Position Paper for the Economic and Social Council

The United Kingdom has been an active supporter and member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council since the founding of this UN Charter body in 1946 and continues its ongoing support of the Council by renewing membership immediately after each term expires. The UK supports the many organizations that implement solutions and programs created by the Council by providing funding to help these action plans ideas become reality. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to the international humanitarian system. The UK, via the Department for International Development, provides funds for a large portion of the assistance that is distributed to UN agencies, NGOs, the Red Cross, and the European Humanitarian Office. As the 2015 deadline set for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) nears, the United Kingdom reminds member nations that now is the time to identify what policies and initiatives deliver the best results and, to this end, the UK will remain committed to the achievement of the MDGs and continue to do its part in spurring the international community to action. The UK calls for more strenuous efforts in providing equal access to education for children with disabilities. This is crucial to the achievement of MDG 2 and the UK will continue to advocate resolutions for the protection of the rights of disabled children and provide funding to those NGOs that work to provide this education. Secondly, youth Unemployment affects both developing and developed nations but action is particularly needed in post-conflict nations were the situation is more tenuous and the possibility of frustration turning into violence is a greater threat. The UK will continue its commitment to promote partnerships which will stimulate jobs for young people in post-conflict nations and agrees with the statement made by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in the World Youth Report regarding this topic,” Today we have the largest generation of young people the world has ever known. They are demanding their rights and a greater voice in economic and political life. We need to pull the UN system together like never before to support a new social contract of job-rich economic growth. Let us start with young people.”

Topic A: Promoting Partnerships to Address Youth Unemployment in Post-Conflict Nations

The United Kingdom recognizes the importance of tackling the issue of youth unemployment raised by the Commission for Social Development Vice-Chair Mohamed Ibrahim Elbahi during the Feb. 2012 meeting and panel discussion; “More than 75 million young people had been unemployed at the end of 2010, with many at risk of various social problems.”The UK asserts that youth unemployment is pressing issue as it has been widely recognized that high rates of unemployment can lead to societal unrest and rise in crime rates which are threats to durable peace in post-conflict nations. This potential source of conflict is one of the priorities of the UN Peace-building Commission (PBC). The PBC outcome document adopted in July 2009 which outlines the framework for Sierra Leone, identifies youth unemployment as a key component of peace-building, especially in the context of a fragile post-conflict environment. In reaction to these findings, the UK fully supports the efforts of the PBC. The UK is committed to support the economic recovery of these nations and stands behind the programs funded by the PBC to diminish youth unemployment. The UK encourages the creation of such programs as Shell LiveWIRE, which was initiated in Glasgow in 1982 to encourage the development of businesses by young people. This successful program has now grown to a global initiative, active in 25 countries across the globe, which encourages self-employment as a viable career option. The UK recognizes the need for a system to help address and solve the problem of youth employment to avoid potential unrest and thus is in support of the document drafted jointly by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Unite Nations Development Program (UNDP) entitled, ” UN Policy and Operational Guidance on Employment Creation, Income Generation and Reintegration in Post-Conflict Settings.” This document provides a comprehensive approach to economic recovery through job creation via a set of guiding principles. The UK supports the following suggested steps in developing a strategy on youth employment for peace-building delineated in the 2008 document: 1. Ensure youth employment is regarded as a national priority in all post-conflict countries in their development plans and strategies. Define policies for employment creation and reintegration according to the stage in post-conflict context. Short term employment programs should be complementary to economic recovery employment opportunities and sustainable employment creation in the medium and long term respectively; 2. Participants’ identification: Factors for consideration in order to establish a sense of priority: age, groups most vulnerable (urban and rural youth, teenage and young adults, displaced- refugees) and gender; 3. Training: Factors for consideration: who provides types, and skills needed to develop. The types of skills should be linked to the development of vocational and technical trainings and to the needs of the context, i.e. whether the situation requires business, agriculture technique or enterprise minded professionals; 4. Apprenticeship: determine who can provide these training opportunities and how to link apprenticeship with local businesses as well as reconstruction and development work. The UK argues that the employment of these principles to develop a plan for economic recovery in post-conflict nations is essential in helping to deal with the issue youth unemployment  The UK also contributed to the efforts of ECOSOC in their actions to incorporate the youth into creating better solutions at the May 2012 ECOSOC Youth Forum “Creating a Sustainable Future: Empowering Youth with Better Job Opportunities” at UN Headquarters which was attended by representatives around the world, member states, the academic community, and civil society organizations that are engaged on youth issues. The UK fully endorses the objective of this Forum which allows young people a voice n the proposal of concrete actions to effectively address youth employment issues within the context of current global and financial situations. The UK stresses the recognition of member states of the problem of youth unemployment as a potential cause of conflict and threat to enduring peace and the UK urges all to stand with it in continued support of programs that provide specific and effective solutions.

