The General Assembly,
 
      Recalling its resolutions 47/90 of 16 December 1992 and 49/155 of 23
December 1994,
 
      Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on the status and role of
cooperatives in the light of new economic and social trends,
 
      Recognizing that cooperatives in their various forms are becoming a
major factor of economic and social development by promoting the fullest
possible participation in the development process of women and all population
groups, including youth, older persons and people with disabilities, and are
increasingly providing an effective and affordable mechanism for meeting
people's needs for basic social services,
 
      Recognizing also the important contribution and potential of all forms
of cooperatives to the follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development,
held at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995, the Fourth World Conference on
Women, held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995 and the United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held at Istanbul from 3 to 14
June 1996,
 
      1.    Takes note with appreciation of the report of the
Secretary-General on the status and role of cooperatives in the light of new
economic and social trends;
 
      2.    Urges Governments, relevant international organizations and the
specialized agencies, in collaboration with national and international
cooperative organizations, to give due consideration to the role and
contribution of cooperatives in the implementation of and follow-up to the
outcome of the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World
Conference on Women and the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements
(Habitat II) by, inter alia:
 
      (a)   Utilizing and developing fully the potential and contribution of
cooperatives for the attainment of social development goals, in particular the
eradication of poverty, the generation of full and productive employment and
the enhancement of social integration;
 
      (b)   Encouraging and facilitating the development of cooperatives,
including taking measures aimed at enabling people living in poverty or
belonging to vulnerable groups to engage on a voluntary basis in the creation
and development of cooperatives;
 
      3.    Encourages Governments to keep under review the legal and
administrative provisions governing the activities of cooperatives with a view
to ensuring a supportive environment for cooperatives, so that they can make
an appropriate contribution to the attainment of the goals of national
development, including that of meeting the basic human needs of all;
 
      4.    Invites Governments, relevant international organizations, the
specialized agencies and national and international cooperative organizations
to continue to observe annually the International Day of Cooperatives on the
first Saturday of July, as proclaimed by the General Assembly in its
resolution 47/90;
 
      5.    Requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to
continue to support the goals and objectives of the cooperative movement and
to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session, through the
Commission on Social Development, a report containing, inter alia, information
on legislative and administrative initiatives taken by countries, bearing in
mind possible measures to improve the reporting procedure;
 
      6.    Also requests the Secretary-General to ascertain, in cooperation
with the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives, the
desirability and feasibility of elaborating United Nations guidelines aimed at
creating a supportive environment for the development of cooperatives and to
include his findings and recommendations in his report referred to in
paragraph 5 above.