The social economy sector, represented in Europe by Social Economy Europe (SEE), has expressed its “great satisfaction” with the adoption of the resolution “Promoting the social and solidarity economy for sustainable development” by the UN General Assembly.
For the president of SEE, Juan Antonio Pedreño, this resolution “is an important milestone for the social economy, as it places it at the centre of the international scene, reinforcing once again its importance in providing economic solutions with a positive impact on societies, especially in times of crisis”.
Moreover, for Pedreño, the resolution “shows a horizon of the economic model we want to achieve if we want to live in a fairer, more equitable and humane world”.
Recalling previous resolutions, and within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN resolution recognises social entrepreneurship as a means to contribute to the fight against poverty and the transformation of society, highlighting that inequalities have increased due to the COVID crisis, climate change and geopolitical tensions, challenges for which transformative and comprehensive responses are needed. It also refers to and endorses the definition of social economy developed by the International Labour Organisation in its resolution on decent work and the social and solidarity economy of June 2022, recognising all those enterprises that act in accordance with the principles and values of the social economy.
Social Economy Europe encourages UN member countries to develop strategies to promote the creation and development of social and solidarity economy enterprises, focusing on improving the specific legal framework, their visibility, tax incentives, access to finance and their participation in policy-making.
Furthermore, SEE calls on the various entities that make up the United Nations to include the social economy as a key instrument in the planning of strategies to achieve the SDGs, supporting States in this task. At the same time, SEE encourages financial organisations and development banks to support social economy entities.
The SEE President concludes: “This resolution is a historic milestone, pointing to a horizon in which the global social economy will experience unprecedented growth. The social economy business model contributes to a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable society and economy, so it is not surprising that the UN Assembly calls on countries to implement this model.
Other reactions to the UN resolution
International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM): https://www.aim-mutual.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Press-release-UN-Resoution-on-Social-Economy_20042023_final.pdf
International Cooperative Alliance (ICA): https://www.ica.coop/en/newsroom/news/historic-moment-general-assembly-adopts-first-ever-resolution-social-and-solidarity
