by Jacques Baudot
FOREWORD
The International Forum for Social Development was a three year project undertaken by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs from November 2001 to November 2004. Financed by extra-budgetary resources and placed in the framework of the implementation of the text adopted in 1995 by the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development and confirmed in 2000 by the Geneva 24th special session of the General Assembly, its overall theme was “Open Societies, Open Economies: Challenges and Opportunities.”
The Forum held four meetings, all in New York at the headquarters of the United Nations. The subjects of these meetings were the following:
- Financing Global Social Development, 7-8 February 2002
- Cooperation for Social Development: the International Dimension, 16-17 October 2002
- International Migrants and Development, 7-8 October 2003, and
- Equity, Inequalities and Interdependence, 5-6 October 2004.
These meetings brought together invitees from different regions and different walks of life for a seminar followed by an open and informal debate with representatives of member states and non-governmental organizations. Findings were orally reported to the annual sessions of the Commission for Social Development and reports or summaries were issued.
The purpose of
this publication is to present an overview and interpretation of the debates
that occurred at these four Forums, from the perspective of the broad issue of distributive
justice. In the year of preparation of this work, 2005, the United Nations has
been reviewing the commitments made ten years ago in Copenhagen to promote social development and
in Beijing to
realize equality between men and women. It has however given considerably more
attention, in accordance with the evolution of its mandates and priorities, to
the review of its Millennium Declaration and to the assessment of the progress
made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In September
of that same year, the General Assembly hold a summit devoted to the Millennium
and to the reform of the Organization proposed by his Secretary General.[i]
It is hoped that the analyses presented here will be a contribution to the
continuing debate on these important issues.
[i] See In larger freedom:towards development, security and human rights for all, Report of the Secretary-General, United Nations, General Assembly, A/59/2005, 21 March 2005
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