Promoting Care and Support Systems for Social Development

E/RES/2024/4View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 19bSocial development, published in 2024.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

3 entities

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Care Economy Caregivers Social Development

What does this mandate say?

12 operative paragraphs

Urges States to ensure the creation of enabling environments for promoting care and support systems for social development and implement all measures necessary to ensure the well-being and rights of care recipients and caregivers, to recognize and redistribute care work among individuals, as well as families, communities, the private sector and States, and to contribute to the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls;

Stresses that Member States, which bear the main responsibility for social integration and social inclusion, should foster a care society in which all receive the care they need, promoting their rights and well-being, based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination, access to basic social services and promotion of the active participation of every member of society as well as a collective responsibility, involving individuals, families, communities, States and the private sector, including through poverty eradication measures, labour policies, public services and gender-sensitive social protection programmes;

Also stresses the crucial role of Governments in designing and implementing care policies, as well as the need for social dialogue, representation and participation of caregivers and of care receivers in such policy design, to ensure that such policies are empowering and respect their dignity, rights, agency and well-being;

Recognizes that both paid and unpaid care and support work benefits societies, economies, families and individuals alike, considering that investing in the provision of care and support services would increase the well-being of both care recipients and paid and unpaid caregivers, generate new decent jobs in the care sector and support economic prosperity;

Urges States to consider investment in care and support and promote legal systems or frameworks in care and support policies and infrastructure, and promote national legislation and capacity-building to ensure universal access to affordable and quality services for all, including childcare, in the health and support sector for persons with disabilities and older persons, which is necessary to address care needs for persons throughout their life course, and to ensure universal access to paid maternity, paternity and parental leave and social protection for all workers, including for both informal workers and those in non-standard forms of employment;

Stresses that social inclusion policies, including care policies, should promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, considering that those providing domestic care and support constitute a significant proportion of the workforce and that care work is carried out mainly by women, and therefore calls for equal access to opportunities and social protection for all, in particular for those in vulnerable situations, including women and girls who experience violence and discrimination, considering that the empowerment of all women and girls will make a crucial contribution to progress across all the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Encourages Member States to consider the multiplier effects of the care economy in terms of increasing labour participation, facilitating the transition from informal to formal work and decent working conditions in the care sector, investing in social infrastructure and strengthening social protection, as well as the returns on the investments in care policies and systems;

Stresses the need to address the challenges in paid care work such as lower wages, poor working conditions, precarious employment and the increased risk of harassment, including sexual harassment in the workplace;

Encourages Member States to invest in family-oriented policies and programmes that enhance strong intergenerational interactions, such as intergenerational living arrangements, parenting education, including for family caregivers, and support for grandparents, including grandparents who are primary caregivers, in an effort to promote inclusive urbanization, active and healthy ageing, intergenerational solidarity and social cohesion;

Also encourages Member States to promote and strengthen the estimation of the caregiving contribution in national statistics, including recognition of unpaid care for family members, and to support studies and research for more informed, evidence-based policymaking decisions, ensuring that investments in care and support systems are enshrined in national plans;

Decides to request the President of the Economic and Social Council at its 2024 session to organize, within existing resources, an informal intergovernmental interactive dialogue, in an accessible format, with the objective of evaluating experiences, good practices and main challenges regarding the promotion of and investment in care and support systems and their contribution to individuals, families, societies and economies, considering the role of caregivers and receivers;

Also decides that the Commission for Social Development will consider the issue of care and support systems at its sixty-fourth session.

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