The UN Inter-Agency Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) held its 53rd Regular Meeting on July 15, 2025, amid what the UN Secretary-General has described as a “global development emergency.” With only 35% of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets currently on track, the meeting focused on aligning the Task Force’s work with major global initiatives such as Financing for Development, the World Social Summit, and the International Year of Cooperatives. A central focus was a presentation by UN Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter, who invited the Task Force to contribute to a new global roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond traditional economic growth models.
The proposed roadmap is part of the upcoming “New Economies for Eradicating Poverty” initiative, to be launched at the Second World Summit for Social Development. De Schutter explained that this roadmap, expected to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in 2026, builds on his 2024 report, which identified the social and solidarity economy (SSE) as essential to shifting from a profit-centered economy to one grounded in human rights. He encouraged the Task Force to help shape five main policy areas: social protection, labor and care policies, economic transformation, environmental sustainability, and global financial equity.
Simel Esim, Head of the ILO’s Cooperative and SSE Unit and Chair of the Task Force, welcomed the invitation. She emphasized that the roadmap aligns with the Task Force’s existing efforts, particularly in measuring the SSE’s contributions beyond GDP. Esim also noted that the upcoming Technical Symposium in Murcia, Spain, in December 2025—co-organized with the Spanish Government and key social economy organizations—will offer an opportunity to develop the Task Force’s future work plan and further integrate SSE into the broader human rights economy discussion.
The meeting also included updates on recent multilateral achievements, such as the formal inclusion of SSE in global policy documents like the Financing for Development outcome text and the High-Level Political Forum agenda. A briefing from UN DESA highlighted the integration of SSE language in the latest draft of the World Social Summit’s political declaration, set to be held in Qatar.
Additionally, the meeting featured a forward-looking dialogue facilitated by CIRIEC, EMES, and EURICSE, focusing on cutting-edge SSE research topics. These included the informal economy, economic democracy, climate change, and crisis resilience. Participants discussed how to better bridge gaps between academic research, policy-making, and practical implementation in advancing the SSE globally.
