A view from the United Nations
June - July 2005
Millions roar but the G8 whispers - Let the Millennium+5 Summit make up the difference
By Vicente García-Delgado, CIVICUS UN Representative (New York)
The idea that eight white men, the leaders of the world’s richest countries, who have never known what it´s like to go to bed hungry, should have the power to decide, behind closed doors, the fate of millions of children, women and men, is offensive enough. But the realization that these men, who hold the key to global justice, should refuse to act decisively and courageously to help the poorest of the poor pull themselves out of poverty is plainly unacceptable. Timidity and half-heartedness at this time in history simply won´t do, because this is not a question of charity, it´s a question of justice, as Nelson Mandela has repeatedly said. Millions thoughout the world, North and South, have raised their voices to support Mandela´s wise words and demand the end of poverty, but the eight white men have not heeded this roaring call.
We are stuck with leaders who are unable to lead, incapable of thinking clearly about the gravity of the situation and unwilling to act decisively to end poverty when this goal is well within our reach. We are stuck with international institutions that are controlled by these leaders, the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO; institutions that are based on a profoundly unjust economic and social idelology; institutions that keep an uneven field in favour of the rich and powerful; institutions that end up hurting the poor even more.
The old thinking that poverty is the problem of the poor still seems to rule paramount in the minds of these eight leaders. What a tremendous miscalculation this is! Poverty is everyone´s problem. It is so because as long as the injustice of poverty remains, there can be no sustainable development in large areas of the Planet; and without development, there can be no political stability, no security and no peace.
The old thinking that poverty is mostly the consequence of failed political and economic formulas in the poor countries themselves seems to remain entrenched in the minds of the eight leaders. What a tremendous injustice this is! Africa is not poor. Latin America is not poor. Asia is not poor. These regions are not poor; they simply have not been allowed to develop as a consequence of historical circumstances that have a lot to do with slavery and colonialism, that is, with decisions taken through the last few centuries far away from them, in the metropolis, in the post WWII years of decolonization, including decisions by rich countries and private banks in the north to lend, blindly, huge amounts of money to corrupt governments particularly during the cold war to win political advantage. And then, of course, there are many other reasons - geopolitical, geographic, climatologic reasons that force some of the undeveloped regions to remain so. And there are internal reasons as well, not least of which is widespread corruption in the undeveloped countries.
We could discuss ad nauseam the relative responsibilities of the North and South in the creation of world poverty, but this is mostly not a useful exercise. Instead, we should grab the opportunity to end poverty, for the benefit of all. It can be done and it must be done.
In less than two months from now, the nations of the world will gather in New York for the so- called Millenniun+5 UN Summit in September. At this gathering of Heads of State, Presidents and Prime Ministers, the world will review the “progress” made since the historical Millennium Declaration of 2000, including the solemn commitments to halve extreme poverty by 2015 through achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is common knowledge that we are falling behind on this despite the timid, limited goals represented by the MDGs. At the current rate, in some parts of the world, most clearly in Africa, the MDGs would take about 150 years to achieve. Meanwhile, 30,000 children die each day from preventable causes.
The Millennium+5 Summit represents yet another historic opportunity to substantially change the course toward the eradication of poverty. This is no time to stand by the sidelines. The millions of citizens around the globe who raised their voices through the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Campaign and the countless other local, national, regional and global mobilizations, must not let down their guard. The time is now to exercise ever greater pressure on all goverments, North and South, to take decisive action to end poverty.
Let´s all keep up the pressure for a world free of poverty. Let´s work together, in solidarity and in all our rich diversity to bring justice, economic, social, environmental justice, to all our sisters and brothers for whom the Universal Declaration of Human Rights means little, if anything at all.
Ending poverty is well within the reach of our generation. It can be done and it must be done!
In solidarity,
Vicente García-Delgado, CIVICUS´ UN Representative
Please send your comments to CIVICUSUN@aol.com
Below you will find all previous columns:
• “Global Justice - Northern citizens have a special responsibility to make it happen”
• Letting the United Nations be all that it can
• “Appointment with History: The world looks up to John Bolton to help achieve the MDGs”
• “We are rolling!: Civil society’s call for poverty eradication impacts the World Economic Forum and the Group of Seven”
• No more excuses!: The Tsunami must not be allowed to wash away the Millennium Development Goals
• A Call To Action 2005: Global Civil Society mobilizes to demand an end to poverty and the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals
• TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Should civil society and the Global Compact live under the same UN roof?
• The UN Global Compact: A big red herring disguised in UN blue?
• Happening now: A global revolution of consciousness
• Lasting security for all: Shifting from state security to security of the people
• The UN – Permanently relevant or temporarily relevant?
