United Nations Documents

A/RES/45/87
World Social Situation
68th Plenary Meeting
14 December 1990

Web Posted on: November 24, 1997

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 1392 (XIV) of 20 November 1959, 2542 (XXIV) of 11 December 1969, 40/98 and 40/100 of 13 December 1985, 42/49 of 30 November 1987, 43/113 of 8 December 1988 and 44/56 of 8 December 1989 and Economic and Social Council resolutions 1987/39, 1987/40, 1987/46 and 1987/52 of 28 May 1987, 1989/72 of 24 May 1989 and Council decision 1989/113 of 28 July 1989, and taking note of Council resolution 1990/28 of 24 May 1990,

Bearing in mind the objective of improving the well-being of the world's population on the basis of the full and equal participation of all members of society in the process of development and the fair distribution to them of the benefits therefrom,

Conscious that each country has the sovereign right freely to adopt the economic and social system that it deems the most appropriate and that each Government has the primary responsibility of ensuring the social progress and well-being of the people,

Convinced of the urgent need to eradicate policies and practices that hinder social progress, including racism and racial discrimination, in particular apartheid,

Convinced also that the pace of development in the developing countries should be accelerated substantially in order to enable them to achieve that objective, especially to meet the basic needs for food, housing, education, employment and health care and to struggle against scourges which endanger the health and well-being of their population,

Deeply concerned about the worsening economic situation in many developing countries, particularly in the least developed countries, as evidenced by the significant decline in living conditions, the persistence and increase of widespread poverty in a large number of countries and the decline of the main social and economic indicators of those countries,

Bearing in mind the importance of the 1989 Report on the World Social Situation for increasing awareness of the advances made towards the goals of social progress and better standards of living, established in the Charter of the United Nations, and of the obstacles to further progress,

Believing that there is a need for greater efforts by the United Nations system to study and disseminate data on the existing world social situation, particularly in regard to the developing countries,

Taking note of the deliberations on the question of the world social situation by the Economic and Social Council at its first regular session of 1990,

Having considered the supplement to the 1989 Report on the World Social Situation,

1. Notes with satisfaction that the supplement to the 1989 Report on the World Social Situation takes into account the concerns and guidelines specified in General Assembly resolution 44/56 and Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/72;
2. Recalls the 1989 Report on the World Social Situation, in particular the information on the critical situation in Africa contained in the annex to the report;
3. Notes with satisfaction the increasing awareness of the importance of formulating policy measures at all levels based on the interrelationships between economic growth, human development and social progress in the achievement of overall development;
4. Notes with deep concern the continuing deterioration of the economic and social situation in many developing countries, in particular in the least developed countries, whose numbers have increased over the years;
5. Notes also with deep concern the substantial weakening of the overall position of the developing countries in international trade and finance, which has been made worse by a long-term downward trend in commodity prices, a serious deterioration in the terms of trade, the net transfer of resources from developing countries, protectionism and the serious debt burden, combined with high real interest rates;
6. Reaffirms the commitments and policies for international development co-operation as set out in the Declaration on International Economic Co-operation, in particular the Revitalization of Economic Growth and Development of the Developing Countries, adopted by the General Assembly at its eighteenth special session;
7. Reaffirms also the principles and objectives of the Declaration on Social Progress and Development and calls for their effective realization as a means of attaining a more equitable world social situation;
8. Calls upon all Member States to promote economic development and social progress by the formulation and implementation of an interrelated set of policy measures to achieve the goals and objectives established within the framework of national plans and priorities for employment, education, health, nutrition, housing facilities, crime prevention, the well-being of children, equal opportunities for the disabled and the aging, full participation of youth in the development process and full integration and participation of women in development;
9. Requests the Secretary-General to continue monitoring the world social situation in depth on a regular basis and, in accordance with paragraph 10 of resolution 44/56, to submit an interim report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session, through the Commission of Social Development and the Economic and Social Council, and a full report in 1993;
10. Endorses the request of the Economic and Social Council, in paragraph 2 of its resolution 1990/28, that the Secretary-General take into account, in preparing the interim report, paragraph 4 of Council resolution 1989/72;
11. Also endorses the request made in paragraph 3 of Council resolution 1989/72 regarding the submission of a report by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session, through the Economic and Social Council, on the work being done within the United Nations system to improve and further develop quantitative and qualitative indicators that measure accurately the social condition and the standard of living of the world's population, particularly in developing countries;
12. Requests the Secretary-General to make the necessary arrangements to ensure the wider dissemination of reports on the world social situation;
13. Invites the organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to co-operate fully with the Secretary-General in the preparation of future reports by making available all relevant information pertaining to their respective areas of competence and, in this connection, requests the Secretary-General to convene an inter-agency meeting before the preparation of the report;
14. Decides to include the item entitled "World social situation" in the provisional agenda of its forty-sixth session for the purpose of considering, inter alia, the interim report and the report mentioned in paragraph 11 above, and in the provisional agenda of its forty-eighth session for the purpose of considering the next full report in 1993.