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The 64th session of the Commission for Social Development (CSD) concluded at United Nations Headquarters in New York with a theme both ambitious and timely: \u201cAdvancing Social Development and Social Justice through Coordinated, Equitable, and Inclusive Policies.\u201d In a world fractured by war, economic inequality, climate instability, and political polarization, the promise of coordinated and inclusive social policy could not be more urgent.<\/p>\n
From the outset, Ambassador Khrystyna Hayovyshyn of Ukraine, serving as Chair of the Commission, set a hopeful tone. In her inaugural address, she reminded delegates that social development and social justice are \u201cfar from being secondary concerns.\u201d They are central, she argued, because they touch people\u2019s daily lives, dignity, and ultimately the credibility of multilateralism itself.<\/p>\n
Her words resonated: \u201cEnsuring an adequate social standard is not a matter of charity; it is a shared global obligation.\u201d That simple but powerful statement captured the spirit of the 2030 Agenda \u2014 that development is not benevolence bestowed by the fortunate upon the less fortunate, but a collective responsibility rooted in human dignity.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Hayovyshyn also emphasized that \u201cthe international community must move from declarations to practical action.\u201d The Commission, she underscored, has a primary responsibility to follow up on the social development commitments set forth in the Doha Political Declaration adopted at the Second World Summit for Social Development in 2025. \u201cThis is not a conceptual exercise,\u201d she stressed, urging member states to translate commitments into concrete measures through draft resolutions and an action-oriented program of work.<\/p>\n
In her closing remarks, she cautioned that fragmented approaches are no longer sufficient. Today\u2019s social challenges are interconnected; poverty intersects with conflict, inequality with exclusion, insecurity with displacement. Equity, inclusion, and coordination, she noted, are essential if the Commission\u2019s work is to have tangible impact.<\/p>\n
The President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Annalena Baerbock, echoed these sentiments. Delivering on social justice and development goals, she said, is both a moral imperative and an investment in stability and resilience. At a time when the world\u2019s attention is consumed by multiple crises, she urged the international community not to lose sight of the foundational importance of inclusive social development. In one of the session\u2019s most memorable lines, she observed that \u201cthe world does not only need the United Nations; the United Nations, in these times, needs the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The session concluded with the adoption of a resolution reaffirming commitment to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, recognizing that social development and social justice are indispensable to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring that no one is left behind.<\/p>\n
Yet one cannot help but ask: beyond reaffirmation, what has changed?<\/p>\n
There was hope that practical steps would emerge from this week-long deliberation. Instead, the outcome felt familiar \u2014 a reiteration of commitments and a promise to reconvene next year. While consensus language is important in multilateral diplomacy, the credibility of such forums ultimately depends on measurable action.<\/p>\n
In my written submission to the Commission, I highlighted Jammu and Kashmir as one context where the lofty aspirations of social justice confront harsh realities. Decades of conflict, heavy militarization, communication restrictions, recurrent security operations, and structural constraints on rights and livelihoods have produced profound consequences for social development and human wellbeing.<\/p>\n
Communities face elevated poverty, psychosocial trauma, and service disruption. Vulnerable groups \u2014 women, children, youth, and the elderly \u2014 bear disproportionate burdens. Prolonged curfews and communication shutdowns disrupt education, healthcare, and economic life. The absence of accountability under laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) deepens mistrust and insecurity.<\/p>\n
For children, the consequences are especially severe. Schools are periodically closed or converted into security facilities. Recreational spaces are limited. Many children grow up with memories defined not by play and learning, but by anxiety and uncertainty. According to Save the Children, the number of orphans in Kashmir rose dramatically between the mid-1990s (35,000) and the late 2000s (80,000), leaving thousands vulnerable to trauma and economic hardship.<\/p>\n
Women, too, carry a disproportionate share of the conflict\u2019s burden. Widows and so-called \u201chalf-widows\u201d \u2014 women whose husbands have disappeared but are not legally declared dead \u2014 face economic precarity and social stigma. Credible reports document thousands of cases of sexual violence over decades, with long-lasting psychological consequences. The KunanPoshpora case remains emblematic of how collective trauma can stigmatize entire communities for generations.<\/p>\n
These realities are not unique to Kashmir. Across the globe, from other conflict zones to occupied territories, social development falters where insecurity and impunity prevail. The Doha Political Declaration reaffirmed commitments to poverty eradication, inclusion, and universal social protection. But operationalizing these commitments requires more than reaffirmation.<\/p>\n
It requires recognizing conflict-affected territories as priority contexts within global social development agendas. It requires embedding human rights and conflict-sensitivity into development cooperation. It requires systematic reporting by the UN system on social development indicators in such regions \u2014 poverty, education, health, and access to social protection. And it requires ensuring that the principle of \u201cleaving no one behind\u201d truly applies to everyone, without political exception.<\/p>\n
The CSD\u2019s discussions were thoughtful and principled. But principles must be tested in the world\u2019s most difficult contexts. If social justice is indeed central to multilateral credibility, then populations living under prolonged conflict cannot remain peripheral to global development discourse.<\/p>\n
There is still time for action before the next session convenes. The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Violence against Women and on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children should be encouraged to seek access to affected regions, including Kashmir, conduct independent assessments, and report back to the Human Rights Council. Such steps would signal that the international community is serious about moving from declarations to practice.<\/p>\n
The United Nations was founded on the promise of human dignity and equal rights. The Commission for Social Development has affirmed that promise once again. The challenge now is to ensure that those living in the shadows of conflict and occupation are not left waiting \u2014 year after year \u2014 for the world to translate its words into action.<\/p>\n
(The writer is Chairman of World Forum for Peace & Justice.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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