Proclamation of June 27th as Micro-, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises Day.

 The United Nations General Assembly designated 27 June as “Micro-, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises Day” by the  Resolution A/RES/71/279 to raise awareness of the tremendous contributions of MSMEs to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The General Assembly, 

Reaffirming its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which it adopted a comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and transformative Sustainable Development Goals and targets, Reaffirming also its resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015 on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, supports and complements it, helps to contextualize its means of implementation targets with concrete policies and actions, and reaffirms the strong political commitment to address the challenge of financing and creating an enabling environment at all levels for sustainable development in the spirit of global partnership and solidarity, Recognizing the need to focus on the importance of micro-, small and medium sized enterprises in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular in promoting innovation, creativity and decent work for all, Recognizing also the importance of encouraging the formalization, participation and growth of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in international, regional and national markets, including through access for all to capacity-building and financial services, such as affordable microfinance and credit, Recognizing further the need for sustainable business practices and the importance of principles for responsible business and investing, Reaffirming its resolution 53/199 of 15 December 1998 and resolution 61/185 of 20 December 2006 on the proclamation of international years, and Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980 on international years and anniversaries, particularly paragraphs 1 to 10 of the annex thereto on the agreed criteria for the proclamation of international years, as well as paragraphs 13 and 14, in which it is stated that an international day or year should not be proclaimed before the basic arrangements for its organization and financing have been made, 

1. Decides to designate 27 June as Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day; 

2. Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations, academia, individuals and other relevant stakeholders, to observe the Day in an appropriate manner and in accordance with national priorities, in order to raise public awareness of their contribution to sustainable development; 

3. Invites Member States to facilitate the observance of the Day by fostering research presentations, policy discussions, practitioner workshops and business owner testimonials from around the world, to the extent possible, in collaboration with public, private and non-profit organizations, and stresses that the cost of all activities that may arise from the implementation of the present resolution should be met from voluntary contributions. 

74th plenary meeting 6 April 2017