Ethiopia has secured a key leadership position within the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), being elected as President of the Bureau of the Committee on Social Policy, Poverty and Gender for the upcoming 2025–2027 term.

This Committee is a crucial body within UNECA, tasked with guiding the Commission’s efforts to promote equitable and inclusive human and social development across the African continent.

Key Mandates of the Committee:

Social Development: Focusing on major regional trends and issues in human and social development.

Core Issues: Advancing work in areas including gender equality, employment, population and youth development, social protection, and urbanization.

Conference Follow-up: Reviewing and following up on the outcomes of major regional and global conferences related to social issues.

Ethiopia will steer the Committee's work alongside the newly elected members: Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Eswatini, and Mauritania.

The election is seen as a significant demonstration of Ethiopia's longstanding commitment to multilateralism and its dedication to fostering cooperation among states on critical social development issues. Ethiopia previously served as the Committee’s Second Vice President in 1996.