The 62nd session of the Commission for Social Development came to a fruitful end on February 14 with three resolutions addressing specific policy opportunities to help accelerate efforts to eradicate poverty. One of these resolutions addresses the need to develop the care economy with a focus on human and environmental well-being rather than the economics of profit. Seen as one of the fundamental blocks of achieving gender equality, the resolution seeks to recognize, redistribute, and value unpaid care and domestic work – duties that are often invisible, undervalued, and unaccounted for in national statistics.
As an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council, the Congregation was represented at the annual event by Sr Winifred Doherty, director of the Good Shepherd International Justice and Peace Office in New York. As a contributing member of the NGO Committee for Social Development, the GSIJP Office has been working in collaboration throughout the year to prepare – and is a signature of – the Civil Society Declaration which was officially presented at the commission’s opening session.
Over the eight days, Sr Winifred and her assistant, Kimberly Happich, took part in meetings, discussions, and side events along with member states, UN agencies, and other NGOs on how the lack of social protection and universal health coverage – coupled with unequal access to affordable quality education – continue to hamper the inclusive development and implementation of the sustainable development goals.
Sr Winifred presented at the orientation session, facilitated a morning briefing, and spoke as a panelist at a side event entitled ‘Decommodifying People, Place, and Planet: Transformative Policies Towards Unconditional Inclusion and Belonging’. During her presentation, she spoke of her hope that access to basic social protection (universal health care, universal child benefits, allowances when required by life’s circumstances, and pensions for older persons) will become a reality for everyone, everywhere, across the lifecycle. She noted with concern that half of the world’s population still lacks access to even one of these basic social protections.
Partners-in-mission were also active participants at the session, with one from Madagascar posting a recording of the advocacy points in Malagasy and another contributing to a grassroots video that was shown at the Civil Society Forum. Sr Winifred spoke of how the session was a much-needed boost in rekindling collaboration between UN member states and NGOs “shining a light on the work at the grassroots level”.
During the event, there was much talk of the Summit of the Future conference which is scheduled to take place in September 2024 with preparatory meetings being held in Nairobi, Kenya, in May to consult on the document ‘Pact for the Future’ and offer input from civil society.  Sr Ernestine Lalao, our NGO Regional Designate for RIMOA, and other mission partners will attend these events.
