'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".