Evidence on leaders' commitments of 2000 and afterwards

 

It seems to me that they gave money, but took away people's freedom to think.

My view is that it is a serious human rights violation to give the poorest people false information on what was agreed.

I think that, as with the use of statistics which look better if the poor die, it is, or should be, a criminal act to misrepresent these kinds of facts.

If I remember correctly, it was in October 2001 when I was putting economists' failure to take mortality into account to Frances Stewart of Oxford University that I said that if people die, even child mortality can be improved at the end of the period as a result. I do not know whether something like this has happened in some countries in Africa, where population projections changed significantly as a result of AIDS.

 

Over the period 2000-2015, the difference between the pledge of 2000, which leaders reaffirmed in 2005 and 2013, and the MDG target proposed in 2001 may be something like six million child deaths.

The difference during 2015 seems to be about 800 million, or 2200 per day.

 

So I think that is a significant lie.

 

 

2000: "As leaders we have a duty therefore to...in particular, the children...
We resolve...by the year 2015...to have reduced child mortality by two thirds, of...
current rates"

[to perhaps 3.5 million child deaths in 2015, or 9600 deaths a day]

http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm

 

2005: "We, Heads of State and Government...
reaffirm the Millennium Declaration"

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Attach/Indicators/ares60_1_2005summit_eng.pdf

 

2013: "We, the Heads of State and Government and heads of delegation...
reaffirm our commitment to the Millennium Declaration"

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/Outcome%20documentMDG.pdf

 



"The United Nations General Assembly embraced the eight Goals

[target about 4.3 million child deaths in 2015, or 11800 a day]

only as late as October 2005."

Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals in Practice:
A review of country strategies and reporting
United Nations, 2010
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/HRAndMDGsInPractice.pdf

 


.........................................................................



The 22 per cent


"the proportion of the world’s people (currently 22 per cent) whose income is less than one dollar a day."

Secretary-General, Millennium Report 2000

 

"The world has reduced extreme poverty by half...in developing regions....to 22 per cent"

United Nations

MDG Report 2014 (baseline 1990)

 

 

...........................................................................................

 

 

"(MDGs), of which the authoritative version was contained in an Annex to a ‘Road Map’ produced by the Secretary-General in September 2001...the Annex to the ‘Road Map’ was not formally endorsed by the UN membership, but merely described as ‘a useful guide’ in the relevant Resolution,

[Clarification by MB: The General Assembly in the resolution of 14 December 2001 recommended the "Road Map" as a useful guide. It did not mention the Annex containing the MDG framework. The full text is later in this document]

and that the subsequent updating has been carried out by the so-called Inter-Agency and Expert Group on the Millennium Development Goal Indicators, a body whose status is pleasingly unclear.
Nevertheless, despite this less than robust formal basis, there can be no doubt that the MDGs have become highly influential at least at the level of international discourse about development."

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1759-5436.2010.00098.x/abstract
2010
The Impact and Design of the MDGs: Some Reflections
Richard Manning (former UK Department for International Development Director General)

 

 

........................................................................

 

A shrinking target

 

"target of halving...extreme poverty, and so lifting more than 1 billion people out of it."

Secretary-General, Millennium Report 2000

 

"The world has reduced extreme poverty by half...people living in extreme poverty by 700 million"

MDG Report 2014

 

un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/We_The_Peoples.pdf

mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2014/English2014.pdf

 

........................................................................................

 

The consistency and truthfulness of UNICEF

 

"In 2000...world governments pledged that by 2015 they will have reduced the 1990 [!] under-five mortality rate by two thirds"

http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2004v1/childSurvival.php

 

"In 2000, the world made a promise to children: to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds between 1990 [!] and 2015. ...In 2000, the world made a promise: to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds by 2015 compared to 1990"

A Promise Renewed [!]

http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_pdfs/corecode/APR-2014-17Oct14-web_194.pd

 

............................................................................................

 

A commitment to accountability


Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

“The norms and values embedded in the Millennium Declaration and international human rights instruments must continue to provide the foundation for engagement, in particular the key human rights principles of non-discrimination, meaningful participation and accountability”.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/MDG/Pages/Quotes.aspx

 

.........................................................................................................

 

The performance of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

 

2005:

"We, Heads of State and Government...call for strengthened cooperation..., in particular through the Inter-Parliamentary Union, with a view to furthering all aspects of the Millennium Declaration"

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Attach/Indicators/ares60_1_2005summit_eng.pdf

 

2012:

"Millennium Declaration (2000), which established eight Millennium Development Goals [!]...MDG 4...child mortality rate by two thirds between 1990 and 2015...MDG 5...maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015"

Resolution adopted unanimously
Kampala, 5 April 2012
126th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
http://www.ipu.org/conf-e/126/res-3.htm

 

.......................................................................................................................

