The UN Commission for Social Development (CSocD) held its 52nd session in New York on the 11-21 February 2014. The Commission is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and its role is to advise the Council and Governments on social policy issues and on the social perspective of development. As part of its mandate, it held discussions in observance of the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family, which is due to culminate in a series of events during the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in the Fall, including a plenary meeting and the adoption of a resolution. The CSocD organized a High Level Panel discussion and a resolution tabled by the group of 77 and China was drafted to be adopted by the Economic and Social Council.
The resolution calls for increasing cooperation at all levels on family issues and for concerted actions to strengthen family centered policies and programmes as part of an integrated approach to development. It calls on Member States to adopt family policies in support of work-family balance, to strengthen flexible provisions for parental leave and flexible working arrangements, and to promote gender equality and empowerment of women in the work place and at home. Reiterating that shared parental responsibility is an essential element of policy on the family, it underlines the need for policies that enhance paternal involvement and shouldering of responsibilities and provide support for a wide range of quality childcare arrangements. It encourages Members States to invest in intergenerational programmes for helping families in their caregiving responsibilities and calls on them“to develop and implement policies and national strategies to prevent violence within the family as a whole, including child abuse, elder abuse and domestic violence, and thereby enhance the well-being of all of its members”. The resolution does not address the highly political charged issue of defining ‘family’, although it recognizes that respect for all of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all family members is essential to family well-being and to society at large.
