The 2016 Commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) will be held on Monday, 17 October at United Nations Headquarters in New York, focusing on the theme – “Moving from humiliation and exclusion to participation: Ending poverty in all its forms”. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere” explicitly recognizes that poverty results not from the lack of just one thing but from many different interrelated factors that affect the lives of people living in poverty. This means we must go beyond seeing poverty merely as the lack of income or what is necessary for material well-being — such as food, housing, land, and other assets – in order to fully understand poverty in its multi-dimensions. Read more

Posted in : DSPD

Iceland ratified the Convention on 23 September 2016, bringing the total number of States Parties to the CRPD to 167. Working towards universal ratification and implementation of the CRPD:

• Ratifications and Signatories of the Convention and its Optional Protocol
•  Map of Signatures and Ratifications

Ratifications/Accessions: 167 Signatories*: 160 Optional Protocol Ratification/Accessions: 89 Signatories*: 92 (* Signatories include countries or regional integration organizations that have signed the Convention and its Optional Protocol)

Posted in : United Nations Enable

It is estimated that by 2050, 66% of the world’s population will be living in cities.   The United Nations’ Third Global Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development – Habitat III – will take place in 2016 to review the progress, experience and lessons learnt in the past and to design a “New Urban Agenda”. This Agenda of focused policies and strategies is hoped to harness the power and forces behind urbanization. Habitat III therefore provides an important platform for the world’s urban development policy makers and practitioners, as well as those working in the field of disability to review current progress and practices and consider opportunities for change. Read more

Posted in : DSPD

The Fifty-Fifth Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD55) will take place from 1 to 10 February 2017 at United Nations Headquarters in New York under the priority theme “Strategies for the eradication of poverty to achieve sustainable development for all”. From 30-31 January 2017, a Civil Society Forum will be convened at UN Headquarters. The Forum is hosted jointly by UNDESA-DSPD, the NGO Committee for Social Developmentand the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Read more

Posted in : Civil Society

On 13 September, the United Nations celebrated the ninth anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by drawing attention to the continued relevance and importance of the UN Declaration today. The day started with a press conference, where Chandra Roy-Henriksen, Chief of the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, in UN DESA’s Division of Social Policy and Development, Reaghan Tarbell, indigenous film maker, and Americo Mendoza-Mori, Professor and founder of Quechua language programme at the University of Pennsylvania, gave their perspectives on the UN Declaration and why it is still crucial today as a tool to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples. Read more

Posted in : DSPD

All too often, older persons face negative perceptions of older workers; age limits, penalties and denials of service imposed by insurance service providers and financial institutions; preconceived notions and negative attitudes on the part of medical staff; and age-based rationing of health care services or procedures. Ageism rests on the assumption that discrimination against older persons is the norm and acceptable. It manifests itself in both individual and institutional behaviours and decisions that have a significant negative impact on the lives of older persons, contributing to their marginalization and social exclusion. Read more

Posted in : United Nations For Ageing

With increasing age and longevity, the risk of chronic disease rises along with that of age-related disabilities from chronic diseases such as pulmonary disease and diabetes to age-related loss of hearing, sight and movement (arthritis), cognitive illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s to injuries from falls. The incidence rate of disability from each of these varies considerably by country based on longevity and access to appropriate healthcare and rehabilitation services. As the number of older persons continues to grow along with their longevity, the need for long-term care will increase significantly for those aged 80 and over, and in particular for older women who live longer. Read more

Posted in : United Nations For Ageing

The Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA) was established by the General Assembly by resolution 65/182 on 21 December 2010. The working group will consider the existing international framework of the human rights of older persons and identify possible gaps and how best to address them, including by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further instruments and measures. This year, the Seventh Working Session of the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing will be held on 12 -15 December 2016 at UN Headquarters in New York. Read more

Posted in : United Nations For Ageing