Launch of the 2005 Report
MY FIRST REACTION, WHEN I LOOKED AT THE 2005 HDR WAS, OH NO, NOT ANOTHER REPORT ON POVERTY!! IS THERE REALLY ANYTHING MORE THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID? DO WE NEED ANY MORE ANALYSIS? POVERTY IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE ONE SUBJECT THAT HAS BEEN MOST RESEARCHED AND LEAST ACTED UPON!
BUT WHEN I READ THE HDR, ONLY THE SUMMARY, I CONFESS, I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. THIS DOCUMENT, UNLIKE MOST OTHER OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, DOES NOT MINCE WORDS.
IT IDENTIFIES POVERTY AND INEQUALITY AS THE TWO DEADLIEST ENEMIES OF HUMANKIND, CAUSING THE GREATEST INSECURITY TO HUMAN LIFE, THE WORST PERPETRATORS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, AND BY FAR THE BIGGEST WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. NEARLY 30,000 CHILDREN DYING A DAY, EVERY DAY, FROM POVERTY, MAKES THIS A GENOCIDE LIKE NO OTHER.
SAM MUSA, A COLLEAGUE OF MINE FROM SIERRA LEONE, WOULD OFTEN ASK WHEN HE WAS INVITED TO SPEAK TO GATHERINGS LIKE THIS, COULD ALL OF YOU WHO ARE OVER THE AGE OF 48, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS? AND OF COURSE IN THESE SERIOUS MEETINGS ON DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY, MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE ABOVE 48, EVEN IF SOME LIKE ME WOULD BE RELUCTANT TO RAISE OUR HANDS. AND HE WOULD THEN SAY, IF THIS MEETING WAS IN SIERRA LEONE THIS ROOM WOULD BE EMPTY, NOT BECAUSE PEOPLE ABOVE 48 IN SIERRA LEONE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN MEETINGS LIKE THIS, BUT BECAUSE THE LIFE EXPECTANCY IN SIERRA LEONE IS 48.
THE HDR BRINGS HOME MANY CHILLING FACTS LIKE THIS ON INEQUALITY AS WELL. OF COURSE, THE HDR WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE DEVASTATION OF HURRICANE KATRINA, OTHERWISE THE CHAPTER ON INEQUALITY WOULD PERHAPS HAVE HAD ANOTHER SAD CASE IN POINT.
IF WE AGREE THAT EXTREME POVERTY AND DISEASE IN TODAYS WORLD IS AS MUCH AN ISSUE OF RIGHTS AS IT IS OF MORAL JUSTICE, ACHIEVING THE MDGs FOR ALL CITIZENS IS INCONCEIVABLE WITHOUT REACHING THE POOR AND EXCLUDED. THIS MEANS WOMEN AND THEIR RIGHTS IN ALMOST EVERY PART OF THE WORLD, THIS MEANS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THEIR RIGHTS IN MANY COUNTRIES, THIS MEANS THE LOWER CASTES AND THEIR RIGHTS IN MY OWN COUNTRY.
THE HDR REMINDS US THAT FOR NO OTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE DOES THE EXISTENCE AND FAIR APPLICATION OF RULE OF LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER THAN FOR THE POOR. IT IS THE POOR, PARTICULARLY WOMEN, WHO LIVE ON LAND WITHOUT LEGAL TITLES, FACE CONSTANT VIOLENCE AND INSECURITY. GOING TO ANY FAVELLA IN SAO PAOLO OR VILLAGE IN MALAWI WILL INSTANTLY SHOW THAT THESE SO-CALLED TRADE OFFS BETWEEN POVERTY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INSECURITY ARE ARTIFICIAL.
WITH ONLY ABOUT A WEEK TO GO BEFORE LEADERS OF OVER 170 COUNTRIES MEET IN THIS BUILDING AT THE WORLD SUMMIT 2005 WHICH WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO HAVE HAD A HEAVY FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENT AND THE MDGs, WE FIND OURSELVES CAUGHT IN A REMARKABLE WAR OF WORDS.
THERE IS ENOUGH EVIDENCE NOW TO SHOW THAT UNLESS THERE IS SUSTAINED PRESSURE FROM CITIZENS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL TO HOLD THEIR OWN GOVERNMENTS TO ACCOUNT, THE MILLENNIUM PROMISE WILL NOT BE MET. WE ARE ALREADY SEEING SOME BACKSLIDING OF COMMITMENTS MADE AS RECENTLY AS TWO MONTHS AGO AT THE G8.
