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<p>Structural Adjustment</p>
<p>International Agreements</p>
<p>Commitment 8 from the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development</p>
<p>Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly on the
Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social Development,
SOC/4513, 15 July 1999<br>
Addressing commitment 8</p>
<p>World Summit on Social Development, Copenhagen 1995<br>
Programme for Action of the World Summit for Social Development</p>
<p>Chapter III : Expansion of Productive Employment and Reduction of
Unemployment<br>
Section A the centrality of employment in policy formulation, point 49</p>
<p>Chapter IV : Social Integration; especially section C. Equality and social
justice, point 74</p>
<p>Chapter V : Implementation and follow- up ; especially C: Mobilisation of
financial resources, point 91,92</p>
<p>Commission on Social Development (CsocDev)<br>
1996<br>
Decision 4/14. Financial resources and mechanisms, point 18 (a)</p>
<p>Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Earth Summit 1992:<br>
Agenda 21:<br>
Section I. Social and Economic Dimensions<br>
Chapter 2: International Cooperation to Accelerate Sustainable development in
developing Countries and Related Domestic Policies</p>
<p>Section A. Promoting sustainable development through trade, points 2.11, 2.12</p>
<p>Section D. Encouraging economic policies conducive to sustainable
development, points 2.34</p>
<p>Chapter 3. Combating Poverty<br>
points 3.10 (e)</p>
<p>Chapter 24. Global Action For Women Towards Sustainable and Equitable
Development<br>
Points 24.8 (b)</p>
<p>Section IV. Means of Implementation<br>
Chapter 33. Financial Resources and Mechanisms, point 33.14<br>
Chapter 36. Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training, point 36.18</p>
<p>Human Rights Review<br>
Section VII Rights of the Child, point 52</p>
<p>International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo 1994<br>
Chapter 3 : Interrelationships between Population, sustained Economic Growth and
Sustainable Development<br>
Section B. Population, sustained economic growth and poverty, point 3.22<br>
Chapter 8: Health, Morbidity and Mortality<br>
section A. Primary health care and the health-care sector, point 8.2<br>
Chapter 13 : National Action<br>
Section C. Resource mobilization and allocation, point 13.12</p>
<p>4th World Conference on Women<br>
Chapter 1. Resolution 1. annex II - The Beijing Platform for Action<br>
II. Global Framework<br>
point 13<br>
IV. Strategic Objectives and Actions<br>
A. Women and poverty<br>
point 47</p>
<p>IV. Strategic Objectives and Actions<br>
C. Women and Health, point 91<br>
Strategic objective A.1 point 58 (b)<br>
Strategic objective A.4 point 67 (a)<br>
Section F. Women and the Economy, point 151<br>
Strategic objective F.4, point 175 (b)<br>
Strategic objective F.5, point 178 (e)</p>
<p>Habitat II Conference, Istanbul 1996<br>
Habitat Agenda<br>
Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements<br>
Chapter III. Commitments<br>
B. Sustainable human settlements, point 43 (w)</p>
<p>Chapter IV: Global Plan of Action<br>
C. Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world.<br>
9. Improving Urban Economies, point 162</p>
<p>E. International Cooperation and coordination<br>
3. Financial resources and economic instruments, point 204 (d).</p>
<p>F. Implementation and follow-up of the Habitat Agenda<br>
Part 3. Implementation at the international level, point 236</p>
<p>UN Commissions<br>
Commission on the Status of Women 1992<br>
Resolution 36/5. Women and development<br>
point 10</p>
<p>81</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Commitment 8 from the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development</p>
<p>Commitment 8</p>
<p>We commit ourselves to ensuring that when structural adjustment programmes
are agreed to they include social development goals, in particular eradicating
poverty, promoting full and productive employment, and enhancing social
integration.</p>
<p>To this end, at the national level, we will:</p>
<p>(a) Promote basic social programmes and expenditures, in particular those
affecting the poor and the vulnerable segments of society, and protect them from
budget reductions, while increasing the quality and effectiveness of social
expenditures;</p>
<p>(b) Review the impact of structural adjustment programmes on social
development, including, where appropriate, by means of gender-sensitive social
impact assessments and other relevant methods, in order to develop policies to
reduce their negative effects and improve their positive impact; the cooperation
of international financial institutions in the review could be requested by
interested countries;</p>
<p>(c) Promote, in the countries with economies in transition, an integrated
approach to the transformation process, addressing the social consequences of
reforms and human resource development needs;</p>
<p>(d) Reinforce the social development components of all adjustment policies
and programmes, including those resulting from the globalization of markets and
rapid technological change, by designing policies to promote more equitable and
enhanced access to income and resources;</p>
<p>(e) Ensure that women do not bear a disproportionate burden of the
transitional costs of such processes.</p>
<p>At the international level, we will:</p>
<p>(f) Work to ensure that multilateral development banks and other donors
complement adjustment lending with enhanced targeted social development
investment lending;</p>
<p>(g) Strive to ensure that structural adjustment programmes respond to the
economic and social conditions, concerns and needs of each country;</p>
