..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 29 March 2006
Press Release no. G9/CS62/3

GENERATING CREATIVE INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR PACIFIC ISLAND VULNERABLE GROUPS

UNESCAP Special Body to meet 4-5 April in Jakarta ahead of 62nd Commission

BANGKOK, (UN Information Services, 29 March 2006) – The Ninth Session of UNESCAP’s Special Body on Pacific Island Developing Countries will meet in Jakarta, Indonesia from 4-5 April 2006 to discuss the generation of creative income employment opportunities for vulnerable groups in the Pacific.

Participants at the meeting will also consider the follow-up to the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States at the regional and subregional levels.

According to a special paper prepared by UNESCAP for the meeting, economic growth has been slow in most Pacific countries over the last 10 to 15 years. The extent to which the benefits of growth have penetrated the wider community within Pacific island countries has been very limited. Where there have been benefits, these have often been captured by particular interest groups and the political elite.

The development of employment and related social policies is one way to ensure that the benefits of economic growth can be distributed more evenly to the wider population, particularly the most vulnerable in society. Rights-based public policy draws on internationally legitimized rights as a means of strengthening the ability of vulnerable groups to claim social, political and economic resources to meet their needs. A few key groups in Pacific society – particularly youth, women and people with disabilities – have consistently missed out on the benefits of development, economic growth and employment and are more vulnerable than others.

Participants at the Special Body will have an opportunity to endorse recommendations put forward by UNESCAP which include new approaches to addressing policy initiatives at the national and regional levels designed to address the needs of these most vulnerable groups in Pacific society. The meeting immediately precedes UNESCAP’s 62nd Commission Session, scheduled for 6-12 April at the Jakarta Convention Centre, Jakarta, Indonesia.

For further information, please contact:
Mr. David Lazarus, Chief, UNIS Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861/69; Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052;
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

Not an official document
United Nations Information Services Bangkok • Rajadamnern Nok Avenue • Bangkok 10200 Thailand • Tel: (66-2) 288-1861/69 • Fax: (66-2) 288-1052 • E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org • www.unescap.org

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