Skip to main content

ICSW and the United Nations (UN/ONU)

For over half a century the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) has represented peak organisations in over seventy countries.

Tens of thousands of civil society organisations have been represented through ICSW at the UN. As an organisation with UN consultative status, ICSW is involved in global discussions concerning issues of social development, social welfare and social justice.

This involvement is especially with UNESCO, ECOSOC, UN Commission for Social Development and the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD). ICSW in its monthly newsletter Global Cooperation draws attention to UNRISD publications and research. To visit UNRISD directly go to www.unrisd.org.

Sergei Zelenev

ICSW Special Representative to the United Nations in New York

Bio: Sergei Zelenev

Sergei Zelenev

Sergei Zelenev (MBA, PhD) is the Special Representative of the International Council on Social Welfare to the Unted Nations in New York. From 2012-2019 he served as the Executive Director of ICSW.

Prior to assuming his position at ICSW, Dr. Zelenev worked for the United Nations for almost three decades, both at Headquarters in New York and in the field, in Africa (twice) and in the Caribbean. His international career with the UN Secretariat involved a range of assignments, with progressively widening responsibilities, in the analytical and intergovernmental policy fields. He has written widely on social protection, ageing, youth and intergenerational relationships, coordinating and contributing to numerous UN studies. As visiting professor, he lectured extensively on socio-economic development and social policy issues. Participated in many international events, symposia and conferences, making key-note presentations on issues of international significance. Most recently, he contributed chapters and co-edited the volume “Digital Transformation and Social Well-Being. Promoting an inclusive society” (Routledge, 2023).

Gloria Kirwan

UN Representative - Geneve

Bio: Gloria Kirwan

Gloria Kirwan

Dr Gloria Kirwan qualified in Ireland as a social worker in the 1980’s where she worked for many years in community and youth work, family services and community mental health services. She went on to complete further degrees in social science and law, culminating in her PhD degree which focused on the topic of service user participation in health and social care decisions.

Gloria is currently the Program Director of the globally recognised MSc in Healthcare Management at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, where she has also served as the Program Director of the MSc in Leadership and innovation in Healthcare and as the Education Lead in the Graduate School of Healthcare Management. She is also a Visiting Fellow at Trinity College Dublin where she previously held a permanent appointment and served as the Program Director of the undergraduate Social Work degree and also as the Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning in the School of Social Work and Social Policy.

In a voluntary capacity, Gloria currently serves as a Company Director with Focus Housing, a large, national charity tackling homelessness in Ireland. She also serves as a trustee of the UK social work organisation GAPS, and as Company Director and the Quality and Risk Committee Chairperson for Family Carers Ireland, a not-for-profit organization that delivers in-home assistance across Ireland to people living with disabilities and their carers.

Gloria has conducted research on issues relating to poverty, disadvantage and discrimination in society and has published and presented on these topics in many conferences across the world. She has served as Editor-in-Chief/Co-Editor of the Journal of Social Work Practice (Taylor & Francis), Groupwork (Whiting & Birch), and the Irish Social Worker (Irish Association of Social Workers). She has also served as Guest Editor in a number of journals. Her current research interests focus on health inclusion and participation in healthcare decisions, the digitalisation of health and social care services, and the intersection between healthcare and global sustainability. In 2024, she was appointed as UN-Geneva Representative of the International Council on Social Welfare.

ICSW & UN NEWS

ICSW submissions to the United Nations

ICSW submits statements to Commission for Social Development at each of the commission's session. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development.

2024 ICSW Statement

Commission for Social Development
Theme: “Fostering social development and social justice through social policies to accelerate progress on theimplementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication”

eng Download statement

2023 ICSW Statement

Commission for Social Development
Theme: “Creating full and productive employment and decent work for all as a way of overcoming inequalities to accelerate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”

eng Download statement

The drop-down list highlights ICSW submissions to the United Nations from 2005 - 2022

Submissions 2021 - 2022

2022

Commission for Social Development
The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 60th Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2022 page

 

Submissions 2016 - 2020

2020

Commission for Social Development

CSocD75 Banner 768x262

The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 58th Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2020 page

2019

ICSW Statement at the 2019 annual meeting of the Social Protection Inter-Agency Cooperation Board (SPIAC-B)

Founded in 1928, the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) https://www.icsw.org/ is an international non-governmental organization singularly committed to inclusive social development from the perspectives of social work, social services and social research driven by a range of actors with a shared mission to eliminate poverty and enhance human welfare through advocacy, knowledge-building and technical assistance at national and international levels.

ICSW’s membership unites over 100 national and international organizations as well as country-based organizations in more than 70 countries working in ICSW’s nine regions: Central and West Africa, East and Southern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, North East Asia, Europe, North America and the Caribbean, and Latin America. ICSW’s national member organizations together represent tens of thousands of locally-based organizations.