<p>(h) Enlist the support and cooperation of regional and international
organizations and the United Nations system, in particular the Bretton Woods
institutions, in the design, social management and assessment of structural
adjustment policies, and in implementing social development goals and
integrating them into their policies, programmes and operations.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly on the
Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social Development,
SOC/4513, 15 July 1999</p>
<p>Addressing commitment 8</p>
<p>Addressing commitment 8, on inclusion of social development goals in
structural adjustment programmes, the Committee invited the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to report on progress made and obstacles
encountered in the integration of social development goals into structural
adjustment programmes, with a view to presenting strategies to mitigate the
negative effects of those programmes on social programmes and strengthening
their social dimension, as well as to improving their positive impact, taking
into account the need to enhance coordination with other United Nations
organizations in this regard.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>World Summit on Social Development, Copenhagen 1995</p>
<p>Programme for Action of the World Summit for Social Development</p>
<p>Chapter III : Expansion of Prodductive Employment and Reduction of
Unemployment</p>
<p>Section A the centrality of employment in policy formulation, point 49</p>
<p>49. Minimizing the negative impact on jobs of measures for macroeconomic
stability requires:</p>
<p>(a) Pursuing the coordination of macroeconomic policies so that they are
mutually reinforcing and conducive to broad-based and sustained economic growth
and sustainable development, as well as to substantial increases in productive
employment expansion and a decline in unemployment world wide;</p>
<p>(b) Giving priority to programmes that most directly promote viable and
long-term job growth when budgetary adjustments are required;</p>
<p>(c) Removing structural constraints to economic growth and employment
creation as a part of stabilization policies;</p>
<p>(d) Enabling competing claims on resources to be resolved in a
non-inflationary manner through the development and use of sound industrial
relations systems;</p>
<p>(e) Monitoring, analysing and disseminating information on the impact of
trade and investment liberalization on the economy, especially on employment;</p>
<p>(f) Exchanging information on different employment promotion measures and
their consequences, and monitoring the development of global employment trends;</p>
<p>(g) Establishing appropriate social safety mechanisms to minimize the adverse
effects of structural adjustment, stabilization or reform programmes on the
workforce, especially the vulnerable, and for those who lose their jobs,
creating conditions for their re-entry through, inter alia, continuing education
and retraining.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Chapter IV : Social Integration; especially section C. Equality and social
justice, point 74</p>
<p>74. Governments should promote equality and social justice by:</p>
<p>(a) Ensuring that all people are equal before the law;</p>
<p>(b) Carrying out a regular review of public policy, including health and
education policies, and public spending from a social and gender equality and
equity perspective, and promoting their positive contribution to equalizing
opportunities;</p>
<p>(c) Expanding and improving access to basic services with the aim of ensuring
universal coverage;</p>
<p>(d) Providing equal opportunities in public-sector employment and providing
guidance, information and, as appropriate, incentives to private employers to do
the same;</p>
<p>(e) Encouraging the free formation of cooperatives, community and other
grass-roots organizations, mutual support groups, recreational/sports
associations and similar institutions that tend to strengthen social
integration, paying particular attention to policies that assist families in
their support, educational, socializing and nurturing roles;</p>
<p>(f) Ensuring that structural adjustment programmes are so designed as to
minimize their negative effects on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups and
communities while ensuring their positive effects on them by preventing their
marginalization in economic and social activities, and devising measures to
ensure that such groups and communities gain access to and control over economic
resources and economic and social activities. Actions should be taken to reduce
inequality and economic disparity;</p>
<p>(g) Promoting full access to preventive and curative health care to improve
the quality of life, especially by the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, in
particular women and children;</p>
<p>(h) Expanding basic education by developing special measures to provide
schooling for children and youth living in sparsely populated and remote areas,
for children and youth of nomadic, pastoral, migrant or indigenous parents, and
for street children, children and youth working or looking after younger
siblings and disabled or aged parents, and disabled children and youth;
establishing, in partnership with indigenous people, educational systems that
will meet the unique needs of their cultures;</p>
<p>(i) Ensuring that the expansion of basic education is accompanied by improved
quality, appropriate attention to children of different abilities, cooperation
between family and school, and a close link between the school curriculum and
the needs of the workplace;</p>
<p>(j) Evaluating school systems on a regular basis by results achieved, and
