A/RES/63/152 5. Recognizes that the broad concept of social development affirmed by the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly has been weakened in national and international policymaking and that, while poverty eradication is a central part of development policy and discourse, further attention should be given to the other commitments agreed to at the Summit, in particular those concerning employment and social integration, which have also suffered from a general disconnect between economic and social policymaking; Acknowledges that the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of 6. Poverty (1997–2006), launched after the World Summit for Social Development, has provided the long-term vision for sustained and concerted efforts at the national and international levels to eradicate poverty; Recognizes that the implementation of the commitments made by 7. Governments during the first Decade has fallen short of expectations, and welcomes the proclamation of the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008–2017) by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/205 of 19 December 2007 in order to support, in an efficient and coordinated manner, the internationally agreed development goals related to poverty eradication, including the Millennium Development Goals; Emphasizes that the major United Nations conferences and summits, 8. including the Millennium Summit and the 2005 World Summit, as well as the International Conference on Financing for Development, in its Monterrey Consensus, 8 have reinforced the priority and urgency of poverty eradication within the United Nations development agenda; 7F 9. Also emphasizes that poverty eradication policies should attack poverty by addressing its root and structural causes and manifestations, and that equity and the reduction of inequalities need to be incorporated in those policies; 10. Stresses that an enabling environment is a critical precondition for achieving equity and social development and that, while economic growth is essential, entrenched inequality and marginalization are an obstacle to the broad-based and sustained growth required for sustainable, inclusive, people-centred development, and recognizes the need to balance and ensure complementarity between measures to achieve growth and measures to achieve economic and social equity in order for there to be an impact on overall poverty levels; 11. Also stresses that stability in global financial systems and corporate social responsibility and accountability, as well as national economic policies that have an impact on other stakeholders, are essential in creating an enabling international environment to promote economic growth and social development; 12. Recognizes the need to promote respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to address the most pressing social needs of people living in poverty, including through the design and development of appropriate mechanisms to strengthen and consolidate democratic institutions and governance; 13. Reaffirms the commitment to the empowerment of women and gender equality, as well as to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into all development efforts, recognizing that these are critical for achieving sustainable _______________ 8 Report of the International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico, 18–22 March 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.II.A.7), chap. I, resolution 1, annex. 3

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