World leaders at the United Nations’ Millennium Summit in September 2000 adopted an ambitious set of goals directed at reducing extreme poverty and related problems that hinder human well-being and are sources of global instability. In the Millennium Declaration (http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.pdf) they set 2015 as the deadline to achieve the MDGs. A United Nations’ report issued in July 2007 (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/mdg2007.pdf) revealed that some goals might be met by 2015, but others will require substantially increased effort, particularly by the world’s wealthy nations. As the world’s richest nation, the U.S. must significantly increase its efforts. This will require the active support of citizens and their elected leaders.
"The world wants no new promises. It is imperative that all stakeholders meet, in their entirety, the commitments already made in in the Millennium Declaration, the 2002 Monterey Conference on Financing for Development, and the 2005 World Summit. In particular, the lack of any siginificant increase in official development assistance since 2004 makes it impossible, even for well-governed countries, to meet the MDGs. As this report makes clear, adequate resources need to be made available to countries in a predicatable way for them to be able to effectively plan the scaling up of their investments. Yet these promises remain to be fulfilled." - Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General, United Nations |
"The rest of the world cannot solve the problems of the developing world. They will have to do that for themselves. But we can at least create a more level playing field. It would be even better if we tilted it to favor the developing countries. There is a compelling moral case for doing this. I think there is also a compelling case that it is in our self-interest. Their growth will enhance our growth. Greater stability and security in the developing world will contribute to stability and security in the developed world." - Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz in his book Making Globalization Work, 2006 |
"… what is different is that the world is now politically awakened everywhere. The population of the world is politically conscious, and is stirring, it is making demands. And it wants a world which is more just and which gives everybody a sense of their personal dignity. And that comes even before democracy." - Response by Zbigniew Brzezinski, senior foreign policy analyst and presidential advisor, when asked (The PBS News Hour, March 28, 2007) how US leadership will need to change in the 21st century compared to the 20th. |
"… I think the new president has to realize that the world looks to America for leadership, and so we have to show leadership on some issues that the world is expecting us to, whether its energy, global warming and the environment. And I think we have to do a lot more with respect to poverty alleviation and helping the needy people of the world. We need to increase the amount of resources we put into our development programs to help the rest of the world. Because when you help the poorest in the world--to start to move them up an economic and social ladder—and they’re not going to be moving toward violence or terrorism of the kind that we worry about.” - Response by Gen. Colin Powell to Tom Brokaw, moderator of Meet the Press, Oct. 19, 2008, when asked what should be more prominent in the minds of the American people and the people running for president? |