disseminating research findings regarding the appropriateness of different
methods of evaluation;</p>
<p>(k) Ensuring that all people can have access to a variety of formal and
non-formal learning activities throughout their lives that allows them to
contribute to and benefit from full participation in society; making use of all
forms of education, including non-conventional and experimental means of
education, such as tele-courses and correspondence courses, through public
institutions, the institutions of civil society and the private sector, to
provide educational opportunities for those who in childhood missed necessary
schooling, for youth in the process of transition from school to work, and for
those who wish to continue education and upgrade skills throughout their lives;</p>
<p>(l) Providing equal access for girls to all levels of education, including
non-traditional and vocational training, and ensuring that measures are taken to
address the various cultural and practical barriers that impede their access to
education through such measures as the hiring of female teachers, adoption of
flexible hours, care of dependants and siblings, and provision of appropriate
facilities.</p>
<p>Chapter V : Implementation and follow- up ; especially C: Mobolisation of
financial resources, points 91,92</p>
<p>91. In order to ensure that structural adjustment programmes include social
development goals, in particular the eradication of poverty, the generation of
productive employment and the enhancement of social integration, Governments, in
cooperation with the international financial institutions and other
international organizations, should:</p>
<p>(a) Protect basic social programmes and expenditures, in particular those
affecting the poor and vulnerable segments of society, from budget reductions;</p>
<p>(b) Review the impact of structural adjustment programmes on social
development by means of gender-sensitive social-impact assessments and other
relevant methods, and develop policies to reduce their negative effects and
improve their positive impact;</p>
<p>(c) Further promote policies enabling small enterprises, cooperatives and
other forms of micro-enterprises to develop their capacities for income
generation and employment creation.</p>
<p>92. International financial institutions should contribute to the
mobilization of resources for the implementation of the Declaration and
Programme of Action. To this end, the relevant institutions are urged to take
the following measures:</p>
<p>(a) The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the regional and
subregional development banks and funds, and all other international finance
organizations should further integrate social development goals in their
policies, programmes and operations, including by giving higher priority to
social-sector lending, where applicable, in their lending programmes;</p>
<p>(b) The Bretton Woods institutions and other organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system should work together with concerned countries to improve
policy dialogues and develop new initiatives to ensure that structural
adjustment programmes promote sustained economic and social development, with
particular attention to their impact on people living in poverty and vulnerable
groups;</p>
<p>(c) The United Nations, in cooperation with the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund and other multilateral development institutions, should study the
impact of structural adjustment programmes on economic and social development
and assist adjusting countries in creating conditions for economic growth, job
creation, poverty eradication and social development.</p>
<p>Commission on Social Development (CsocDev)</p>
<p>1996</p>
<p>Decision 4/14. Financial resources and mechanisms, point 18 (a)</p>
<p>18. As to the desirability of strengthening cooperation, the Commission
emphasizes that:</p>
<p>(a) Bilateral aid agencies, United Nations organizations, funds and
programmes, the Bretton Woods institutions and other multilateral financial
institutions should become more responsive to national priorities and
sustainable development strategies, and should enhance their cooperation and
coordination efforts for greater effectiveness in meeting the objectives of
Agenda 21, particularly the mobilization of financial resources. In structural
adjustment programmes, more consideration should be given to economic, social
and environmental impacts, taking into account commitment 8 of the Copenhagen
Declaration on Social Development; 15/</p>
<p>Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Earth Summit 1992:</p>
<p>Agenda 21:</p>
<p>Section I. Social and Economic Dimensions</p>
<p>Chapter 2: International Cooperation to Accelerate Sustainable development in
developing Countries and Related Domestic Policies</p>
<p>Section A. Promoting sustainable development through trade, points 2.11, 2.12</p>
<p>2.11. The international community should aim at finding ways and means of
achieving a better functioning and enhanced transparency of commodity markets,
greater diversification of the commodity sector in developing economies within a
macroeconomic framework that takes into consideration a country's economic
structure, resource endowments and market opportunities, and better management
of natural resources that takes into account the necessities of sustainable
development.</p>
<p>2.12. Therefore, all countries should implement previous commitments to halt
and reverse protectionism and further expand market access, particularly in
areas of interest to developing countries. This improvement of market access
will be facilitated by appropriate structural adjustment in developed countries.
