Brussels, 26/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 26 September, during the UN General Assembly (see EUROPE 10695) in New York, the European Commissioner for development, Andris Piebalgs, presented his vision for the post-2015 development goals, which take over from the Millennium Development Goals (MDO), which aimed to reduce poverty in the world by half by 2015. The Commissioner said that a decent life for everyone is possible by 2030 and that this is what the international community should now strive towards, with the required political determination to succeed.
The Commissioner declared that, “it is true that the MDGs have been hugely successful; but the job is only half done. And the world faces additional and greater challenges, than we were aware of in 2000. I would like to share some first personal thoughts on the way forward. We have a real opportunity to eradicate poverty, across the world, in our lifetime. We know it can be done. The only question is whether, collectively, we are willing to do it”.
Piebalgs believes that the new framework must apply to, and be relevant to “every citizen on the planet; rich or poor. It should promise, by 2030, a Decent Life For Everyone. Every single global citizen”. To achieve this it is necessary to work on three different pillars: (1) updating and modernising MDGs, providing decent living standards for all; (2) focusing on the drivers for prosperity, creating jobs and guaranteeing justice and equity because “without dignity, poverty remains”, explained the Commissioner; and (3) guaranteeing that each country meets its own obligations towards its citizens in terms of the good stewardship of its own precious natural resources because, “we all know that we are living today, quite literally, unsustainably. If we continue as today, when faced with a global population of 9 billion by 2050, we will undo so much of the progress thus far achieved, and impoverish future generations”.
The Commissioner is a member of the high level group on MDGs set up by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to guide the reflection process on post-2015 development goals. The Commissioner will therefore deliver his introductory reflection on the process that has been the subject of public consultation in the EU, “Towards a Post-2015 Development Framework” (see EUROPE 10668). (AN/trans.fl)