By the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on SSE
At its 66th plenary meeting on April 18, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development” (A/77/L.60). The resolution provides an official definition for the Social and Solidarity Economy and acknowledges that it can contribute to the achievement and localization of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Recognizing the role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in promoting democracy and social justice, the resolution also:
1. Encourages Member States to promote and implement national, local and regional strategies, policies and programmes for supporting and enhancing the social and solidarity economy as a possible model for sustainable economic and social development, taking into account national circumstances, plans and priorities by, inter alia, developing specific legal frameworks, where appropriate, for the social and solidarity economy, making visible, when feasible, the contribution of the social and solidarity economy in the compilation of national statistics and providing fiscal and public procurement incentives, acknowledging the social and solidarity economy in education curricula and capacity-building and research initiatives and reinforcing entrepreneurship and business support, including by facilitating access for social and solidarity economy entities to financial services and funding, and encourages the participation of social and solidarity economy actors in the policymaking process;
2. Encourages relevant entities of the United Nations development system, including United Nations country teams, to give due consideration to the social and solidarity economy as part of their planning and programming instruments, particularly the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, so as to provide support to States, upon their request and in accordance with their mandates and to identify, formulate, implement and assess coherent and enabling policy measures and frameworks for developing the social and solidarity economy as a tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and in this regard acknowledges the work of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy;
3. Encourages multilateral, international and regional financial institutions and development banks to support the social and solidarity economy, including through existing and new financial instruments and mechanisms adapted to all stages of development;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a report, within existing resources, in collaboration with the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy, on the implementation of the present resolution, taking into consideration the contribution of the social and solidarity economy to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and an inclusive, job-rich, resilient and sustainable recovery, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-ninth session, under the item entitled “Sustainable development”, a sub-item entitled “Promoting the social and solidarity economy for sustainable development”.
Find below the different contributions from Ripess Europe and Ripess Intercontinental members and coordinators on the adoption of the UN resolution for the promotion of SSE.
By Drazen Simlesa, co-coordinator of Ripess Europe, ZMAG (Croatia)
“Indeed we can celebrate because of UN adopted Resolution on SSE. Advocacy work is a very hard, very slow and very often invisible part of any global network for solidarity, sustainability and a just world. This can be a good tool to shape and design public policies for SSE all over the planet. Indeed as well, we need to be even more active now, with our partners to take care that this doesn’t end as one more piece of paper and purpose to itself. Our planet needs a practical, appropriate and regenerative approach to its major problem. SSE is, among other concepts, based on these needs. Now we got a good starting point for an active approach to these needs and push even further and deeper for global solidarity.”
By Judith Hitchman, URGENCI, International network
“Urgenci has two key pillars in terms of values: food sovereignty and solidarity economy. I believe we can not achieve full food sovereignty without solidarity economy. After over 10 years of hard work to gain UN recognition, (since RIO+ 20) 40 States have co-sponsored the Resolution A/77/L.60 on Social and Solidarity Economy. This is a huge victory. The challenge now will be to realise meaningful implementation!”
By Ripess Intercontinental secretariat
“It is not possible to eradicate poverty or achieve the SDGS in a world in which 1% of the population continue to capture 63% of the wealth produced in 2023 and 2024. This resolution is a major victory for us all, and its full implementation can help us to provide a holistic approach that encompasses all sectors of economic life. Everything is interconnected and social solidarity economy is the key.”
By Yvon Poirier, Ripess Intercontinental, 18 avril 2023
Today’s adoption by the United Nations General of resolution A/77/L.60 is a very significant achievement for our movement that has promoted SSE as an important paradigm change to help humanity to move towards genuinely sustainable development that leaves no one behind, the rallying cry of Agenda 2030.
