The Copenhagen declaration : issues from the subregional follow-up conferences

Abstract

Most parts of the world have experienced, over the past two decades or so, a serious deterioration in the social and economic conditions, characterized by the rise in unemployment, poverty, crime, violence and civil strife. They are manifesting themselves in social tensions and disintegration, which threaten global security and development. Allied to this, the social and economic crises are eroding and reversing the substantial material progress achieved globally during the second half of this century. It is against the backdrop of the concern about the worsening social and economic conditions and their destabilizing effects on many societies; and acknowledgment of the significance of the social dimension in sustainable development that the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 47/92 of 16 December 1992, which called for convening a World Summit for Social Development at the level of Heads of State or Government to tackle the critical problems of poverty, unemployment and social disintegration.