Publications

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…

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 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 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.

This publication provides an overview of the discussions that took place during the International Forum for Social Development, a three-year project undertaken by DESA for the purpose of promoting international cooperation for social development and supporting developing countries and social groups not benefiting from globalization. The outcomes of the meetings that took place during the Forum were also presented orally at the annual sessions of the Commission for Social Development.

The year 2005 marks ten years since the General Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth in 1995. This report, an official report to the General Assembly, called for a renewed committment to the goals of the World Programme of Action, since over 200 million youth were living in poverty, 130 million youth were illiterate, 88 million were unemployed and 10 million young people were living with HIV/AIDS.

In the World Youth Report 2005, it is argued that too often, youth policy is driven by negative stereotypes of young people, including delinquency, drug abuse and violence. What seems to be forgotten is that young people are a positive force for development, peace,…