Happiness Should Have Greater Role In Development Policy Un Member States

kristyBeyond GDP

HAPPINESS SHOULD HAVE GREATER ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT POLICY ? UN MEMBER STATES
New York, Jul 19 2011 7:05PM
The General Assembly today
<“http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2011/ga11116.doc.htm“>called on United
Nations Member States to undertake steps that give more importance to
happiness and well-being in determining how to achieve and measure social
and economic development.

In a resolution adopted without a vote, the Assembly invited countries ?to
pursue the elaboration of additional measures that better capture the
importance of the pursuit of happiness and well-being in development with a
view to guiding their public policies.?

The resolution said ?the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal?
and embodies the spirit of the globally agreed targets known as the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Member States also welcomed the offer of Bhutan, which for many years has
used gross national happiness rather than gross domestic product (GDP) as a
marker of success, to convene a panel discussion on the theme of happiness
and well-being during the Assembly?s next session, which begins in
September.

The resolution notes that the GDP indicator ?was not designed to and does
not adequately reflect the happiness and well-being of people in a country,?
and ?unsustainable patterns of production and consumption can impede
sustainable development.?

Meanwhile, the Assembly today also adopted a resolution stressing the
importance of equality among the six official UN languages ? Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
________________
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

Follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/UN.News.Centre) and Twitter
(http://twitter.com/UN_News_Centre)