Accelerating the U.N. Economic and Social Council’s work toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals was among the priorities identified by the council’s newly elected president, Lazarous Kapambwe.
Kapambwe, who is Zambia’s permanent representative to the council, promised to strengthen the effectiveness of ECOSOC in carrying out the U.N’s development agenda during his tenure. ECOSOC is the U.N.’s main body for coordinating the social, economic and related work of the organization’s 14 functional commissions and specialized agencies and five regional commissions.
In his Jan. 18 acceptance speech, Kapambwe highlighted the importance of improving the collaboration between ECOSOC and its functional commissions and better linking the council’s work with that of U.N. funds and programs. He also stressed the value of strengthening the council’s role in international peace building.
Kapambwe’s priorities during his tenure also include boosting ECOSOC’s involvement in the global climate change debate and ensuring that Haiti remains on top of the council’s agenda, according to a news release from the U.N. News Center.