ICSW is a founding voice for the U.N.’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda Goal to achieve national social protection systems - based on the universal right to social security - as a major means for poverty eradication. ICSW is a core group member of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors http://www.socialprotectionfloorscoalition.org/.

As a participant on the SPIAC-B, ICSW is pleased to report continuing work on Social Protection in two areas:

  • 1. advocacy through the national member organizations, with a particular emphasis on universality as a fundamental principle and an essential modality of Social Protection systems; and
  • 2. promotion of any and all opportunities to monitor and evaluate components of Social Protection that are in place, being proposed or developed, to ensure that actions taken can be critically assessed for their benefits and replicability.

As a founding and core group member of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, ICSW is pleased to report continuing contributions to:

  • 1. the Global Coalition’s advocacy for Social Protection at global level; and
  • 2. the Global Coalition’s technical assistance to civil society partners with respect to the actions they undertake at national level.

 

Commission for Social Development
The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2019 page

2018

Commission for Social Development
The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2018 page

2017

Commission for Social Development
The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 55th Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2017 page

2016

Commission for Social Development
The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 54th Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2016 page

 

Submissions 2011 - 2015

2015

Commission for Social Development
The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 53rd Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2015 page

2014

Commission for Social Development
The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 52nd Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2014 page

2013

Statement at the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing
A statement by ICSW delivered by the Executive Director - Sergei Zelenev, at the fourth working session on the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, New York, 12-15 August 2013.

Statement at the NGO Forum
Statement by Mr. Michael Cichon, ICSW President, on "Social Protection and Empowerment: The Role of Civil Society" at the NGO Forum in New York on February 5th 2013.

ICSW at the 51st Session of the Commission for Social Development
New York, 6-15 February 2013
The written statement delivered by the ICSW at the 51st Session of the Commission for Social Development. The ICSW statement can be accessed in all languages of the UN. All other statements and links could be found on the Commission for Social Development Session 2013 page.

Statement by Sergei Zelenev, ICSW Executive Director, at the 51st session of the Commission for Social Development on February 12th 2013.

2012

Statement to the UN - working group on ageing
A statement made on behalf of ICSW at the Third session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing at the UN Headquarters. ICSW participation in the relevant activities of the United Nations provides an opportunity to get our views presented before international community at large, making our collective voice heard.

International Labour Organisation (ILO)
30 civil society organisations including ICSW have prepared a statement wholeheartedly support the International Labour Organisation's intention to adopt the recommendation on national social protection floors at the 101st session of the International Labour Conference in June 2012. Read the statement in French, English and Spanish below.

Commission for Social Development
2012 ICSW presented in February its statement to the UN Commission for Social Development. The statement focussed on poverty eradication. The Commission examines a subject over two years. 2012 was the second year for poverty eradication. The statement can be found in all UN languages at:
http://social.un.org/index/CommissionforSocialDevelopment/Sessions/2012/NGOsStatements.aspx

2011

2011 ICSW presented in February its statement to the UN Commission for Social Development. The statement focussed on poverty eradication. The Commission examines a subject over two years. 2011 was the first year for poverty eradication. The statement can be found in all UN languages at:
http://social.un.org/index/CommissionforSocialDevelopment/Sessions/2011/NGOsStatements.aspx

 

Submissions 2005 -2010

2010

On UN Social Work Day held on 28th March Helen Clark of the United Nations Development Programme called on social workers to speak up and get involved with the UN agendas and to challenge inequality and injustice.

ICSW presented in February its statement to the UN Commission for Social Development. The statement focussed on the impact of the global financial crisis on social integration. The statement can be found in all UN languages at www.un.org

2009

ICSW has prepared a statement on social integration for the UN Commission for Social Development that meets in February 2009. There are two documents - a complete statement and a shorter one that meets the UN maximum word limit of 2000 words.

A new deal for people in a global crisis - social security for all
Social Security for All. During the 2009 47th Session of the Commission for Social Development an excellent workshop in social security was held. The speakers from UN, ILO and UNICEF presented well researched arguments for a basic social floor of social security benefits. ICSW supports the adoption by all countries of a global social floor.

2008

The UN has made many commitments to full employment and decent work. In 1995 117 world leaders signed the Copenhagen Declaration. It is time to remind member governments of the UN of their adherence to their own commitments.

2007

ICSW's statement to the UN on promoting full employment and decent work for all arises from the fact that global unemployment is rising. This is despite the impressive growth in global gross domestic product (GDP). Economic growth is not translating into new jobs. ICSW draws attention to the poor conditions of work for many employed people.

2006

The ICSW statement is a review of the first UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty 1997-2006. The findings show that, despite a decade of poverty eradication, there remains a large gap between the commitments, goals and targets for the Decade and the outcomes of current trends on income and human poverty.

2005

ICSW's statement focuses on the World Summit for Social Development (WSSD) that concentrated on four core issues - poverty alleviation, unemployment, social exclusion and an enabling environment for social development.