The vice president hosted at the UN the event “Contribution of the Social Economy to the SDGs and potential for a UN resolution on Social Economy", to promote what will be the first resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on the Social and Solidarity Economy.
Internationalizing the Social Economy
“We want to commit to the internationalization of the Social Economy as a driver of a more humane, fair and sustainable economic model to consolidate social alliances around the world and make the transformations to come a reality," said the minister at the United Nations headquarters, who had the express support of the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebeca Grynspan, as well as the Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Rider.
At ministerial level, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor of Slovenia, Luka Mesek, the Minister of Labor of the Dominican Republic, Luis Miguel de Camps, and the Minister of Microfinance and the Social Economy of Senegal, Zahra Iyane Thiam Diop, were present, while the French Secretary of State for the Social Economy, Marlene Schiappa, intervened by videoconference. All of them are part of the group of nations promoting this resolution.
The proposed resolution
The Minister announced that the proposed resolution will be presented soon, and its approval will promote the cross-cutting presence of the Social and Solidarity Economy in the spheres of action of the United Nations. This will also give a boost to this productive model in the different regions.
Spain, one of the first countries to adopt its own legislation on Social Economy, has been recognized in Europe as a benchmark in this sector that deploys its values and principles in such crucial areas as agricultural production, health and care, industry, trade, education, housing, energy distribution and finance.
Díaz, echoing the words of economist Paul Krugman, explained that the Social Economy makes it possible to combat inequalities and, at the same time, fight the climate crisis. “It is a tool and a horizon for thinking and building a fairer world," he insisted.
After the diversity of support received at the event, in which representatives from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Italy, Portugal, Morocco, Malaysia and Bulgaria applauded the initiative, the vice-president concluded: “I believe that we have the will, the alliances and the individual and collective intelligence for the process to be successful".
Bilateral meeting
Prior to this event, the Minister met with the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Nigerian Aminah J. Mohammed, with whom she discussed the resolution to be promoted, the transformative will it entails and the far-sightedness required for an evolution towards an economic model that places people at the center without abandoning social justice, the fight against inequality and respect for the environment.
With the Deputy Secretary General, he also discussed other issues such as digitalization with labor rights, the ecological transition or women's rights at the international level.
Non official translation
Press release from the Ministry of Labor and the Social Economy