UN's Task

Posted by Vinia Datinguinoo 
PCIJ

ON behalf of the global civil society, Prof. Leonor Briones, Philippines convenor of the Social Watch network of NGOs, addressed the United Nations World Summit and asked world leaders to fulfill old and new promises.

"This General Assembly is not the time for more promises," Briones told the gathering. "The poor of the world cannot wait for 2015. Fulfill your promises!"

2015 is the year that UN member-states will report on the progress they have made on the Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs, laid down by the UN in 2000, are time-bound targets to meet the most urgent needs of the poorest populations, including halving the incidence of extreme poverty, reducing infant deaths, and achieving universal primary education.

 

The 2005 Human Development Report has said it is unlikely that the MDGs will be met, as hunger and inequality continue to be widespread and progress has been too slow.

Briones, a professor of public administration and former national treasurer, urged the international community to immediately take specific steps to aid the poorest nations in their efforts to overcome poverty. One of the most urgent of these, Briones said, is to grant debt relief to poor nations, not only those officially defined as highly indebted poor countries but even those described as "middle-income" but suffer from debt burden as well.

The debt crisis, she stressed, continues to hobble many countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa, depriving their people of necessary resources that could have been channeled instead for human development.

"It has been two decades since the last global debt crisis," Briones said. "The babies who have survived are now 20 years old. They still carry the scars of malnutrition, inadequate education and poor health." 

Briones also called on the UN "to remind recalcitrant member countries" of their commitment to increase their levels of Official Development Assistance.

The 2005 World Summit ended on Friday, with, yes, promises.

Read the full text of Briones's statement.