'Minimum Development Goals' derided
'Minimum Development Goals' derided
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Some still frown upon it, while others call it the "Minimum
Development Goals". It might be seen as far too cynical, but
skepticism has mounted over the feasibility of the much-vaunted
Millennium Development Goals (MDG), since their inception five
years ago.
Concluding their two-day meeting on Tuesday, a group of some
40 activists from several Asian countries questioned the
commitment of leaders in the Asia and Pacific region to
accomplish the targeted goals.
They asserted that it was tragic that after five years, more
and more resources were spent on militaries and weapons, instead
of efforts to stamp out the root causes of poverty, injustice and
marginalization, which were the origins of the MDG declaration.
The majority of children are still without proper food and
education, conflicts flare up continuously and epidemics continue
to strike, despite the commitment avowed by world leaders in
2000.
The non-governmental organization activists met ahead of the
Regional Ministerial Meeting on MDGs in Asia and Pacific, slated
to commence on Wednesday.
They came from various civil society organizations in
Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Nepal, India
and Pakistan. Others include those from the Asian Global Call
Against Poverty (GCAP) and Social Watch Asia organizations.
In their statement, they called on the leaders to allocate
more resources for development purposes, especially efforts to
eradicate poverty and provide accessible and affordable social
services.
Free trade, claimed the activists, should be replaced by a
fair and just trade system that would allow developing and
underdeveloped countries to rise ahead with food sovereignty.
Therefore, they warned that, agriculture -- the major sector
in poor countries -- should be exempted from all negotiations
under the World Trade Organization (WTO), otherwise it could be
vulnerable to dumping practices and unfair export subsidies.
During the two-day meeting, the activists also urged all
leaders to push developed countries to renew their long-standing
commitment to disburse 0.7 percent of their GNPs for official
development assistance for poor countries.
This commitment, they said, should be made in parallel with
the immediate and unconditional cancellation of debts of poor
nations through a transparent process, as well as a suspension of
privatization of livelihood sources and public services.
They also underscored the crucial need to affirm gender
equality, by assuring women of their rights to property, land and
inheritance, as well as eliminating violence against women and
children.
The upcoming minister's meeting would run from Wednesday to
Friday, when they will prepare the agenda for the World Summit in
September in New York. Countries are expected to report on the
progress of their commitment to the millennium goals during the
summit.
The NGO activists will be given three minutes to speak in
front of the ministers during the first plenary session on
Wednesday.
Concrete action, they said, should be the main goal of the
September summit, otherwise it would degenerate into a mere "Word
Summit".