Developing countries should continue the trade-policy reforms and structural
adjustment they have undertaken. It is thus urgent to achieve an improvement in
market access conditions for commodities, notably through the progressive
removal of barriers that restrict imports, particularly from developing
countries, of commodity products in primary and processed forms, as well as the
substantial and progressive reduction of types of support that induce
uncompetitive production, such as production and export subsidies.</p>
<p>Section D. Encouraging economic policies conducive to sustainable
development, points 2.34</p>
<p>2.34. Many indebted developing countries are undergoing structural adjustment
programmes relating to debt rescheduling or new loans. While such programmes are
necessary for improving the balance in fiscal budgets and balance-of-payments
accounts, in some cases they have resulted in adverse social and environmental
effects, such as cuts in allocations for health care, education and
environmental protection. It is important to ensure that structural adjustment
programmes do not have negative impacts on the environment and social
development so that such programmes can be more in line with the objectives of
sustainable development.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Chapter 3. Combating Poverty</p>
<p>points 3.10 (e)</p>
<p>3.10. The United Nations system, through its relevant organs, organizations
and bodies, in cooperation with Member States and with appropriate international
and non-governmental organizations, should make poverty alleviation a major
priority and should:</p>
<p>(a) Assist Governments, when requested, in the formulation and implementation
of national action programmes on poverty alleviation and sustainable
development. Action-oriented activities of relevance to the above objectives,
such as poverty eradication, projects and programmes supplemented where relevant
by food aid, and support and special emphasis on employment and income
generation, should be given particular attention in this regard;</p>
<p>(b) Promote technical cooperation among developing countries for poverty
eradication activities;</p>
<p>(c) Strengthen existing structures in the United Nations system for
coordination of action relating to poverty eradication, including the
establishment of a focal point for information exchange and the formulation and
implementation of replicable pilot projects to combat poverty;</p>
<p>(d) In the follow-up of the implementation of Agenda 21, give high priority
to the review of the progress made in eradicating poverty;</p>
<p>(e) Examine the international economic framework, including resource flows
and structural adjustment programmes, to ensure that social and environmental
concerns are addressed, and in this connection, conduct a review of the policies
of international organizations, bodies and agencies, including financial
institutions, to ensure the continued provision of basic services to the poor
and needy;</p>
<p>(f) Promote international cooperation to address the root causes of poverty.
The development process will not gather momentum if developing countries are
weighted down by external indebtedness, if development finance is inadequate, if
barriers restrict access to markets and if commodity prices and the terms of
trade in developing countries remain depressed.</p>
<p>Chapter 24. Global Action For Women Towards Sustainable and Equitable
Development</p>
<p>Points 24.8 (b)</p>
<p>(b) The impact of structural adjustment programmes on women. In research done
on structural adjustment programmes, special attention should be given to the
differential impact of those programmes on women, especially in terms of
cut-backs in social services, education and health and in the removal of
subsidies on food and fuel;</p>
<p>Section IV. Means of Implementation</p>
<p>Chapter 33. Financial Resources and Mechanisms, point 33.14</p>
<p>33.14. Funding for Agenda 21 and other outcomes of the Conference should be
provided in a way that maximizes the availability of new and additional
resources and uses all available funding sources and mechanisms. These include,
among others:</p>
<p>(a) The multilateral development banks and funds:</p>
<p>(i) The International Development Association (IDA). Among the various issues
and options that IDA deputies will examine in connection with the forthcoming
tenth replenishment of IDA, the statement made by the President of the World
Bank at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development should be
given special consideration in order to help the poorest countries meet their
sustainable development objectives as contained in Agenda 21;</p>
<p>(ii) Regional and subregional development banks. The regional and subregional
development banks and funds should play an increased and more effective role in
providing resources on concessional or other favourable terms needed to
implement Agenda 21;</p>
<p>(iii) The Global Environment Facility, managed jointly by the World Bank,
UNDP and UNEP, whose additional grant and concessional funding is designed to
achieve global environmental benefits, should cover the agreed incremental costs
of relevant activities under Agenda 21, in particular for developing countries.
