Celebrity Media United Nations Headquarters Report: On October 17, 2025, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a commemorative forum at the UN Headquarters in New York under the theme “Ensuring Respect and Effective Support for Families”, celebrating the 38th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The event emphasized that family policy must be an integral part of national development strategies and is a key pathway to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in eliminating poverty, promoting educational equity, gender equality, and social inclusion.
The forum highlighted that families are active contributors to social development. Effective family policies should shift from control to support, from monitoring to empowerment, and from one-way management to collaborative participation. Only through respecting families and listening to their experiences and insights can society provide genuinely effective support, helping people escape poverty, break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage, and build a fair and inclusive society.
The Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations stated that poverty does not deprive people of dignity, but it hinders their right to live a fulfilling life. She noted that France’s progress in poverty reduction policies stems from the awakening and solidarity of civil society, which have pushed the government to take greater social responsibility. She called on governments worldwide to make anti-poverty strategies a central part of the public agenda, providing families with stable support through education, health, housing, and social protection policies, and to achieve fairer resource distribution in the globalization process.
Participants unanimously agreed that poverty is not merely an economic issue but also a matter of social justice and human rights. The forum reaffirmed that the voices of the poor themselves should be the starting point for policymaking, and their experiences are the most valuable resources.
The origin of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to October 17, 1987, when Joseph Wresinski, founder of the International Movement ATD Fourth World, gathered 100,000 people at the Human Rights Plaza in Paris to honor those living in extreme poverty. In 1992, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 47/196, officially designating this day as an international observance, calling on the world to unite to “eradicate poverty in all its forms everywhere.”
The forum concluded by emphasizing that with only five years left until the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the world must redouble its efforts. The eradication of poverty is not only about economic growth but also about human dignity and social justice. Only by ensuring families receive the respect and support they deserve can the world move toward a more peaceful, fair, and sustainable future.
