The United Nations Economic and Social Council is one of the principal organs
of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic, social and
related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions
and five regional commissions. The ECOSOC has 54 members. It holds one
four-week session each year in July, and since 1998, it has also held a meeting
each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund. The ECOSOC serves as the central forum
for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating
policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations
system. A number of non-governmental organizations have been granted
consultative status to the Council to participate in the work of the United
Nations. President
The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen from the small or
mid-sized powers represented on the ECOSOC. The current president of the
ECOSOC is Oh Joon, UN ambassador of the Republic of Korea. He was elected on 24
July 2015 and is the 71st President of ECOSOC.
Members The Council has 65 member states out of
the 193 UN member states, which are elected by the United Nations General
Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. Seats on the Council are based on
geographical representation with 18 allocated to African states, 13 to Asian
states, 8 to East European states, 13 to Latin American and Caribbean states and
13 to West European and other states. = Observer Inter-Governmental Autonomous
Organizations= Participation on a continuing basis:
African Regional Centre of Technology Asian and Pacific Development Centre
Asian Productivity Organization Council of Arab Economic Unity
Global Water Partnership Helsinki Commission
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable
Development Intergovernmental Institution For the
Use of Micro-Algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition
International Association of Economic and Social Councils and Similar
Institutions International Center for Public
Enterprises in Developing Countries International Centre for Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology Islamic Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization Latin American Energy Organization
Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment
Union des Conseils Économiques et Sociaux Africains
West African Economic and Monetary Union World Deserts Foundation
World Tourism Organization Participation on an ad hoc basis:
African Accounting Council African Cultural Institute
Arab Security Studies and Training Center
Council of Arab Ministers of the Interior
International Bauxite Association International Civil Defence Organisation
Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences
Functional commissions UN Commission for Social Development
UN Commission on Human Rights: disbanded 2006, replaced by the United Nations
Human Rights Council, a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly
Commission on Narcotic Drugs Commission on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice Commission on Science and Technology for
Development Commission on Sustainable Development –
Disbanded 2013, replaced with High-level Political Forum on Sustainable
Development a joint subsidiary body of the General Assembly and ECOSOC
UN Commission on the Status of Women Commission on Population and Development
UN Statistical Commission United Nations Forum on Forests
Regional commissions United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa United Nations Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia Specialized agencies
These specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with
the United Nations and each other inter alia through the coordinating machinery
of the Economic and Social Council. International Labour Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization World Health Organization
World Bank Group International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development International Development Association
International Finance Corporation Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
International Monetary Fund International Civil Aviation
Organization International Maritime Organization
International Telecommunication Union Universal Postal Union
World Meteorological Organization World Intellectual Property Organization
International Fund for Agricultural Development
United Nations Children's Fund United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees United Nations Industrial Development
Organization United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Office of Project Services
International Narcotics Control Board United Nations Environment Programme
Other related entities, mechanisms and processes
Financing for Development, the Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration
Development Cooperation Forum United Nations Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues Sessional and Standing Committees
Expert, ad hoc and related bodies United Nations International Children's
Emergency Fund "World Economic and Social Survey 2011:
The Great Green Technological Transformation"
In a report issued in early July 2011, the UN called for spending nearly USD 2
trillion on green technologies to prevent what it termed "a major
planetary catastrophe", warning that "It is rapidly expanding energy use, mainly
driven by fossil fuels, that explains why humanity is on the verge of
breaching planetary sustainability boundaries through global warming,
biodiversity loss, and disturbance of the nitrogen-cycle balance and other
measures of the sustainability of the earth's ecosystem".
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon added: "Rather than viewing growth and
sustainability as competing goals on a collision course, we must see them as
complementary and mutually supportive imperatives". The report concluded that
"Business as usual is not an option". Reform of the Economic and Social
Council Governance of the multilateral system
has historically been complex and fragmented. This has limited the
capacity of the ECOSOC to influence international policies in trade, finance
and investment. Reform proposals aim to enhance the relevance and contribution
of the council. A major reform was approved by the 2005 World Summit on the
basis of proposals submitted by secretary-general Kofi Annan. The Summit
aimed to establish the ECOSOC as a quality platform for high-level
engagement among member states and with international financial institutions,
the private sector and civil society on global trends, policies and action. It
was decided to hold biennial high-level Development Cooperation Forums at the
national-leadership level by transforming the high-level segment of
the Council to review trends in international development cooperation
and promote greater coherence in development activities. At the Summit it
was also decided to hold annual ministerial-level substantive reviews to
assess progress in achieving internationally agreed development
goals. These "Annual Ministeral Reviews" will be replaced by the High Level
Political Forum from 2016 onwards after the new post-MDG/Post-2015 Sustainable
Development Goals are agreed. Subsequent proposals by the High-Level
Panel Report on System-Wide Coherence in November 2006 aimed to establish a forum
within the ECOSOC as a counter-model to the exclusive clubs of the G8 and G20.
The Forum was to comprise 27 heads of state to meet annually and provide
international leadership in the development area. This proposal,
however, was not approved by the General Assembly.
Chamber design The Economic and Social Council Chamber
in the United Nations Conference Building was a gift from Sweden. It was
conceived by Swedish architect Sven Markelius, one of the 11 architects in
the international team that designed the UN headquarters. Wood from Swedish pine
trees was used in the delegates' area for the railings and doors.
The pipes and ducts in the ceiling above the public gallery were deliberately
left exposed; the architect believed that anything useful could be left
uncovered. The "unfinished" ceiling is a symbolic reminder that the economic and
social work of the United Nations is never finished; there will always be
something more which can be done to improve living conditions for the
world's people. See also
Consultative Status List of organizations with consultative
status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council
Copenhagen Consensus French Economic and Social Council
European Economic and Social Committee Hard Choices: Moral Dilemmas in
Humanitarian Intervention International Court of Justice
International Hydrological Programme UN General Assembly
UN Secretariat UN Security Council
UN Trusteeship Council UN Department of Economic and Social
Affairs Union of International Associations
STEM References
External links United Nations Economic and Social
Council UN Economic and Social Council –
Background United Nations Economic and Social
Development page United Nations Department of Economic
and Social Affairs Congo – Conference of UN NGO's
Global Policy Forum – Social and Economic Policy at the UN
United Nations http:www.un.orgpubs20060106p54.htm "The
Group of Eight, ECOSOC and the Constitutional Paradox"