Rich Nations Urged to Keep Promise to Fight Global Poverty

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 09, 2003

Rich Nations Urged to Keep Promise to Fight Global Poverty

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Despite the promises by wealthy nations to eradicate extreme poverty, developing nations still need more aid, fairer terms of trade, and meaningful debt relief, the United Nations said in an annual report released Tuesday.

Unless rich countries keep their pledges to deliver financing for development, the Millennium Development Goals -- a series of time-bound, quantifiable targets ranging from halving poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015 -- will not be met, the Human Development Report 2003 warned.

The Millennium Development Goals were endorsed by all members of the United Nations in 2000 and embraced anew by the Group of Eight leaders in France last month. One of the goals is aimed at rich nations and their commitment to respond to developing nations' political and economic reforms with increased economic assistance, lowered import barriers and the deduction or elimination of unsustainalbe debts.

"The concept behind a fair deal is for both rich and poor developing countries to be held accountable to benchmarks and deadlines," said Eveline Herfkens, executive coordinator of the Millennium Development Goals' Campaign.

"Without rich nations doing their share, the poor countries will not be able to achieve the goals," he added.

The report, commissioned by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), challenges rich countries to set concrete targets and deadlines and take the following actions:

-- Dismantling unfair trade subsidies and tariffs to create a level playing field.

-- Writing off unsustainable debt.

-- Stepping-up aid flows.

-- Creating better access to technological progress.

The report also suggested that rich countries should be subject to the same scrutiny as poor countries on their progress towards meeting the millennium targets.

"It is not a matter of charity," said Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, the report's lead author. "Diseases don't respect neat geographical boundaries, nor do hurricanes or droughts or wars. These are the shared responsibilities of an increasingly inter-dependent world."

The UNDP has since 1990 commissioned the Human Development Report every year by an independent team of experts to explore major issues of global concern. The concept of human development looks beyond per capita income, human resource development, and basic needs as a measure of human progress and also asesses such factors as human freedom, dignity and human agency.

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