EIPR participated in the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), currently underway in Doha, which will conclude today the 6th of November. The Summit, which began on Monday, 4 November, marks three decades since the 1995 Copenhagen Conference and the launch of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and its resulting Programme of Action. This Programme of Action mandated the eradication of poverty, the achievement of full and productive employment, and the promotion of social integration.

The Doha Summit aims to address persistent gaps, renew commitment to the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and its Programme of Action, and galvanise momentum for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The Summit brings together leaders of governments, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, civil society, the private sector, academic institutions, and the United Nations system to discuss social development issues at the highest levels, to propell the social progress agenda, at a time when the world is facing a complex environmental, climate, and socio-economic crisis and is patently failing to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Summit officially adopted the ‘Doha Political Declaration’ after an intergovernmental negotiation process at the United Nations in New York. The declaration outlines four main pillars: combating poverty, promoting decent work, securing necessary financing, and ensuring human rights.

EIPR is represented at the Summit by Wael Gamal, Director of its Economic and Social Justice Unit, as part of a delegation from the Arab NGO Network for Development.