ASHGABAT — Turkmenistan has been elected to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2019-2021. The election took place at the 96^th meeting of the 72^nd session of the UN General Assembly.

ECOSOC is the key UN body that serves as a platform for discussion of international economic and social issues and provision of recommendations in this area. This body accounts for over 70% of all UN resources.

The scope of the Economic and Social Council includes: promoting economic and social progress, including improving the standard of living and full employment of the population; development of ways of solving international problems in the economic and social fields and in the field of health, promoting international cooperation in the field of culture and education, creating conditions for universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Governance of the multilateral system has historically been complex and fragmented. This has limited the capacity of ECOSOC to influence international policies in trade, finance and investment. Reform proposals aim to enhance the relevance and contribution of the council. A major reform was approved by the 2005 World Summit on the basis of proposals submitted by secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Subsequent proposals by the High-Level Panel Report on System-Wide Coherence in November 2006 aimed to establish a forum within the ECOSOC as a counter-model to the exclusive clubs of the G8 and G20. The Forum was to comprise 27 heads of state (L27, corresponding to half of ECOSOC’s membership) to meet annually and provide international leadership in the development area. This proposal, however, was not approved by the General Assembly.