World leaders will gather again in New York in two months’ time to attend the United Nations General Assembly and this year’s event has already been forecast as one that will be off the charts for several reasons.
One is that the United Nations will be observing its 70th anniversary. Another is that the 193 member states of the UN are expected to adopt binding agreements on climate change, and a third is the setting of new development targets for the next 15 years – the ‘Post-2015 Consensus’ as it is being called.
The General Assembly is the forum often used by countries which lack a high global presence to bring developmental and other issues to the attention of the rest of the world or to make a point. Some of the more infamous points made in recent history were by former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe.
Cuba has been a member of the UN since 1945, but its leader has not addressed the General Assembly since some time in the 1960s. Will Cuba return this year, given the renewal of its diplomatic agreement with the United States? Or is it too soon?
One of the highly anticipated speeches will be that of Pope Francis. Known for outspokenness, a quality that had been lacking in Vatican representatives, Pope Francis has already been expounding on issues such as climate change, poverty, war and inequality, among others, to a global audience on his various travels. With a captive audience of world movers and shakers, he is expected to emphasize these and other points.
This year is also the deadline for the attainment of the goals set by the UN in 2000. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed to by all of the member states as well as leading development institutions. They were expected to see the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; the achievement of universal primary education; the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women; a marked reduction in child mortality; a marked reduction in maternal mortality; stepped up action against HIV, AIDS, malaria and other diseases; improved environmental sustainability and a global partnership for development. There has been no absolute attainment of any of these goals. However, some have been partially attained while others have seen great strides being made.
For instance, the MDGs 2015 report says that extreme poverty has declined by half from 1.9 billion to 836 million; primary education has almost reached gender parity; targeted investments saw unprecedented reductions in deaths from diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as a drop in new HIV infections; and there has been a decline in maternal mortality by almost 45%. The report also cites strides made in gender equality and women’s empowerment and notes that under environmental sustainability, access to drinking water and sanitation have drastically improved, the Latin America and Caribbean region receiving kudos for its action in this regard.
Though inequalities persist and progress has been uneven around the globe, the UN noted that the setting of goals has had a positive impact on development. In setting a path forward, the UN in 2012, enlisted the aid of a high level panel of experts on economic and developmental issues from around the world. Co-chaired by three world leaders—Susilo Bambang of Indonesia, David Cameron of the UK and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia—the panel was mandated to come up with a Post-2015 Developmental Agenda. In addition, an expert panel which included two Nobel Laureates in Economic Sciences prioritized 19 top targets which they feel are likely to boost global development between 2016 and 2030. These are expected to be presented to world leaders for consensus in September. Under three broad headings: ‘People’, ‘Planet’ and ‘Prosperity’, they include, among others, such specifics as the elimination of violence against women and girls, the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies and the reduction of trade restrictions – the subject of an ongoing merry-go-round of meetings which began in Doha, Qatar in 2001 and has long outlived its usefulness.
No doubt, as they have in the past and in the euphoria of the moment, world leaders will agree to work towards meeting these targets. But there will need to be more than consensus among men and women to move things forward. Leaders change, therefore it is the countries from which the commitment must come. Pressure groups on the various issues, with help from the UN will need to ensure that the political will needed to solve these global problems does not wane as administrations come and go.