Therefore, it should be restructured so as to, inter alia:</p>
<p>Encourage universal participation;</p>
<p>Have sufficient flexibility to expand its scope and coverage to relevant
programme areas of Agenda 21, with global environmental benefits, as agreed;</p>
<p>Ensure a governance that is transparent and democratic in nature, including
in terms of decision-making and operations, by guaranteeing a balanced and
equitable representation of the interests of developing countries and giving due
weight to the funding efforts of donor countries;</p>
<p>Ensure new and additional financial resources on grant and concessional
terms, in particular to developing countries;</p>
<p>Ensure predictability in the flow of funds by contributions from developed
countries, taking into account the importance of equitable burden-sharing;
Ensure access to and disbursement of the funds under mutually agreed criteria
without introducing new forms of conditionality;</p>
<p>(b) The relevant specialized agencies, other United Nations bodies and other
international organizations, which have designated roles to play in supporting
national Governments in implementing Agenda 21;</p>
<p>(c) Multilateral institutions for capacity-building and technical
cooperation. Necessary financial resources should be provided to UNDP to use its
network of field offices and its broad mandate and experience in the field of
technical cooperation for facilitating capacity-building at the country level,
making full use of the expertise of the specialized agencies and other United
Nations bodies within their respective areas of competence, in particular UNEP
and including the multilateral and regional development banks;</p>
<p>(d) Bilateral assistance programmes. These programmes will need to be
strengthened in order to promote sustainable development;</p>
<p>(e) Debt relief. It is important to achieve durable solutions to the debt
problems of low- and middle-income developing countries in order to provide them
with the needed means for sustainable development. Measures to address the
continuing debt problems of low- and middle-income countries should be kept
under review. All creditors in the Paris Club should promptly implement the
agreement of December 1991 to provide debt relief for the poorest heavily
indebted countries pursuing structural adjustment; debt relief measures should
be kept under review so as to address the continuing difficulties of those
countries;</p>
<p>(f) Private funding. Voluntary contributions through non-governmental
channels, which have been running at about 10 per cent of ODA, might be
increased.</p>
<p>Chapter 36. Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training, point 36.18</p>
<p>36.18. Countries should strengthen or establish practical training programmes
for graduates from vocational schools, high schools and universities, in all
countries, to enable them to meet labour market requirements and to achieve
sustainable livelihoods. Training and retraining programmes should be
established to meet structural adjustments which have an impact on employment
and skill qualifications.</p>
<p>Human Rights Review:</p>
<p>Section VII Rights of the Child, point 52</p>
<p>52. In spite of the efforts already made, movement from commitment to action
remains crucial for improving the lives of the world's two billion children.
Negative effects of poverty and structural adjustment; high infant mortality
rates; malnutrition; child trafficking, sexual exploitation and bonded labour;
inadequate health services and poor school attendance; persistent discrimination
and cultural practices that harm the girl child; insufficient supplies, access
to or services for children in war zones; and a lack of recourse for the
complaints of children: these are only some of the obstacles to be removed if
the human rights of children are to be effectively protected.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo 1994</p>
<p>Chapter 3 : Interrelationships between Population, sustained Economic Growth
and Sustainable Development</p>
<p>Section B. Population, sustained economic growth and poverty, point 3.22</p>
<p>3.22. The international community should continue to promote a supportive
economic environment, particularly for developing countries and countries with
economies in transition in their attempt to eradicate poverty and achieve
sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development. In the
context of the relevant international agreements and commitments, efforts should
be made to support those countries, in particular the developing countries, by
promoting an open, equitable, secure, non-discriminatory and predictable
international trading system; promoting foreign direct investment; reducing the
debt burden; providing new and additional financial resources from all available
funding sources and mechanisms, including multilateral, bilateral and private
sources, including on concessional and grant terms according to sound and
equitable criteria and indicators; access to technologies; and by ensuring that
structural adjustment programmes are so designed and implemented as to be
responsive to social and environmental concerns.</p>
<p>Chapter 8: Health, Morbidity and Mortality</p>
<p>section A. Primary health care and the health-care sector, point 8.2</p>
<p>8.2. The increases in life expectancy recorded in most regions of the world
reflect significant gains in public health and in access to primary health-care
services. Notable achievements include the vaccination of about 80 per cent of
the children in the world and the widespread use of low-cost treatments, such as
oral rehydration therapy, to ensure that more children survive. Yet these
achievements have not been realized in all countries, and preventable or
treatable illnesses are still the leading killers of young children. Moreover,
large segments of many populations continue to lack access to clean water and
