Sister Deirdre Mullan, representing the Partnership for Global Justice is attending the Commission for Social Development being held at the UN. Many members of the Partnership extensive network are also in attendance. The theme for the Fifty-First session of the Commission is “Promoting empowerment of people in achieving poverty eradication, social integration and full employment and decent work for all.
In addition to the priority theme, the session will include a review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups such as: disabled persons, youth, ageing, and the family. Deirdre will follow some of the discussion on ageing as she attended the Madrid Conference on Ageing held in 2002.
In 1995, the World Summit for Social Development recognized that people living in poverty and vulnerable groups must be empowered through organization and participation in all aspects of political, economic and social life, in particular in the planning and implementation of policies that affect them, thus enabling them to become genuine partners in development.
What does this mean at the National level? Thuis means that empowerment involves a social protection floor – a comprehensive national social protection system comprised of:
- Universal access to essential services (such as health, education, housing, water and sanitation.
- Social transfers in cash or in kind, to ensure income security, adequate nutrition and access to essential services.
The Social Protection floor is a joint UN effort to build a global coalition of United Nations agencies, international NGOs, development banks, bilateral organizations and other partners that are committed to collaborating at national, regional and global levels to support countries committed to building national social protection floors for their population.
Deirdre Mullan rsm
Northern Province
