January 29, 2015
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The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions. ECOSOC has 54 members and holds one substantive session each year, in July, for a duration of four weeks. 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 (IMF).

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.

Chamber

The Economic and Social Council Chamber in the United Nations Conference Building was a gift from Sweden. It was conceived by the Swedish architect Sven Markelius, one of the 11 architects in the international team that designed the UN Headquarters. Swedish pine wood has been used around the delegates area, and for the railings and doors.

A special feature of the room are the exposed pipes and ducts in the ceiling above the public gallery. The architect believed that anything useful could be left uncovered. The "unfinished" ceiling is commonly seen as a symbolic reminder that the economic and social work of the United Nations never finishes; there will always be something more that can be done to improve the living conditions of the world's people.

President

The president is elected for an one - year term and chosen among the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC.

Members

The Council has 54 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 fourteen allocated to African States, eleven to Asian States, six to Eastern European States, ten to Latin American and Caribbean States, and thirteen to Western European and other States.

Functional commissions

Regional commissions

Specialized agencies

The 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.

Other entities

'The World Economic and Social Survey 2011: The Great Green Technological Transformation'

In a report issued in early July, 2011, the UN body called for spending nearly 2 trillion dollars 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

For historical reasons, the governance of the multilateral system is complex and fragmented. This has limited the capacity of 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 the Secretary - General Kofi Annan. The Summit aimed to establish ECOSOC as a quality platform for high level engagement among member states and with the international financial institutions, the private sector and civil society on emerging global trends, policies and action. Specifically, it was decided to hold biennial high level Development Cooperation Forums at the level of national leaders by transforming the high level segment of the Council to review trends in international development cooperation and to promote greater coherence among development activities. Furthermore, the Summit decided to hold annual ministerial level substantive reviews to assess progress in achieving internationally agreed development goals, particularly the Millennium Development Goals. Subsequent proposals by the High - level panel Report on System - Wide Coherence in November 2006 aimed to establish a forum within ECOSOC as a counter - model to the exclusive club of the G8 and G20. The Forum was to comprise 27 heads of state (L27), corresponding to half of the ECOSOC membership, to meet annually to provide international leadership in the development area. The proposal was not approved by the General Assembly.