ACHIEVING ANTI-POVERTY GOALS ‘SINGLE GREATEST SERVICE WE CAN COLLECTIVELY PERFORM

FOR HUMANITY’, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEVELOPMENT DEBATE

Following are UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s remarks at the General Assembly thematic debate on development, in New York, 27 November:

When I took office a decade ago, the development debate tended to be distinguished more by disagreements and dithering than actual doing.

Today, that landscape is distinctly different.  Thanks in large part to the vision and political will that emerged from recent United Nations summits -- the Millennium Summit in 2000, Monterrey and Johannesburg in 2002 and the World Summit last year -- discussions on delivery have supplanted long-standing disagreements over doctrine.

The evidence is everywhere.  ODA is breaking through the $100 billion barrier; non-traditional donors like the Islamic Development Bank are expanding their assistance; and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are supported by all major development actors.  No less important, we have common strategies for reaching those Goals, set out in the Millennium Project report that appeared at the beginning of last year.

The global challenges like HIV/AIDS and international migration are belatedly receiving some -- though still not all -- of the attention and resources they demand.

So, we have much to be proud of.  But we cannot be complacent.  We have laid a foundation for development, but no more than that.  Now, we must implement our plans for progress.  Our ultimate test remains the Millennium Development Goals, and our ability to attain them on time, everywhere and for everyone.

Frankly, the prospects are mixed, at best.  Overall, the world may meet the poverty Goal, thanks to the remarkable progress in Asia.  But, even there, progress towards other Goals -- notably Goal 7, ensuring environmental stability -- is lagging, while, in too many other parts of the world, notably a number of African countries, we are still a long way from where we need to be.  And our “global partnership for development” remains more phrase than fact -- especially in the all-important area of trade.

It is not too late to turn this situation around.  But it will take focus, application and commitment.  A successful Doha Development Round, especially, is a sine qua non of success.

But let’s not forget where development has to happen -- namely, in the developing countries.  If the Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved, developing countries themselves must live up to their commitments to adopt and transparently implement comprehensive national strategies for reaching these Goals.

And the fact is, far too few countries have yet done this fully.  It is absolutely essential and must be done, and done now.  Development will simply not happen if the developing world doesn’t get its own house in order.

But, whenever and wherever developing countries have adopted such sound strategies for reaching the Millennium Development Goals, it is equally vital that richer countries live up to their commitment to provide resources to enable those strategies to succeed.

In essence, the vision of development that lies behind the MDGs is a compact:  if developing countries deliver on comprehensive, fleshed-out national strategies, then donors are committed to meeting the needs that cannot be met through domestic resources alone.

But here too, while there are encouraging steps, too much is still not happening.  Many donors are already falling short of their commitments to increase aid -- and the longer this shortfall persists, the harder it will be to correct.  They must be held accountable.

Neither side in the compact can escape responsibility for delivering on its commitments.  But the developing countries, especially, are entitled to expect help from the United Nations system.  The United Nations must be there to support their vision and their plans, and to help them build the capacity -- the skills, the institutions, the systems -- to deliver the jobs, houses, schools and health care that their people need.

Earlier this month, the report of the High-Level Panel on System-Wide Coherence set out a persuasive vision of the future United Nations system as the kind of supporter of development it can and should be.  If fully implemented, I believe the Panel’s key proposals will significantly bolster the UN’s central role in national and global development efforts everywhere by maximizing both resources and the impact of those resources in developing countries.

In my time as Secretary-General, I have worked hard to place people -- their needs, dreams and aspirations -- front and centre in all of the UN’s work. I am full of hope that my successor will continue this work, and make the UN an ever stronger, ever better development partner.

Excellencies, this is an exciting time for all of us.  The primary conduct of development work has inexorably shifted from debate halls and drawing boards to the dirt roads and dry plains where it is most needed.  Our challenge is to maintain this momentum, and to build on it as we work to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

We have much work to do.  But there is much -- so much -- that we can achieve if we work together.  Attaining the Millennium Development Goals on time would be, I believe, the single greatest service we can collectively perform for humanity.

So, with this idea as our inspiration – indeed our obligation – and 2015 as our target, let us move forward together and turn words into deeds and plans into action.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record