| Implementation
of the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the ESCAP
Region: [ST/ESCAP/1895]
The publication contains the report of the Fifth Asian and
Pacific Ministerial Conference on Social Development, including
the Manila Declaration on Accelerated Implementation of
the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the ESCAP
Region. It also contains major papers highlighting vital
social development trends and concerns, which were prepared
for the Conference by the ESCAP secretariat and various
collaborators.
The Fifth Asian and Pacific Ministerial Conference on Social
Development was convened by ESCAP in Manila in November
1997. The Conference reviewed and assessed the progress
achieved in attaining the goals and targets of the regional
Agenda, in the context of the Programme of Action of the
World Summit for Social Development. While acknowledging
the progress and continuous efforts made by many countries
in the region in poverty alleviation, employment generation
and social integration, it noted with concern the social
challenges that remained to be addressed. The Conference
recognized the social development repercussions of international
economic volatility and agreed that it was necessary to
monitor the impact of the current financial crisis in some
parts of the region on the population at large and ensure
that social development targets and goals were not adversely
affected by the corrective economic measures being undertaken
or planned. It deliberated on proposals for national action
and regional cooperation in order to accelerate the implementation
of the regional Agenda in the light of current and emerging
social development challenges in the Asian and Pacific region.
The Conference adopted the Manila Declaration on Accelerated
Implementation of the Agenda for Action on Social Development
in the ESCAP Region. A set of recommendations annexed to
the Declaration concerned national action on planning and
target-setting, mobilizing enablers and institutional support,
mobilizing resources, capacity-building through human resources
development, and monitoring and evaluation with a view to
the early attainment of the goals and targets in the Agenda.
The Declaration also contained recommendations for regional
and international action in support of national action and
follow-up action.
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