sanitation facilities, are forced to live in congested conditions and lack
adequate nutrition. Large numbers of people remain at continued risk of
infectious, parasitic and water-borne diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria
and schistosomiasis. In addition, the health effects of environmental
degradation and exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace are
increasingly a cause of concern in many countries. Similarly, the growing
consumption of tobacco, alcohol and drugs will precipitate a marked increase in
costly chronic diseases among working age and elderly people. The impact of
reductions in expenditures for health and other social services which have taken
place in many countries as a result of public-sector retrenchment, misallocation
of available health resources, structural adjustment and the transition to
market economies has pre-empted significant changes in lifestyles, livelihoods
and consumption patterns and is also a factor in increasing morbidity and
mortality. Although economic reforms are essential to sustained economic growth,
it is equally essential that the design and implementation of structural
adjustment programmes incorporate the social dimension</p>
<p>Chapter 13 : National Action</p>
<p>Section C. Resource mobilization and allocation, point 13.12</p>
<p>13.12. Domestic resources provide the largest portion of funds for attaining
development objectives. Domestic resource mobilization is, thus, one of the
highest priority areas for focused attention to ensure the timely actions
required to meet the objectives of this Programme of Action. Both the public and
the private sectors can potentially contribute to the resources required. Many
of the countries seeking to pursue the additional goals and objectives of the
Programme of Action, and especially the least developed countries and other poor
countries that are undergoing painful structural adjustments, are continuing to
experience recessionary trends in their economies. Their domestic resource
mobilization efforts to expand and improve their population and development
programmes will need to be complemented by a significantly greater provision of
financial and technical resources by the international community, as indicated
in chapter XIV. In the mobilization of new and additional domestic and
donor-source resources, special attention needs to be given to adequate measures
to address the basic needs of the most vulnerable groups of the population,
particularly in the rural areas, and to ensure their access to social services.</p>
<p>4th World Conference on Women</p>
<p>Chapter 1. Resolution 1. annex II - The Beijing Platform for Action</p>
<p>II. Global Framework</p>
<p>point 13</p>
<p>13. Excessive military expenditures, including global military expenditures
and arms trade or trafficking, and investments for arms production and
acquisition have reduced the resources available for social development. As a
result of the debt burden and other economic difficulties, many developing
countries have undertaken structural adjustment policies. Moreover, there are
structural adjustment programmes that have been poorly designed and implemented,
with resulting detrimental effects on social development. The number of people
living in poverty has increased disproportionately in most developing countries,
particularly the heavily indebted countries, during the past decade.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>IV. Strategic Objectives and Actions</p>
<p>A. Women and poverty</p>
<p>point 47</p>
<p>47. More than 1 billion people in the world today, the great majority of whom
are women, live in unacceptable conditions of poverty, mostly in the developing
countries. Poverty has various causes, including structural ones. Poverty is a
complex, multidimensional problem, with origins in both the national and
international domains. The globalization of the world's economy and the
deepening interdependence among nations present challenges and opportunities for
sustained economic growth and development, as well as risks and uncertainties
for the future of the world economy. The uncertain global economic climate has
been accompanied by economic restructuring as well as, in a certain number of
countries, persistent, unmanageable levels of external debt and structural
adjustment programmes. In addition, all types of conflict, displacement of
people and environmental degradation have undermined the capacity of Governments
to meet the basic needs of their populations. Transformations in the world
economy are profoundly changing the parameters of social development in all
countries. One significant trend has been the increased poverty of women, the
extent of which varies from region to region. The gender disparities in economic
power-sharing are also an important contributing factor to the poverty of women.
Migration and consequent changes in family structures have placed additional
burdens on women, especially those who provide for several dependants.
Macroeconomic policies need rethinking and reformulation to address such trends.
These policies focus almost exclusively on the formal sector. They also tend to
impede the initiatives of women and fail to consider the differential impact on
women and men. The application of gender analysis to a wide range of policies
and programmes is therefore critical to poverty reduction strategies. In order
to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development, women and men must
participate fully and equally in the formulation of macroeconomic and social
policies and strategies for the eradication of poverty. The eradication of
poverty cannot be accomplished through anti-poverty programmes alone but will
require democratic participation and changes in economic structures in order to
ensure access for all women to resources, opportunities and public services.
