Commission for Social Development
46th Session, 6 to 15 February 2008 - New York

"Promoting full employment and decent work for all"

Dr. Deisi Kusztra, WFO President is in New York attending the 46th Session of the Commission for Social Development. The Commission for Social Development is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. It consists of 46 members elected by ECOSOC.

Since the convening of the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, the Commission has been the key UN body in charge of the follow-up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. As a result of the Summit, the mandate of the Commission was reviewed and its membership expanded from 32 to 46 members in 1996. It meets once a year in New York, usually in February.

Each year since 1995, the Commission has taken up key social development themes as part of its follow-up to the outcome of the Copenhagen Summit. These themes are listed below. The pages contain all documentation of the Commission for each of its sessions since the Summit.

Provisional list of Panelists and Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker for the opening of the Commission
Wednesday, 6 February 2008 (morning session)

H.E. Mr. Carlos Tomada
Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Protection
Government of Argentina

Panel on promoting full employment and decent work for all
Wednesday, 6 February 2008 (afternoon session)

Smt. Sudha Pillai
Secretary,
Ministry of Labour & Employment,
New Delhi, India

Ms. Sanja Crnkovic-Pozaic
Director
CEPOR – SMEs and Entrepreneurship Policy Centre
Croatia

Sr. Daniel Funes de Rioja
Employer Vice-Chairperson of the ILO Governing Body
and Chairperson of the Employers’ Group

Ms. Gladys Branche
Sierra Leone Labour Congress
Freetown, Sierra Leone

H.E. Vladimír Špidla
European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities,
European Commission (Brussels)

Panel on review and appraisal of the Madrid Int. Plan of Action on Ageing
Friday, 8 February 2008 (afternoon session)

Mr. Abdoulie Janneh
Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa

Mr. Marek Belka
Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe

Sr. José Luis Machinea
Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Ms. Noeleen Heyzer
Executive Secretary of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Mr. Bader Omar Al-Dafa
Executive Secretary of Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

Panel on mainstreaming disability in the development agenda
Tuesday, 12 February 2008 (morning session)

Participants:

Ms. Venus M. Ilagan
Immediate Past Chairperson and Representative for International Relations
Disabled Poeoples' International World Council
Manila, Philippines

Ms. Charlotte McClain Nhlapo
World Bank
Washington D.C.

Ms.Barbara Murray
International Labour Organization
Geneva

Ms. Rosangela Berman-Bieler
Executive Director
Inter-American Institute on Disability & Inclusive Development
New York

Dr. Ronald Wiman,
Senior Social Development Advisor
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland

Moderator:
Ambassador Claude Heller
Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations

Briefing on Full employment and decent work: intensification of efforts to eliminate
all forms of violence against women
Tuesday, 12 February 2008 (afternoon session)

Ms. Manuela Tomei
Director, ILO Working Conditions Branch
International Labour Organization
Geneva