Topic B: Increasing Access to Education for Children with Disabilities

The United Kingdom prohibits discrimination and realizes for participation to be equalized, educational resources and services must be convenient and accessible. The United Kingdom Educational Act of 1964 allows government funding and establishment of convenient and accessible schools for the disabled and the Education Act of 1989 also provides free primary and/or secondary education for disabled persons, ages 5 to 21 years. Research has proven that children with disabilities are much less likely to go to school in the developing world than children without disabilities. The UK is dedicated to improving access to education for children around the globe and calls on other member nations to address these concerns by passing similar legislation on an international scale. The UK calls attention to UN Millennium Development Goals(MDG) 2 of universal primary education and reminds member nations that until the disparity of access to education is corrected, MDG 2 cannot be achieved. A 2010 Education for All Monitoring Report entitled,” Reaching the Marginalized” highlights the challenges that the international community faces in achieving the MDGs unless disability is addressed. In response to this challenge, the UK has developed a national set of guidelines, the Department for International Development (DFID) Guidance Note on Education and Disability. This note was constructed and developed through consultation with civil society organizations working with children with disabilities in the UK and abroad. This note is intended for use by DFID staff, partner governments, and development partners working in the field. The UK argues strongly in providing equal access to education for children with disabilities and agrees that this issue must be addressed on an international level in order for the MDGs for education to be realized. To this effect, the UK supports the plan of specific actions developed by the United Nations Partnership to Promote Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), which is called for by relevant UN standards. The United Kingdom argues that these tenets should be implemented cohesively and decisively by both governments and NGOs in areas where international law may not be as powerful of a force. The UK asserts these international standards will provide both the framework for the review for the current situation of children with disabilities on a global scale and specific steps that must be taken to promote inclusion which is critical to the achievement of MDG 2 : undertake a comprehensive review of all legislation to ensure prohibition of discrimination of disability, provide effective and accessible remedies in case of rights violations of children with disabilities, conduct awareness raising educational campaigns to highlight discrimination in education for children with disabilities, and allot necessary resources and personnel to make education equal and accessible for all children.Contrary to medical definitions, the United Kingdom Disability Strategy (UKDS), describes disability as “a process when one group of people create barriers by designing a world only for their way of living, taking no account of the impairment other people have.” As a nation, we understand that that it is our responsibility and obligation to give our citizens the fulfillment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. In regard to this, United Kingdom emphasizes Article 23 of the Convention of Rights on the Child (CRC), which affords disabled children “the right to benefit from special care and education for a fuller life in society.” As part of its ongoing plan to promote an inclusive society, United Kingdom’s Disability Strategy aims to “enable disabled children and youth to lead full and active lives.” United Kingdom is aware of the social stigmas associated with disability, and urges Member States to educate its communities on disabilities. Encouraging such a relationship will aid in the better organization of NGOs, who address similar topics. United Kingdom recognizes that NGOs play a key role in the programs of developing nations and are also a powerful force in areas where international law may not be as helpful. United Kingdom strongly encourages the active involvement of NGOs in addressing issues for disabled children, and also proposes a four point plan of action for ECOSOC to act on both cohesively and decisively: 1) Facilitate national education programs aimed at developing cultural and educational programs, countering discrimination against disabled children, 2) Work toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 3) Encourage governments to strive for greater access to essential health care and programs for the disabled, and, 4) Implement programs, which foster and enhance good educational training for the disabled.