DSPD and the ILO) that brought together specialists to undertake a review of progress in eradicating poverty and to analyse policy responses to the global jobs crisis in different countries and regions of the world. It calls for a reorientation of macroeconomic policies from the current heavy emphasis on short-term stability to the promotion of sustained, inclusive and equitable growth. It stresses the need for the integration of social and economic policies to enable the attainment of people-centred development outcomes.

“The Millennium Development Goals have been the most successful global anti-poverty push in history,” Mr. Ban said. “The MDGs have proven that focused global…

UNDESA-DSPD, from 8 August to 5 September 2012, conducted a global online survey to gather inputs for consideration by the 51st session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD), which took place from 6 to 15 February 2013.

The survey enabled the public worldwide to respond to a set of questions that were related to the priority theme of CSocD on “Promoting empowerment of people in achieving poverty eradication, social integration and full employment and decent work for all”.

The responses collected and selected from the first question “Empowerment: What does it mean to you?” was published in a separate booklet.

The “Definitions of Empowerment” represents a collaborative effort, made possible by the answers received from people all over the world on the Empowerment theme. Their invaluable contributions were essential for the preparation of the Empowerment Publication.

In order to collect people’s ideas and experiences, the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of UNDESA launched an on-line survey on “Promoting Empowerment of People”.

We were glad to receive tens and tens of responses from young individuals, persons with disabilities, older persons, and people working for various institutions and organizations committed to social development issues. Their keen interest…

The report presents the yearly assessment of global progress towards the MDGs, highlighting several milestones – three important MDG targets have been met well ahead of the target date of 2015. The report says that meeting the remaining targets, while challenging, remain possible – but only if Governments do not waiver from their commitments made over a decade ago.

Based on a master set of data compiled by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG indicators led by DESA’s Statistics Division, the 2012 report outlines gains in poverty reduction and access to safe drinking water, and an improvement in the lives of slums dwellers in urban areas. The report also highlights important…

The World Youth Report 2007 examines the challenges and opportunities existing for the roughly 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in the world. Distinct from the 2003 and 2005 editions, it provides a regional overview summarizing the major youth development trends in the fifteen priority areas of the World Programme of Action for Youth.

The report explores major issues of concern to youth development, including employment, education, health, poverty and violence. At the same time, it highlights youth as a positive force for development and provides recommendations for supporting their essential contributions.

“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.

The Demographic Yearbook 2009-2010 is the sixty-first in a series published by the United Nations since 1948. It contains tables including a world summary of selected demographic statistics, statistics on the size, distribution and trends in national populations, fertility, foetal mortality, infant and maternal mortality, general mortality, nuptiality and divorce. Data are shown by urban/rural residence, as available. In addition, the volume provides Technical Notes, a synoptic table, a historical index and a listing of the issues of the Demographic Yearbook published to date.

The number of deaths of children under the age of five declined from 12.4 million in 1990 to 8.1 million in 2009, which means nearly 12,000 fewer children die each day. Some of the world’s poorest countries have also made impressive gains in the fight against poverty, but the least developed countries still lag in efforts to improve living standards.

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…