India elected chair of 62nd session of UN Commission for Social Development

India has been elected as the chair of 62^nd session of the UN Commission for Social Development. The permanent representative of India to the United Nations, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj on Thursday, February 16, accepted the chairperson ship at the headquarters of UN in New York.

It’s the first time since 1975 that India has become Chair of the Commission for Social Development, as per a release issued by the Indian Permanent Mission to the UN. The Commission for Social Development is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council.

The Commission serves as a primary inter-governmental body to strengthen international cooperation on social development issues, according to the official release.

The theme for 62^nd session is “Fostering Social Development and Social Justice through Social Policies to accelerate Progress on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication.”

The theme stress the important connection between social development and social justice as fundamentals to achieving Sustainable Development Goals. The main responsibility of the Commission is to review on a periodic basis, issues related to the follow-up and the implementation of Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development.

Addressing at the recent UN briefing, India’s permanent representative, Ruchira said that as the chair of G20, India will continue to engage with the global south refactoring the priorities of the south into G20 process. “We greatly appreciate this briefing on your priorities for the resumed segment of the 77th session (of UNGA).

“To say that we are perhaps witnessing the most difficult phase since the Second World War is not an exaggeration but a reality. The road ahead is, therefore, difficult and challenging. As you rightly pointed as members of the United Nations we have an onerous responsibility. We need to work collectively in a collaborative manner to find sustainable solutions to the development challenges,” Kamboj said.