Developing human resources for development : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
- Author: UN General Assembly (44th sess. : 1989-1990)
- Document source:
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Date:
22 December 1989
The General Assembly,
Affirming that the human being is at the centre of all development activities,
Recognizing that human resources development is a broad concept encompassing many components and requiring integrated and concerted strategies, policies, plans and programmes to ensure the development of the full potential of human beings,
Recalling resolution 40/213 of 17 December 1985 on the role of qualified national personnel in the social and economic development of developing countries,
Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolutions 1986/73 of 23 July 1986 and 1987/81 of 8 July 1987 on the development of human resources,
Emphasizing that education and the acquisition and upgrading of skills, as well as continued technical training, are inextricably linked to the economic growth and sustained development of all countries, in particular, developing countries,
Stressing the importance of international co-operation in supporting and strengthening the development of human resources in developing countries and, in this context, stressing also the valuable role that technical co-operation, particularly among developing countries, can play,
Deeply concerned that the negative impact of the international economic situation of the 1980s on developing countries, and the resulting adjustment measures, have led to significant cuts in national expenditures, including expenditures in sectors crucial to the development of human resources, and in this regard, that prolonged reduction of investment in human resources development will have grave implications for sustained growth and development,
1. Endorses Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/120 of 28 July 1989 on the development of human resources;
2. Welcomes the contributions to the elaboration of the concept of human resources development made by the Khartoum Declaration: Towards a Human-focused Approach to Socio-economic Recovery and Development in Africa,the Jakarta Plan of Action on Human Resources Development in the Region of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the African Alternative Framework for Structural Adjustment Programmes for Socio-economic Recovery and Transformation, and the communique of the tenth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, held at Grand Anse, Grenada, from 3 to 7 July 1989;
3. Emphasizes that efforts for human resources development should optimize all means for the overall development of human beings so that they may, individually and collectively, be capable of improving their standard of living;
4. Also emphasizes that it is within the context of this objective that economic growth and sustained development should be pursued, and that human resources development in itself is a specific means to achieve specific economic goals;
5. Further emphasizes the need to continue to strengthen and expand the human resources base of developing countries in order to enable them to face the challenges of development and accelerated technological change so as to achieve sustained development;
6. Stresses the need for demand-oriented strategies for human resources in order to encourage programmes aimed at inspiring people to upgrade their knowledge and skills and making it possible for them to fulfil their aspirations, and, in this context, also stresses the need to pay attention to employment constraints that affect the most vulnerable groups;
7. Further stresses the critical importance of developing human resources at all levels and strengthening the scientific and technological capabilities of developing countries in order to overcome present economic challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities unfolding in the world economy;
8. Reaffirms that education and training of nationals, including the most vulnerable groups, are an integral and the most important part of human resources development, and emphasizes that the flow of resources to developing countries for these activities needs to be increased;
9. Stresses the need for human resources development strategies to encompass supportive measures in such vital and related areas as health, nutrition, water, sanitation, housing and population;
10. Also stresses that the public sector is an essential element in the growth and development of developing countries and, therefore, in the process of making the public sector more effective, it is desirable that efforts be made to foster new and productive employment opportunities so as to minimize any adverse impact on overall employment levels;
11. Further stresses that policies, plans and programmes for human resources development in developing countries should focus, inter alia, on generating employment in all sectors, including self-employment and entrepreneurship;
12. Emphasizes the need, in formulating strategies and programmes for human resources development, to intensify efforts for the full integration of women in the development process and to create opportunities for them, as well as to intensify efforts for the full integration of, and to create opportunities for, youth and the poor in the development process, both as beneficiaries and as agents of development;
13. Also emphasizes the importance of human resources development in enhancing the endogenous capacity-building of the developing countries in the fields of science and technology;
14. Further emphasizes the vital importance of qualified nationals in enhancing capacity-building in developing countries and, in this context, calls upon the international community to pay due attention to the serious problem of the brain drain from developing countries;
15. Agrees that internationally supported structural adjustment programmes should be designed and formulated to have, inter alia, a positive impact on human resources development in developing countries;
16. Calls upon the international community, including the multilateral financial and development institutions, to support the efforts of developing countries in human resources development, taking into account the national priorities and plans of those countries, through, inter alia, operational activities of the United Nations system;
17. Invites the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole for the Preparation of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade, to take the present resolution into account in the formulation of the new strategy;
18. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-fifth session a report on human resources development, including an assessment of the negative impact of the current economic situation facing developing countries or their efforts for human resources development, recommendations for policy measures to promote human resources development in developing countries and ways and means of increasing the support of the international community, in particular, developed countries, for human resources development in developing countries, taking into account, inter alia, the report requested by the Economic and Social Council in resolution 1989/120 and the results of the World Conference on Education for All, to be held at Bangkok in March 1990.
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