 

The big difference


"...the deputy secretary general pointed out. "What the Summit will do is elevate the level of commitment to make it a commitment by the leaders themselves. This makes a big difference."

30 August 2000
http://wfile.ait.org.tw/wf-archive/2000/000830/epf304.htm

 



The light

 

"to shine a light on....who is not doing what they promised to do may also help..."

Kofi Annan
Millennium Summit
5 September 2000

 

 

 

"Let us resolve therefore: - To halve, by the time this century is 15 years old, the proportion of the world’s people (currently 22 per cent) whose income is less than one dollar a day.

- To halve, by the same date, the proportion of people (currently 20 per cent) who are unable to reach, or to afford, safe drinking water."

"Specifically, I urge the Summit to adopt the target of reducing by half, between now and 2015, the proportion of people who lack sustainable access to adequate sources of affordable and safe water."

www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/We_The_Peoples.pdf

 

 

 

The better informed public

 

"My Report sets a series of targets...Within the next 15 years, I believe we can halve the population of people living in extreme poverty...We need a much better informed public"

Statement of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the General Assembly as he presented his Millennium Report,
“We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century”. 3 April 2000
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20000403.sgsm7343.doc.html

 

 

At the Millennium Summit:

Note: The Secretary-General's report "specifically" urged the Summit to halve the proportion of the world's people without access to safe and affordable water "between now and 2015" and to halve the proportion "currently" 22 per cent on under a dollar a day.


Spain: "... we must overcome poverty.... It would be unforgivable if we do not gather the means to do it. We heartily support the objectives set out to this end in the Secretary-General’s report for the Millennium Summit..."

 

"We have all agreed on the goals for international development. We have the knowledge to achieve them, and we have the resources to achieve them. We live in an age of unparalleled promise and prosperity. We will not be forgiven, and we should not be forgiven, if we fail to fulfil this promise, if we fail to share this prosperity with the neediest among us."

King Harald of Norway

 

"Let this be remembered as the time when the leadership of the world rose to the occasion and, using all its God-given wisdom, laid down the foundations of a healthy, safe and progressive global village to be our collective destiny in the new millennium. To that end, I pledge most solemnly the full cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference."

 

"I want to congratulate the Secretary-General on the valuable report he submitted to the Millennium Summit; I call for a discussion of the ideas set out in that report in universities and other academic and research centres and intellectual forums."

Egypt

 

 

"The Co-Chairperson (Finland): I now give the floor to the Chairman of the round table held yesterday afternoon...

President Chávez Frías ( spoke in Spanish ): ...round table with heads of State, representatives of Governments of America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania. ...we spent about four hours there...I am going to make a major effort in these first few minutes to reflect the spirit that prevailed...

My colleagues and I agree on one question based on the deliberations we are witnessing here and on the excellent report submitted by the Secretary-General to guide us at this Millennium Summit. How can the goals determined there be met? ...

Let us inform our peoples about what was discussed here, about the conclusions that were drawn in this Summit..."

 

 

"the effects of [progress in science and technology] ... are not yet fully known. Those unknown effects can lead to speculation of the wildest sort. ...we would like to believe in the advent of a world in which the right to dignity is not measured in dollars."

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria

 

 

"The numerous specific goals and programmes outlined in this [Millennium] report could well be considered the United Nations plan of action for the twenty-first century...

Afghanistan fully endorses the values and goals presented by the Secretary-General"

 

 

"Resolution adopted by the General Assembly

55/2.

United Nations Millennium Declaration

...We, heads of State and Government, have gathered...As leaders we have a duty therefore to...in particular, the children...

We resolve...

- To halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of the world’s people whose income is less than one dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and, by the same date, to halve the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water. ...

- By the same date, to have reduced maternal mortality by three quarters, and under-five child mortality by two thirds, of their current rates. ....

We request the General Assembly to review on a regular basis the progress made in implementing the provisions of this Declaration...

We therefore pledge our unstinting support for these common objectives and our determination to achieve them."

http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm

8 September 2000

 

 

 

"The Secretary-General:

...Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.

...thank you all for ...having given us clear guidance. ....

I have read carefully the Declaration you have just adopted. ...

You have said that your first priority is the eradication of extreme poverty. You have set specific targets to that goal...we all know the targets can be reached."

"It lies in your power, and therefore it is your responsibility, to reach the goals that you have defined. Only you can determine whether the United Nations rises to the challenge. For my part, I hereby rededicate myself as from today to carrying out your mandate. I know that the whole staff of the United Nations does the same."

 

 

"The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): We have come to the close of this historic Millennium Summit...