THE POWER OF PUBLIC MOBILISATION TOGETHER WITH THE POWER OF GOOD ARGUMENT, AS THE HDR PUTS IT, HAS ALREADY SHOWN SOME POSITIVE RESULTS IN TERMS OF DEBT CANCELLATION IN 2000 AND INCREASED AID VOLUMES IN 2005.
IF WE REALLY NEED PROPER MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC RESOURCES IN POOR COUNTRIES, THAT IS NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN IF THERE IS NO TRANSPARENT SYSTEM OF PROVIDING INFORMATION TO THE PEOPLE IN VILLAGES AND SLUMS ON SERVICES AND ENTITLEMENTS. SUNLIGHT, AS THEY SAY, IS THE BEST DISINFECTANT.
IF PEOPLE IN RICH COUNTRIES DON'T HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA ABOUT WHAT THEIR GOVERNMENTS CURRENTLY GIVE AS ODA, HOW DO WE EXPECT THEM TO HAVE A VIEW ON IT? IF THE AVERAGE EUROPEAN CITIZEN KNEW ABOUT THE DEVASTATING IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES, CRUSHING DEBT BURDENS OR FORCED LIBERALISATION ON POOR COUNTRIES AND PEOPLE, THEY MIGHT WANT THEIR GOVERNMENTS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
THE MILLENNIUM CAMPAIGN WORKS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF PARTNERS - CHURCHES, PARLIAMENTARIANS, MEDIA, YOUTH GROUPS, WOMENS ORGANISATTONS, NGOS - PRIMARILY AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, TO ENABLE CITIZENS TO ENHANCE ACCOUNTABILITY. UNDER THE BANNER OF THE GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS NOW HAVE OVER 50 NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS IN RICH AND POOR COUNTRIES, THE MOST VISIBLE ONE BEING THE UK CAMPAIGN MAKE POVERTY HISTORY. FAKE UP TO POVERTY ACTIONS ARE BEING HELD FOR WORLD LEADERS IN OVER 80 COUNTRIES IN THE NEXT TEN DAYS, WITH THE 'WHITE BAND AS THE SYMBOL OF THE CAMPAIGN. THIS WAS KICKED OFF BY TWO MAJOR PEOPLES SUMMITS AGAINST POVERTY IN DELHI AND ANTI-POVERTY CONCERTS IN DELHI AND ACCRA THIS WEEKEND ON 3 SEPT. APART FROM HUGE TELEVISION AUDIENCES, THE 15 HOUR ACCRA CONCERT IN THE MAIN INDEPENDENCE SQUARE ATTRACTED 300,000 PEOPLE AND THE TWO DELHI EVENTS HAD ALMOST 30,000 PEOPLE.
THIS HDR ITSELF IS A WAKE UP CALL TO WORLD LEADERS FOR ACTION BEFORE THE WORLD SUMMIT AND IN THE RUN UP TO THE WTO MINISTERIAL IN HONG KONG.
PARTICULARLY ON TRADE, WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE SEEING THE SLOWEST PROGRESS, THERE IS NO REASON WHY RICH COUNTRIES CANNOT ELIMINATE DOMESTIC SUPPORT AND EXPORT SUBSIDIES FOR PRODUCTS OF INTEREST TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES LATEST BY 20 10, AT LEAST HALVE TARIFFS TO ALL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES BY 20 10, PROVIDE NECESSARY SUPPORT TO DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO COPE WITH THE EFFECTS OF LIBERALISATION AND ENSURE FULL DUTY AND QUOTA FREE ACCESS TO MARKETS NOT JUST TO LDCS BUT ALL LOW INCOME COUNTRIES FORTHWITH.
IF RICH COUNTRIES MAKE A DOWN PAYMENT IN 2005, THE RETURNS IN TERMS OF REDUCING POVERTY AND INEQUALITY IN THE NEXT DECADE AND MAKING THE WORLD A SAFER AND MORE PROSPEROUS PLACE FOR ALL, WILL BE VERY HIGH INDEED.
AS WE SAY IN THE MILLENNIUM CAMPAIGN, WE ARE THE FIRST GENERATION THAT CAN ACTUALLY END POVERTY AND WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF EXCUSES!
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