Poverty has various manifestations, including lack of income and productive
resources sufficient to ensure a sustainable livelihood; hunger and
malnutrition; ill health; limited or lack of access to education and other basic
services; increasing morbidity and mortality from illness; homelessness and
inadequate housing; unsafe environments; and social discrimination and
exclusion. It is also characterized by lack of participation in decision-making
and in civil, social and cultural life. It occurs in all countries - as mass
poverty in many developing countries and as pockets of poverty amidst wealth in
developed countries. Poverty may be caused by an economic recession that results
in loss of livelihood or by disaster or conflict. There is also the poverty of
low-wage workers and the utter destitution of people who fall outside family
support systems, social institutions and safety nets.</p>
<p>IV. Strategic Objectives and Actions</p>
<p>C. Women and Health, point 91</p>
<p>91. In many countries, especially developing countries, in particular the
least developed countries, a decrease in public health spending and, in some
cases, structural adjustment, contribute to the deterioration of public health
systems. In addition, privatization of health-care systems without appropriate
guarantees of universal access to affordable health care further reduces
health-care availability. This situation not only directly affects the health of
girls and women, but also places disproportionate responsibilities on women,
whose multiple roles, including their roles within the family and the community,
are often not acknowledged; hence they do not receive the necessary social,
psychological and economic support.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Strategic objective A.1 point 58 (b), 59 (e, f)</p>
<p>58 (b) Analyse, from a gender perspective, policies and programmes -
including those related to macroeconomic stability, structural adjustment,
external debt problems, taxation, investments, employment, markets and all
relevant sectors of the economy - with respect to their impact on poverty, on
inequality and particularly on women; assess their impact on family well-being
and conditions and adjust them, as appropriate, to promote more equitable
distribution of productive assets, wealth, opportunities, income and services;</p>
<p>59(e) Ensure that structural adjustment programmes are designed to minimize
their negative effects on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups and communities
and to assure their positive effects on such groups and communities by
preventing their marginalization in economic and social activities and devising
measures to ensure that they gain access to and control over economic resources
and economic and social activities; take actions to reduce inequality and
economic disparity;</p>
<p>(f) Review the impact of structural adjustment programmes on social
development by means of gender-sensitive social impact assessments and other
relevant methods, in order to develop policies to reduce their negative effects
and improve their positive impact, ensuring that women do not bear a
disproportionate burden of transition costs; complement adjustment lending with
enhanced, targeted social development lending;</p>
<p>Strategic objective A.4 point 67 (a)</p>
<p>67. By Governments, intergovernmental organizations, academic and research
institutions and the private sector:</p>
<p>(a) Develop conceptual and practical methodologies for incorporating gender
perspectives into all aspects of economic policy-making, including structural
adjustment planning and programmes</p>
<p>Section F. Women and the Economy, point 151</p>
<p>151. In many regions, women's participation in remunerated work in the formal
and non-formal labour market has increased significantly and has changed during
the past decade. While women continue to work in agriculture and fisheries, they
have also become increasingly involved in micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises and, in some cases, have become more dominant in the expanding
informal sector. Due to, inter alia, difficult economic situations and a lack of
bargaining power resulting from gender inequality, many women have been forced
to accept low pay and poor working conditions and thus have often become
preferred workers. On the other hand, women have entered the workforce
increasingly by choice when they have become aware of and demanded their rights.
Some have succeeded in entering and advancing in the workplace and improving
their pay and working conditions. However, women have been particularly affected
by the economic situation and restructuring processes, which have changed the
nature of employment and, in some cases, have led to a loss of jobs, even for
professional and skilled women. In addition, many women have entered the
informal sector owing to the lack of other opportunities. Women's participation
and gender concerns are still largely absent from and should be integrated in
the policy formulation process of the multilateral institutions that define the
terms and, in cooperation with Governments, set the goals of structural
adjustment programmes, loans andgrants.</p>
<p>Strategic objective F.4, point 175 (b)</p>
<p>175. By Governments:</p>
<p>(b) Integrate a gender perspective into all economic restructuring and
structural adjustment policies and design programmes for women who are affected
by economic restructuring, including structural adjustment programmes, and for
women who work in the informal sector;</p>
<p>Strategic objective F.5, point 178 (e)</p>
<p>178. By Governments, employers, employees, trade unions and women's
organizations:</p>
<p>(e) Develop and promote employment programmes and services for women entering
and/or re-entering the labour market, especially poor urban, rural and young
women, the self-employed and those negatively affected by structural adjustment;</p>
<p>Habitat II Conference, Istanbul 1996</p>
<p>Habitat Agenda</p>
<p>Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements</p>
<p>Chapter III. Commitments</p>
<p>B. Sustainable human settlements, point 43 (w)</p>
<p>43. We further commit ourselves to the objectives of:</p>
<p>w) Developing and evaluating policies and programmes to reduce the undesired
