A/RES/61/214 Welcoming the efforts made in the field of property rights, and noting that an enabling environment at all levels, including transparent regulatory systems and competitive markets, fosters the mobilization of resources and access to finance for people living in poverty, Noting with appreciation the contribution of awards and prizes to increasing the visibility and awareness of the role of microfinance, including microcredit, in the eradication of poverty, most notably the awarding of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the observance of 1. the International Year of Microcredit, 2005, and on the role of microcredit and microfinance in the eradication of poverty; 2 Welcomes the successful observance of the International Year of 2. Microcredit, 2005, which constituted a special occasion to raise awareness and share best practices and lessons learned on microcredit and microfinance; Recognizes that access to microcredit and microfinance can contribute to 3. the achievement of the goals and targets of major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, 3 in particular the goals relating to poverty eradication, gender equality and the empowerment of women; Notes the lack of relevant statistical data on inclusive financial sectors, in 4. particular microcredit and microfinance programmes, in particular at the national and regional levels, and in this regard invites the international community, in particular the donor community, to support developing countries in collecting and preserving necessary statistical data and information on this issue, specifically on defining and measuring access to financial services and products at the country level and measuring the type, quality and usage of such services and products over time; Calls upon Member States, the United Nations system and other relevant 5. stakeholders to fully maximize the role of microfinance tools, including microcredit for poverty eradication and especially for the empowerment of women, and to ensure that best practices in the microfinance sector are widely disseminated; Calls upon Member States, the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods 6. institutions and other relevant stakeholders to support, in a coordinated manner, the efforts of developing countries in capacity-building for microcredit and microfinance institutions, including by improving their policy and regulatory framework; Invites Member States to consider adopting policies to facilitate the 7. expansion of microcredit and microfinance institutions in order to service the large unmet demand among poor people for financial services, including the identification and development of mechanisms to promote access to sustainable financial services, the removal of institutional and regulatory obstacles and the provision of incentives to microfinance institutions that meet national standards for delivering such financial services to the poor; Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its 8. sixty-third session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, under the item entitled “Eradication of poverty and other development issues”. 83rd plenary meeting 20 December 2006 _______________ 2 3 2 A/61/307. See resolution 55/2.