UN Summit Ends - No Progress, But Lots Of Posturing

by Thalif Deen

(IPS) UNITED NATIONS -- An African diplomat recounts a quote attributed to a former head of state who once remarked: "We fought a war against poverty -- and poverty won."

"It seems that world leaders have done their best this week to make poverty win," says Hellen Tombo of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), described as the world's largest anti-poverty movement.

Commenting on the lackluster three-day UN World Summit meeting which concluded Friday, Tombo told IPS: "This week we have seen posturing rather than progress."

But she said the millions of campaigners working as part of the Global Call to Action against Poverty will not be disheartened by the failure of world leaders -- more than 170 by last count -- to take action on poverty.

"We will put even greater energy in ensuring justice for the world's poor when the World Trade Organization (WTO) meets this year in December. We will continue to wear the white band as the symbol of our continued fight for justice," she said.

The WTO, which meets in Hong Kong in December, is expected to take up trade issues, including the proposed reduction or elimination of trade barriers for exports from the world's poorer nations.

But the United States and the 25-member European Union (EU) have been reluctant to reduce tariffs, specifically on agricultural products from developing nations, and also refused to remove the high subsidies given to farmers.

A battle is expected between developing nations on the one side, and the United States and the EU on the other, at the upcoming Hong Kong meeting.

Saradha Iyer of the Malaysia-based Third World Network says that the outcome document adopted by world leaders on Friday was "cleverly crafted" but with "watered-down language" that was "agreed or imposed upon the majority of member states."

While this has avoided a failure of historic proportions, Iyer told IPS, "It is clear that the United Nations shows signs of degenerating into the biggest talk -- but not act -- shop in the world."

She also said that presidents and prime ministers "are isolated from the devastating impacts of global poverty."

"They appear to be immune from the effects of mass mobilizations and global campaigns to highlight the plight of the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized," Iyer added.

"And so, yet again we have a situation where despite best-laid plans and well-meaning intentions, leaders have failed to give hope to the billions of people who need it most, especially in these harsh and complex times we all live in," she said.

The summit was expected to review the progress made in the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2000. The world leaders in New York this week were expected to spell out concrete measures on how to meet these goals by the targeted date: 2015.

But the summit did not come up with anything new, including an expected commitment by rich nations to meet the target of 0.7 percent of their gross national product (GDP) as official development assistance (ODA) to poorer nations.

The eight MDGs include a 50 percent reduction in poverty and hunger; universal primary education; reduction of child mortality by two-thirds; cutbacks in maternal mortality by three-quarters; the promotion of gender equality; ensuring environmental sustainability; the reversal of the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and a global partnership for development between the rich and the poor.

On Friday, the GCAP ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times which said: "There's growing concern that world leaders won't keep their promise to end poverty by 2015."

GCAP said there are still 1.2 billion people living in poverty; 100 million children out of school, 60 million of whom are girls; that a child dies every three seconds; a mother dies every minute in childbirth; millions are without access to clean water; 13 million are AIDS orphans; and rich countries give half as much as they did in 1960.

"Looking ahead, we must determine and provide the additional financing required to ensure achievement of the development objectives and goals, including the MDGs, within the stipulated time-frame," Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson told the summit meeting.

Speaking on behalf of the 132-member Group of 77, the largest single coalition of developing nations, Patterson pointed out that net transfers from developing nations to rich countries have averaged around $230 billion annually.

"These negative transfers have persisted, despite the commitments by the developed countries to increase ODA, reduce debt and debt-service payments, to open their market to products of developing countries, and to encourage private investment in developing countries," he added.

While resources from developing countries flow to developed countries without impediments, he argued, the initiatives and programs of developed countries which would transfer resources or provide access to developing countries have either been negligible, stymied in negotiations, or ringed with conditions.

"We have failed to meet the targets we set; poverty and infectious disease remain rampant; tensions from war and terrorism are straining the fabric of international security; the proliferation of weapons of all kinds generates fears and threatens domestic peace."

He also said that the world has become more insecure. "There is still too much instability and conflict. There is still too much hardship and suffering. Too many are being left behind in the march towards the MDGs. The summit must send a message of hope to millions who are still living in misery," Patterson said.

But Tombo of GCAP said world leaders didn't send that message. They failed to account for lack of progress in reaching the MDGs, including no recognition that the first education goal will not be met this year as promized, Tombo said.

"They have not given a timetable on when the 0.7 percent target will be met. Unless fine words are translated into action, then for certain we will see the victory of poverty," she said.

"But the small successes that we have seen this week -- on gender, HIV and human security -- are due to the efforts of the millions of people who have not given up on speaking the truth," she added.