Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations
between communities and nations? How does promoting the social integration of migrants in host countries fit with the objective of establishing an open and diverse world community? How does it fit with the objective of ensuring respect for cultural diversity? Why have difficulties been encountered with the human rights approach to improving the situation of international migrants? What conclusions can be drawn that might guide future international cooperation in this domain? What steps might be taken to ensure that civil society organizations, including those representing and/or partially or fully comprised of international migrants, participate actively and effectively in the forums and agencies that debate and implement international cooperation in this domain? What are the concepts and practices that could benefit from increased international exposure and an international framework for discussion and action? In addition to the issue of remittances, might the list include nationality, naturalization, citizenship, the rights and obligations of short-term and long-term migrants, systems of social protection, and pension benefits in the countries of origin, destination and return?
Fourth meeting of the Forum Equity, Inequalities and Interdependence Theme 1: Interpreting current trends in inequality Inequality within societies, measured on the basis of income distribution, has generally been rising over the past couple of decades. During an extended period following the Second World War levels of inequality declined steadily, but this trend was reversed with the dramatic ideological and policy changes that occurred in the major industrialized countries in the early 1980s and later throughout the world, particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Overall, though there have been some notable exceptions, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened considerably. Inequality between countries, ascertained through comparisons of gross national product, has also increased overall during the past several decades. Some of the middle-income developing countries, especially in Asia, have managed to narrow the gap separating them from the major industrialized economies, while others, notably in Latin America, have not fared as well in this respect. Most pronounced has been the widening of the gap between rich and poor countries, or more precisely, between the affluent developed countries and the least developed or low-income countries (essentially, those in Africa). The distribution of income, because of its intrinsic significance and its direct link to virtually every aspect of life and society, probably remains the best indicator of the