Secretary-General's remarks on Achieving MDGs New York, 25 September 2013
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Tola Winjobi
Sep 25, 2013, 6:36:10 PM9/25/13
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Secretary-General's remarks at Special Event on
Achieving
the Millennium Development Goals
New York, 25 September 2013
I thank the General Assembly for organizing this
important event.
At the turn of this century, Member States agreed
on a bold vision for the future that reaffirmed the fundamental values of
freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for the planet and shared
responsibility.
That vision, enshrined in the Millennium
Declaration and rooted in the UN Charter, recognized the need to combine
efforts to advance simultaneously on three fronts: development, peace and
security, and human rights.
From the Declaration came the Millennium
Development Goals – a pledge to free all women, men, girls and boys from the
abject and dehumanizing conditions of poverty.
A promise to make the right to development a
reality for all.
The MDGs have galvanized unprecedented national
commitment and international support.
Substantial progress has been achieved.
However, prospects for achieving all the MDGs
differ sharply across and within countries and regions.
More than 1 billion people still live in extreme
poverty.
Far too many people face serious deprivations in
health, education and access to sanitation and clean water.
Progress is hampered by large inequalities related
to income, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, location and the realization of
human rights.
Less than two and a half years remain to fulfil the
promise.
The challenges are profound, but there is much we
can accomplish in that time.
Two days ago I hosted a High-Level Forum on MDG
Successes.
We saw how accelerating MDG progress at a whole new
scale is possible through high-level political leadership, smart investments,
innovative technology and policies, and harnessing the power of
multi-stakeholder partnerships.
Substantial additional commitments from
Governments, the World Bank, private business and philanthropy brought the
total new investment in boosting MDG achievement to $2.5 billion.
We must do everything we can to achieve the MDGs by
the end of 2015.
This will also provide the best possible starting
point for agreeing and implementing a universal sustainable development agenda
after 2015.
The world has changed radically since the turn of
the millennium.
New economic powers have emerged and new
technologies are reshaping our societies.
New patterns of human settlement and activity are
heightening pressures on the planet.
The impacts of climate change are growing.
Inequalities are rising in rich and poor countries
alike.
This new era demands a new vision and a responsive
framework to implement it.
Sustainable development – enabled by the
integration of economic growth, social justice and environmental stewardship –
must become our global guiding principle and operational standard.
The transition to sustainable development must be
based on a commitment to eradicate poverty.
This is an indispensable requirement – a matter of
basic justice and human rights.
In a world of great wealth and technological
advances, no person anywhere should be left behind.
You are working hard to define a post-2015
development agenda.
The General Assembly Open Working Group on
Sustainable Development Goals is focusing on universal goals and targets.
The UN system is eager to support you.
Many entities and partners have taken part in the
discussion.
These include my High-Level Panel of Eminent
Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, co-chaired by President Yudhoyono
of Indonesia, President
Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia
and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom.
We have heard from the UN System Task Team, the UN
Global Compact, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the UN
Regional Commissions.
Civil society and academia have provided important
recommendations.
And we have listened to more than a million voices
as part of “The World We Want” exercise.
My own report, “A Life of Dignity for All”, draws
on these ideas and sets out my sense of the transformations we need and can
achieve.
The common ground in these wide-ranging
consultations far outweighs any differences.
The emerging outlines of a new agenda are becoming
apparent.
It must be bold in ambition yet simple in design,
supported by a new partnership for development.
It must be universal in nature yet responsive to
the complexities, needs and capacities of individual countries.
It needs to be rights-based, with particular
emphasis on women, young people and marginalized groups.
And it must protect the planet’s resources, emphasize
sustainable consumption and production and support action to address climate
change.
Guided by this far-reaching vision, we can define a
concise set of goals that will capture the imagination and mobilize the world –
just as the MDGs have done.
We must be open to new and innovative partnerships,
pioneering approaches to data and rigorous accountability mechanisms.
The Millennium Development Goals have shown that we
can make profound differences in people’s lives.
The journey we started in the year 2000 has seen us
build a solid foundation for further progress.
The children born in that year are now entering
adolescence – many with the education and health they need for a good start in
life, but many more still lacking.
As they move into full adulthood, and as our own
development efforts mature, let us recognize the important task that is before
us.
Let us commit today to finish the job and do what
it takes to secure a future of peace, justice and dignity for all.
Thank you
very much.
Ban Ki-Moon
UN Secretary-General
D. Tola Winjobi (PhD)
Fellow, Center on Democracy, Development & the Rule of Law, Stanford University
Principal Coordinator, CAFSO-WRAG for Development
Convener, Campaign 2015+ International
Justice of the Peace
+234 80 306 18326 +234 80 820 08222
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