adverse effects and improve the positive impact of structural adjustment and
economic transition on sustainable human settlements development, especially on
those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, and women, inter alia,
through reviewing the impact of structural adjustment on social development by
means of gender-sensitive social impact assessments and other relevant methods;</p>
<p>E. International Cooperation and coordination</p>
<p>Chapter IV: Global Plan of Action</p>
<p>C. Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world.</p>
<p>9. Improving Urban Economies, point 162</p>
<p>162. To alleviate the adverse impacts of measures for structural and economic
transition, Governments at the appropriate levels, including, where appropriate,
local authorities, should:</p>
<p>(a) Promote an integrated approach by addressing the social, economic and
environmental consequences of reforms on the development needs of human
settlements;</p>
<p>(b) Promote the integrated functioning of housing markets so as to avoid
segregation of the social housing sector;</p>
<p>(c) Implement appropriate basic social programmes and adequate resource
allocation, in particular those measures affecting people living in poverty,
people with disabilities, other vulnerable segments of society,
micro-enterprises and other small businesses;</p>
<p>(d) Review the impact of structural adjustment on social development by
paying particular attention to gender-sensitive assessments;</p>
<p>(e) Design policies to promote more equitable and enhanced access to income
and resources;</p>
<p>(f) Support, as appropriate, public and private enterprises in their efforts
to adapt to the changing requirements of technological and human resources
development.</p>
<p>E. International Cooperation and coordination</p>
<p>3. Financial resources and economic instruments, point 204 (d).</p>
<p>204. The full and effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda, in
particular in all developing countries, especially those in Africa and the least
developed countries, will require the mobilization of additional financial
resources from various sources at the national and international levels and more
effective development cooperation in order to promote assistance for shelter and
human settlements activities. This will require, inter alia:</p>
<p>(d) Striving to ensure that structural adjustment programmes are consistent
with the economic and social conditions, concerns, objectives and needs of each
country, including the need for adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements development, and protect basic social programmes and expenditures,
in particular those benefiting people living in poverty, women and vulnerable
groups, from budget reductions; and also striving to ensure that corresponding
investment programmes take account of human settlements development priorities,
including local, urban and rural priorities;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>F. Implementation and follow-up of the Habitat Agenda</p>
<p>Part 3. Implementation at the international level, point 236</p>
<p>236. International financial institutions should contribute to the
mobilization of resources for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. To this
end, the relevant institutions are invited to take the following measures:</p>
<p>(a) The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the regional and
subregional development banks and funds and all other international finance
organizations should be invited to integrate adequate shelter for all and
sustainable human settlements development goals in their policies, programmes
and operations, for example by giving higher priority to those goals, where
applicable, in their lending programmes;</p>
<p>(b) The Bretton Woods institutions and other organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system should be invited to work together with concerned
countries, particularly developing countries, to improve policy dialogues and
develop new initiatives to ensure that structural adjustment programmes promote
adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development, giving
particular attention to people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups;</p>
<p>(c) The United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions and
other United Nations specialized agencies, should be invited to expand and
improve their cooperation in the field of adequate shelter for all and
sustainable human settlements development to ensure that efforts are
complementary and, where possible, should combine resources in joint initiatives
for adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development built
around the objectives of Habitat II.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>UN Commissions</p>
<p>Commission on the Status of Women1992</p>
<p>Resolution 36/5. Women and development</p>
<p>point 10,81</p>
<p>10. Calls upon donor Governments and international financial institutions to
provide adequate and timely support for the efforts of the developing countries,
particularly the least developed countries, in reducing the negative effects of
the external debt burden, structural adjustment policies and adverse terms of
trade, with a view to integrating women in mainstream development;</p>
<p>81. Many representatives identified a number of continuing major obstacles to
the effective contribution of women to development. In addition to the problems
of the lack of peace and of structural adjustment, the burden of debt, the
continuous deterioration of commodity prices, and protectionist measures that
had resulted in diminishing the availability of national and international
resources for the advancement of women, the current fundamental changes in a
number of societies had to be added. The feminization of poverty was an issue of
growing concern. In rural areas, it was due to the lack of access to land and
credit, and in urban areas to sex segregation in the labour market or to
uncontrolled migration. Those questions were aggravated by health problems and
insufficient education, including the effects of the AIDS epidemic.</p>
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