Recommendations for Priority Action I

A Priority Plan of Action

• The United Nations should strengthen its structures and processes (especially through the Economic and Social Council and the Commission for Social Development) to play a more effective role in relation to international economic issues which affect social development and social cohesion, including closer engagement with the work of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization.
  
  
• European countries should strengthen their efforts for social cohesion by fully implementing the Social Charters of the EU and the Council of Europe, and should encourage greater interaction on these issues with intergovernmental groupings from other regions. All governments from developing and from industrialized countries must commit adequate resources to achieving adequate social development and meeting the targets of the Copenhagen commitments.
  
  
• Excess volume and volatility of transactions on international markets should be restricted by introduction of regulatory measures. A Tobin-type tax and equitable orientation of foreign investment for productive economic development should be enhanced.
  
  
• A multinational code of conduct for business, including strong environmental and social clauses, based on the draft UN Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations, should be developed by a global or regional process which fully involves representatives of civil society.
  
  
• The resources and processes for monitoring and enforcement of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should be strengthened. International development
  cooperation should focus on assisting developing countries to comply with the Covenant.
  
  
• International standards for national taxation should be explored in order to promote fair international competition and the collection of adequate public revenue. They should give special attention to adequate taxation of capital.
  
  
• European governments and international financial institutions should fully endorse the DAC targets for poverty reduction and should develop a specific costed programme including strengthened Official Development Assistance for achieving that target, including through increasing employment.
  
  
• Reform of social security and social insurance systems should ensure adequate basic levels of income for all people. Specific attention is needed to ensure vulnerable groups benefit from government programmes, including women, long-term unemployed people, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, young people, children, homeless people and refugees.
  
  
• The scope and effectiveness of debt relief for countries with high debt levels should be substantially improved, especially through expansion and acceleration relief through the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative.
  
  
• The goal of full employment should be firmly re-endorsed, vocational training should be strengthened, and core ILO labour standards should be ratified and implemented. These should be enforced by effective international monitoring mechanisms.