We cannot, therefore, afford to go back home from here and continue business as usual. We, as heads of State or Government, have the mandate and the responsibility individually and collectively to take bold steps.....We must act now by translating our commitments into action. It is time to combine our vision and our renewed commitment with the increased resources for the United Nations in a purposeful manner....We must fulfil our promises..."

[The following text of the co-chairperson's statement is from a press release, http://www.un.org/press/en/2000/20000908.ga9758.doc.html , since the official record refers to a non-existent paragraph in the Declaration: ]

"I ... call upon [the new President of the General Assembly, Harri Holkeri] to ensure the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and pay particular attention to paragraph 31."

Paragraph 31 of the Millennium Declaration reads:

"We request the General Assembly to review on a regular basis the progress made in implementing the provisions of this Declaration..."

 

 

 

......................................................................

 

 

"The declaration endorsed targets set by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a near-Utopian report last April that called for halving by the year 2015 the 22 percent of the world's population now existing on less than a dollar a day."

Reuters, 8 September 2000

http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/RTV/2000/09/08/009080017/?s=millennium%20summit

 

 

"in September 2000...Annan...In his report he steered clear of controversy or proposing big structural changes to the global economy...
The assembly might have broken down into individual interests to battle one another over a draft resolution, but it accepted his report wholesale."

Mark Malloch Brown
The Unfinished Global Revolution
Penguin Books, 2011

 

 

"A main target, set by Mr Annan and agreed to by the summiteers, is to halve by 2015 the 22% of people who live on less than a dollar a day"

The Economist, editorial. 7 September 2000
http://www.economist.com/node/359559

 

 

"A declaration to be signed on Friday when the summit meeting ends has set ambitious benchmarks....
One such goal proposes to reduce by half over the next 15 years the number of people earning less than a dollar a day. To achieve that, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela reckoned, ''we should increase that income to levels of fairness and dignity for 140,000 persons each day of each month and of each year from the present until Dec. 31, 2015.''
"The Italian prime minister, Giuliano Amato, agreed that radical efforts were required. "

"Published: September 8, 2000 United Nations, Sept. 7"
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/08/world/summit-in-new-york-the-orators-un-speakers-urge-increase-in-charity-to-the-poor.html

 


"The Clinton Administration strongly supports Secretary General Kofi Annan's call to action on poverty alleviation, on economic and social development"

U.S. Efforts on the Millennium Report "Call To Action" on Poverty and Economic Development Issues
The White House September 7, 2000
http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/new/html/Wed_Oct_4_132349_2000.html

 

"President Clinton is strongly committed to working with the United Nations and the United States' international partners to strengthen environmental protections worldwide and to meet the vision of a sustainable future outlined in the Secretary General's Millennium Report."

The White House September 7, 2000
http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/new/html/Wed_Oct_4_133235_2000.html

 

 

"the targets set by the Millennium Summit, including the target to halve, by the year 2015, the current proportion of the world's poor people"

Nguyen Dzy Nien, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Vietnam,
General Debate of the 55th Session of the UN General Assembly
13 September 2000
http://www.un.org/ga/webcast/statements/vietnamE.htm

 

French version not available at

http://www.un.org/french/ga/55/pvlista55.htm

 

 

"we must now act to turn last week’s good intentions into effective action. This means taking responsibility to.... increase transparency and accountability to make a tangible difference for the people we represent."

Lloyd Axworthy, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada.

General Assembly 14 September 2000.

 

 

 

"His Millennium Report...offers concrete, accomplishable and far-sighted recommendations.

Austria welcomes this roadmap for the future course of UN activities and will follow its guidelines."

 

Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Benita Ferrero-Waldner

http://www.un.org/ga/webcast/statements/austriaE.htm

 

 

"Setting out to halve in fifteen years the number of poor people we now have is an undoubtedly remarkable endeavor..."

 

Felipe Perez Roque, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, General Debate of the 55th General Assembly

http://www.un.org/ga/webcast/statements/cubaE.htm 15 September 2000

"Proponernos reducir a la mitad, dentro de quince años, el número de pobres que hoy tenemos, es un empeño sin duda encomiable..."

http://www.un.org/ga/webcast/statements/cubaS.htm

 

 

 

 

"Leaders at last week’s Summit provided this Millennium Assembly with a clear direction and a strong mandate. Our countries have delegated us the responsibility to realize that vision of a better world and we must ensure through our efforts and determination that we do not fail them."

 

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, Phil Goff.
General Assembly 15 September 2000

 

 

 

"In East Asia the proportion of extremely poor has already plummeted from 28 percent to 15 percent since 1990."

Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
International Herald Tribune September 21, 2000
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/opinion/21iht-edbrown.t_0.html

 

 

Longer excerpts:

 

"The commitment by world leaders at this month's United Nations Millennium Summit to halve global poverty and hunger...by 2015 has been dismissed by some as little more than a pipe dream....

