A/64/279 B. G-20 commitments and other donor country measures 94. At their meeting in April 2009, the G-20 recognized their collective responsibility to mitigate the social impact of the crisis in order to minimize longlasting damage to global potential. In doing so, they committed $50 billion to support social protection, boost trade and safeguard development in low-income countries and pledged to make resources available for social protection in the poorest countries. 42 95. At the Rome Social Summit in March 2009, G-8 countries also called for the improvement of social welfare systems as they are considered to be the driving force of a virtuous circle of confidence, and recognized the importance of promoting employment, income support and professional skills. 43 96. Additionally, individual countries have started to pledge money to international financing facilities to support social protection. For example the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland announced in March 2009 that it would contribute $200 million to the World Bank’s rapid social response programme. 44 It is essential that donor and recipients countries, as well as development agencies, take all measures to ensure that development policies and programmes are designed and implemented in ways that are consistent with human rights. C. The social protection floor 97. Among nine major United Nations system-wide initiatives in response to the crisis, the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) launched the social protection floor in April 2009. The concept of the social protection floor consists of two main elements: (a) services to guarantee geographical and financial access to essential public services (such as water and sanitation, health and education); and (b) transfers in the form of a basic set of essential social transfers, in cash and in kind, paid to the poor and vulnerable to provide minimum income security and access to essential services, including health care. 45 98. ILO and WHO are leading this effort, following previous initiatives by ILO to support reshaping social security systems in order to ensure universal protection. The social protection floor seeks to address key policy issues such as: (a) how can a basic level of social protection for all, including first and foremost, the most vulnerable, be designed and implemented at country level? (b) how can such policies and measures be made compatible with the necessity to build a long-term sustainable architecture of national social protection systems? and (c) how can the fiscal space for social transfers be secured or increased? 99. Studies undertaken by ILO and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs show that the social protection floor is affordable in the short term and that it can lead to long-term objectives. For example, social transfers could __________________ 42 43 44 45 09-45276 “The global plan for recovery and reform”, G-20 communiqué (2 April 2009), para. 25. See http://www.g8italia2009.it/G8/Home/IncontriMinisteriali/MinisterialeLavoro/G8G8_Layout_locale-1199882116809_IncontroLavoro.htm. See http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/News-Stories/2009/World-Bank-Group-SpringMeetings-2009-Washington-US/. CEB Issue Paper: The global financial crisis and its impact on the work of the UN system, p. 20. 21