As an observer of the UN Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) has been part of discussions over the last few years regarding mainstreaming and enhancing the international dimension and profile of the SSE. In April 2023, the UN adopted the first resolution on promoting the social and solidarity economy (SEE) for sustainable development.
Among other things, the resoultion includes a defintion of the SEE, including recognising co-operatives as part of the SEE. The new resoultion will sit alongside the exisiting resolutions on co-operatives in social develpment adopteed in the 1950s.
In 2020, the ICA published its position paper "Cooperatives as a key constituent of the social and solidarity economy ", supporting the UN resolution on the SSE. Additionally, in line with the ICA 2020-2030 Strategic Plan, the paper reaffirms ICA's commitment to establishing strong partnerships with other global bodies in the social and solidarity economy and promoting the SSE at an international level.
The Resolution Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development (A/77/L.60) is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish: