Ending economic and social discrimination.

• Author: Pitsuwan, Surin
• Position: Role of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in global economic/social progress

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.

- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 7

Whenever we reflect upon the work and achievements of the United Nations, most of us tend to automatically focus on the pressing issues of peace and security that are brought before the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly. But if one gives it serious thought, many of the major contributions rendered by the Organization have really gone unheralded without capturing the headlines.

For its is in the area of social and economic development that the United Nations, working through its five regional commissions and specialized agencies and programmes, can rightfully claim much of its success and has truly made its presence felt in the lives of millions of people around the world. Indeed, the goal of peace and security that we seek for ourselves and for our posterity is not simply the absence of war and conflict; it requires all of us to join hands as a community of nations to promote equitable and sustainable economic growth, as well as social progress and justice, in our own respective countries and in the world at large.

Here in the Asia/Pacific region, many of the common aspirations and goals in social and economic development, which have brought us together as members of the United Nations, are being carried forward through the endeavours of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Notwithstanding the current economic crisis, the fact that Asia and the Pacific have made such great strides in economic and social progress is due in no small way to the pioneering activities and the groundwork laid by ESCAP. It can be recalled that when ESCAP began its efforts over 50 years ago, the situation in Asia and the Pacific was very much different from where we find ourselves now. Much of Asia was a backwater of political, economic and social development. Nations were locked in war and conflict, underdevelopment and poverty were rife, and economic and political freedom were suppressed.

Today, the peace, freedom and prosperity that much of Asia and the Pacific enjoy is certainly unprecedented in its history. But as the economic crisis has proven, our success is something that we cannot and must not take for granted.

The rapid pace of progress and the increasing integration of countries of Asia and the Pacific into the global economy have brought on new...