Li Zou, International Director at Center for Social Development (CSD), moderated the opening panel of the Civil Society Forum at the 64th session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development on February 6, 2026.
The Forum convened at UN headquarters in New York as delegates to the 64th session formulated plans for implementing the Doha Political Declaration adopted at the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar, on November 4, 2025. The declaration established a framework for advancing social development and progress on the UN’s sustainable development goals.
“It is a pivotal moment, three months into the era of the Doha Political Declaration adopted by world leaders at the Second World Summit for Social Development,” Zou told delegates. The commission’s theme, advancing social development and social justice through coordinated, equitable, and inclusive policies, represents “a call for all of us to translate Doha’s global promises into concrete, coordinated action.”
Zou led the discussion among four distinguished dignitaries: Lok Bahadur Thapa, president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); Khrystyna Hayovyshyn, deputy permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations and chair of the Bureau of Commission for Social Development; Bjørg Sandkjær, assistant secretary general for policy coordination at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs; and Gillian D’Souza-Nazareth, chair of the United Nations NGO Committee for Social Development.