A/RES/70/128
Cooperatives in social development
Welcoming the efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations to showcase the role of agricultural cooperatives, including in improving
food security and nutrition, particularly in rural areas, promoting sustainable
agricultural practices, improving the agricultural productivity of farmers and
facilitating access to markets, savings, credit, insurance and technology,
1.
Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General; 3
2.
Notes with appreciation the celebration of the International Year of
Cooperatives, in 2012;
3.
Encourages all Member States, as well as the United Nations and all
other relevant stakeholders, to share best practices identified through activities
implemented during the International Year of Cooperatives and to continue those
activities, as appropriate;
4.
Recalls the draft plan of action on cooperatives for 2012 and beyond,
based on the outcome document of the expert group meeting held in Ulaanbaatar in
2011 for the promotion of cooperatives for sustainable socioeconomic development,
to promote focused and effective follow-up to the activities of the International
Year, within existing resources;
5.
Draws the attention of Governments to the recommendations contained
in the report of the Secretary-General to focus support on cooperatives as
sustainable and successful business enterprises that contribute directly to
employment generation, poverty and hunger eradication, education and social
protection, across a variety of economic sectors in urban and rural areas, to review
existing legislation concerning cooperatives, to identify opportunitie s to make the
legal environment more supportive of cooperatives and to take action to improve
existing legislation or to pass new laws, especially in the areas of access to capital,
competitiveness and fair taxation, to enable the growth of cooperatives;
6.
Invites Governments and international organizations, in partnership with
cooperatives and cooperative organizations, to strengthen and build the capacity of
all forms of cooperatives, especially those run by the poor, young people, women,
persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, so that they can empower
people to transform their lives and communities positively and build inclusive
societies;
7.
Invites Governments to strengthen efforts to enhance food security and
nutrition and to focus efforts on smallholders and women farmers, as well as on
agricultural cooperatives and farmers’ networks, supported by measures to improve
access to markets, enable domestic and international environments and strengthen
collaboration across the many initiatives in this area, including regional initiatives;
8.
Encourages Governments to promote access to information and
communications technologies as a vital channel for collaboration and the expansion
of cooperatives, especially in rural areas;
9.
Also encourages Governments to intensify and expand the availability
and accessibility of research on the operations and contribution of cooperatives and
to establish methodologies for the collection and dissemination of comparable
global data on and the best practices of cooperative enterprises, in collaboration
with all stakeholders, and to raise public awareness of the linkages between
cooperatives and sustainable development, especially in the areas of social
inclusion, employment creation, poverty eradication a nd peacebuilding;
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A/70/161.