The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 46/139 of 17 December 1991 and Economic and Social Council decision 1991/230 of 30 May 1991 and taking note of Council resolution 1992/27 of 30 July 1992,
Having considered the report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the consultations requested by the Economic and Social Council in its decision 1991/230,
Recalling its resolution 45/199 of 21 December 1990, by which it adopted the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade, which includes as one of its principal themes the need to strengthen the mutually reinforcing relationship between economic growth and human welfare,
Recalling also its resolution 42/125 of 7 December 1987, by which it endorsed the Guiding Principles for Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes in the Near Future,
Welcoming the support expressed for the convening of a world summit for social development at the Tenth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Jakarta from 1 to 6 September 1992,
Conscious that increased international cooperation for economic and social development would significantly contribute to the strengthening of international peace and security,
Convinced of the need for the enhancement of the social component of sustainable development to achieve economic growth with social justice,
Reaffirming the right and responsibility of each State to determine freely its own priorities, policies and objectives for social development in accordance with its constitutional and legal systems and social conditions,
Conscious of the need to address ways and means for the elimination of widespread poverty and the full enjoyment of human rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as interrelated goals,
Acknowledging the need for an integrated approach in the fields of social and economic development in the United Nations system in order to deploy more effectively the widespread experience of the system in those areas,
Stressing that poverty, unemployment and social integration are closely interrelated in all societies and have a particularly profound impact on developing countries,
Convinced that a world summit for social development should contribute to efforts by all countries to foster sustainable development and to promote policies against poverty and unemployment in all societies,
1. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General and his Special Representative for their efforts in carrying out a comprehensive process of consultations on this matter;
2. Welcomes with satisfaction the report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General concerning the positive outcome of the consultations on the possibility of convening a world summit for social development;
3. Decides to convene a World Summit for Social Development at the level of heads of State or Government early in 1995;
4. Accepts with deep appreciation the generous offer of the Government of Denmark to act as host to the Summit;
5. Decides that the Summit shall have the following objectives:
(a) To further the objectives of the Charter of the United Nations, as stated in Article 55, to promote "higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development", and "solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems", with particular focus on social development aspects;
(b) To express a shared world-wide commitment to put the needs of people at the centre of development and of international cooperation as a major priority of international relations;
(c) To stimulate international cooperation at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, through governmental, private and non-governmental initiatives, in order to assist in the implementation of nationally appropriate, effective and efficient social policies and to formulate strategies which will enable all citizens to be actively engaged in those policies;
(d) To formulate strategies on goals, policies and priority actions that could be adopted at the national, regional and international levels to address, in the different development realities, core issues of shared universal concern in the field of social development, giving particular attention to the needs of the least developed countries;
(e) To create international awareness of and address the modalities to attain the necessary balance between economic efficiency and social justice in a growth-oriented, equitable and sustainable development environment, in accordance with nationally defined priorities;
(f) To address, in creative ways, the interaction between the social function of the State, market responses to social demands and the imperatives of sustainable development;
(g) To identify common problems of socially marginalized and disadvantaged groups and promote the integration of those groups into society, highlighting the need for societies to equalize opportunities for all members;
(h) To promote programmes to ensure legal protection, foster effective social welfare programmes and enhance education and training for different groups in all societies, including the marginalized and disadvantaged groups;
(i) To assist in ensuring a more effective delivery of social services for the more disadvantaged sectors of society;
(j) To highlight the need to mobilize resources for social development at the local, national, regional and international levels;
(k) To make appropriate recommendations regarding more effective action by the United Nations system in the sphere of social development, in particular, measures and policies for the revitalization of the Commission for Social Development;
6. Decides, taking into account the objectives set out in the present resolution, that the core issues affecting all societies to be addressed by the Summit are:
(a) The enhancement of social integration, particularly of the more disadvantaged and marginalized groups;
(b) Alleviation and reduction of poverty;
(c) Expansion of productive employment;
7. Decides to establish a Preparatory Committee open to the participation of all States Members of the United Nations and members of the specialized agencies, with the participation of observers in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly;
8. Decides also that the Preparatory Committee shall hold an organizational session for one week in April 1993 and, at the level of personal representatives of the heads of State or Government or other appropriate high-level representatives specifically designated by Governments, three substantive sessions in 1994 of no more than ten working days each, at the Headquarters of the United Nations;
9. Decides that the Preparatory Committee, at its organizational session, shall elect, with due regard to equitable geographical representation, a Bureau, of which the host country, Denmark, shall be an ex officio member;
10. Decides that the Preparatory Committee shall:
(a) Consider reports submitted by the organs, organizations and programmes of the United Nations system on matters relating to the World Summit for Social Development;
(b) Draft the provisional agenda of the Summit, in accordance with the provisions of the present resolution;
(c) Prepare the draft decisions for the Summit and submit them to the Summit for consideration and adoption;
(d) Adopt other appropriate decisions relevant to the successful preparations for, outcome of and follow-up to the Summit;
11. Requests the Secretary-General to establish an ad hoc secretariat unit, including personnel of the relevant organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, to assist in the preparatory process and the substantive work of the Preparatory Committee;
12. Recommends that the Commission for Social Development give consideration to the agenda of the Summit at its thirty-third session, in 1993, and to the question of holding an extraordinary session dedicated solely to the question of the Summit before the first substantive session of the Preparatory Committee in 1994;
13. Recommends also that the Economic and Social Council, at the high-level segment of its substantive session of 1993, consider the theme, "World Summit for Social Development";
14. Requests the regional commissions to include in their programme of work for 1993 the question of the World Summit for Social Development, with particular emphasis on the social situation in their respective regions, and to formulate proposals thereon and prepare an integrated report to be submitted to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session;
15. Requests the organs, organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, as well as other intergovernmental organizations, in particular the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the International Labour Organisation, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to contribute fully to the preparations for the Summit;
16. Recommends that the Preparatory Committee take full account, as appropriate, of the preparations for and the outcome of the World Conference on Human Rights to be held in 1993 and the International Conference on Population and Development to be held in 1994 and of the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be held in 1995;
17. Requests the non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council to contribute in accordance with established practice to the Summit and the preparatory process, as appropriate;
18. Invites the Secretary-General to provide the resources required for initiating the preparatory process of the Summit in 1993, including through redeployment;
19. Also invites the Secretary-General to establish a trust fund and to mobilize voluntary contributions from public and private sources for the financing of the additional activities required by the preparations for and the holding of the Summit;
20. Decides that the resources of the trust fund should be utilized to finance the participation of the least developed countries in the Summit and the preparatory process;
21. Requests the Preparatory Committee to report to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth and forty-ninth sessions on the progress of work of the Committee and the preparations for the Summit.
89th plenary meeting
16 December 1992
