United Nations Economic and Social Council

Infobox UN
name = United Nations Economic and Social Council

---

caption = The room of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. UN headquarters, New York
type = Primary Organ
acronyms = ECOSOC
head = "President of ECOSOC" (one year term)

As of 2008:
[Léo Mérorès] [ United Nations.org, ECOSOC:President [http://www.un.org/docs/ecosoc/president/] ]
Haiti
status = Active
established = 1945
website = [http://www.un.org/docs/ecosoc/ www.un.org/docs/ecosoc]
parent =
subsidiaries =
commons = United Nations Economic and Social Council
footnotes =

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, all of whom are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term. The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC. ECOSOC meets once a year in July for a four-week session. Since 1998, it has held another meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Viewed separate from the specialized bodies it coordinates, ECOSOC’s functions include information gathering, advising member nations, and making recommendations. In addition, ECOSOC is well positioned to provide policy coherence and coordinate the overlapping functions of the UN’s subsidiary bodies and it is in these roles that it is most active.

President of ECOSOC

The current president of ECOSOC is Leo Merores, of Haiti. The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC.

Reform

Amendments to the United Nations Charter altered Chapter X to expand ECOSOC from 18 to 27 members in 1965, and to 54 members in 1971.

Through much of its history, ECOSOC has served primarily as a discussion vehicle for economic and social issues. ECOSOC had little authority to force action and a number of member states were concerned that its utility was only marginal. However, beginning in 1992, the US and other nations began an effort to make ECOSOC more relevant by strengthening its policy responsibilities in economic, social, and related fields, particularly in furthering development objectives.

The resulting reform made ECOSOC the oversight and policy-setting body for UN operational development activities and established smaller executive boards for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which would provide those agencies with operating guidance and promote more effective management. The reform also gave ECOSOC a strong hand in ensuring that UN agencies coordinated their work on issues of common interest, such as narcotics control, human rights, the alleviation of poverty, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

One positive impact of this reform was the manner in which the UN development system began to respond more coherently and efficiently to humanitarian crises around the world.POV-statement|date=September 2008 Secretary General Annan's recent reform initiatives have attached considerable importance to further strengthening coordination among relief agencies.Fact|date=September 2008

Another example was the ECOSOC decision in 1994 to authorize the creation of a new joint and cosponsored UN program on HIV/AIDS. This program (UNAIDS) will bring together the existing AIDS-related resources and expertise of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCO, and the World Bank into one consolidated global program, eliminating duplication of effort and enhancing the ability of member states to cope with the AIDS pandemic. It began operating in January 1996.

ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31 allows for the roughly 2000 NGOs holding consultative status to have input "into ECOSOC's deliberations" including public meetings, UN international conferences, and "to place items on the agendas of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies", and to present statements to governments. [ngocongo [http://www.ngocongo.org/index.php?what=about&id=294 NGO Consultative Status with ECOSOC] retrieved 30 December 2007]

A new function of the Economic and Social Council is the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR). This was the result of the 2005 World Summit attended by Heads of State and Government. Through this review, the ECOSOC will assess progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals, and also the implementation of the other goals and targets agreed at the major UN conferences and summits over the past 15 years.

Functional Commissions

*UN Commission for Social Development [http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd]
*UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) [http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/chr.htm] : Disbanded 2006, replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly.
*Commission on Narcotic Drugs [http://www.unodc.org/unodc/cnd.html]
*Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice [http://www.unodc.org/unodc/crime_cicp_commission.html]
*Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) [http://www.unctad.org/cstd]
*Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) [http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd.htm]
*UN Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) [http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/]
*Commission on Population and Development [http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd.htm]
*UN Statistical Commission [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/commission.htm]
*United Nations Forum on Forests [http://www.un.org/esa/forests/index.html]

Regional Commissions

*United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)
*United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
*United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
*United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
*United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

Specialized Agencies

The Specialized Agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other, inter alia through the coordinating machinery of the Economic and Social Council.

*ILO - International Labour Organization
*FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization
*UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
*WHO - World Health Organization
*World Bank Group
**IBRD - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
**IDA - International Development Association
**IFC - International Finance Corporation
**MIGA - Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
**ICSID - International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
*IMF - International Monetary Fund
*ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization
*IMO - International Maritime Organization
*ITU - International Telecommunication Union
*UPU - Universal Postal Union
*WMO - World Meteorological Organization
*WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization
*IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development
*UNICEF - United Nations Children Fund
*UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization
*UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
*IRO - International Refugee Organization (ceased to exist in 1952)
*INCB - International Narcotics Control Board

Other Entities

* Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII)
* Sessional and Standing Committees Expert, ad hoc and related bodies
*UNICEF-United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund

Consultative Status

* See Consultative Status. See also Union of International Associations

References

See also

* Copenhagen Consensus
* French Economic and Social Council; Economic and Social Committee of the European Union
* International Court of Justice
* International Hydrological Programme
* UN General Assembly
* UN Secretariat
* UN Security Council
* UN Trusteeship Council
* United Nations Interpretation Service
* United Nations System

External links

* [http://www.un.org/docs/ecosoc United Nations Economic and Social Council]
** [http://www.un.org/docs/ecosoc/ecosoc_background.html UN Economic and Social Council - Background]
* [http://www.un.org/esa/ United Nations Economic and Social Development page]
* [http://www.un.org/esa/desa United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs]
* [http://www.ngocongo.org Congo - Conference of UN NGO's]
* [http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/un/reformindex.htm Global Policy Forum - Social and Economic Policy at the UN]
* [http://www.un.org/ United Nations] - Official site