That is wrong. These and other goals that the world signed up to are — while deliberately best-case scenarios — carefully calculated and technocratically grounded...

In East Asia the proportion of extremely poor has already plummeted from 28 percent to 15 percent since 1990. ...with only relatively small improvements, progress in Asia alone... will be almost sufficient to put the global target in reach. ...

So this month's Millennium Summit was not a global day-dreamers' fantasy but based on real strategies and calculations. Nevertheless it was what in the language of management-speak might be called a "stretch target."

Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
September 21, 2000
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/opinion/21iht-edbrown.t_0.html

 

"the Secretary-General pointed out that the time has come to... start putting into action the bold pledges...during the Millennium Summit. I can assure you that my Government strongly shares this sentiment and that we will work ...to make this noble goal come true."

Mr. Kolby, Norway.
General Assembly, 27 September 2000

 

 

"let me express our particular satisfaction over the commitments made by the heads of State and Government to focus the international community’s attention in the coming years on poverty reduction, so that by the year 2015 nearly 600 million people will have overcome their state of chronic poverty."

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, Fernando De Trazegnies Granda.
General Assembly 13 September 2000

 

 

 

"The commitment by world leaders at this month's United Nations Millennium Summit to halve global poverty and hunger ...These and other goals that the world signed up to are...best-case scenarios...might be called a "stretch target."

Mark Malloch Brown

Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

September 21, 2000

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/opinion/21iht-edbrown.t_0.html

 

"[MDG] targets were formulated based on historical trends....projections to 2015 based on the global trends in the 60s, 70s and 80s."

Yongyi Min

United Nations Statistics Division

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Attach/Capacity/manila/Presentations/S6_P6.2_2_MDG%20monitoring%20Post%202015%20rev.1.ppt

 

 

......................................................................

 

According to the then UK Secretary of State for International Development she stated on September 26 2000:

"Over the last 3 years we have worked to improve the effectiveness of the international development effort by getting all parts of the international system committed to meeting the international development targets. They aim to halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015 - which means a billion people being lifted out of poverty between 1990-2015. They also commit us to getting all the children in the world into quality primary education and improving basic health care for all. We have had great success in this work. The UN and all its members, the World Bank, the IMF and the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, are now all firmly committed to the targets"

http://www.clareshort.co.uk/speeches/DFID/DFID%20Speech%20Sept%202000.pdf

 

 

The International Development Targets had been promoted by the World Bank, OECD and IMF. A publication signed by the heads of all three and the Secretary-General of the UN was published in June 2000.

http://www.paris21.org/sites/default/files/bwa_e.pdf

That civil servants' document includes targets to:

"Reduce the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by half between 1990 and 2015";

"Reduce maternal mortality ratios by three-quarters between 1990 and 2015" and

"Reduce infant and child mortality rates by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015"

 

The Declaration eighteen days before Ms Short spoke says nothing about 1990. It committed states to the mortality reductions from "current rates". It is clear from the speeches to the General Assembly in September 2000 that several member states were under the impression the baseline was 2000 for other goals as well as the mortality goals. Several leaders gave clear support fo the Secretary-General's proposals, which included halving the proportion without clean water "between now and 2015".

 

 

The UK Government White Paper of December 2000, "Eliminating World Poverty..."

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/whitepaper2000.pdf.

bizarrely mentions commitments to the goals with the easier 1990 baselines, rather than what Mr Blair had agreed in September at the Summit. The White Paper of December states:

 

"In this Paper we strongly reaffirm the UK Government’s commitment to the International Development Targets set out in our first White Paper."

The paper says it was "Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for International Development by Command of Her Majesty".

 

Is the document saying the Queen commanded Clare Short to present to Parliament commitments to easier targets than those Mr Blair had agreed?

 

 

 

"under-five mortality decreased...between 1990 and 2000"

"The list of millennium development goals does not undercut in any way agreements on other goals and

targets reached at the global conferences of the 1990s."

"Millennium Development Goals...
The proposed formulation of the 8 goals, 18 targets and 40+ indicators are listed below. ...
...the normal baseline year for the targets will be 1990"

Kofi Annan
Report of the Secretary-General: Implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration
6 September 2001

 

 

"The International Development Goals (IDGs) and the development goals contained in the Millennium Declaration are similar but also, in some respects, different. Recently, the sets have been merged under the designation of "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs)...

Numerical targets have been set for each goal, which are to be achieved for most goals over a 25-

year period – between 1990-2015. ....At the global level, the Secretary-General is to report annually to the General Assembly on progress towards a sub-set of the MDGs and to report more comprehensively every five years."

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://undg.org/archive_docs/2356-English.doc


http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/MDG/english/MDG%20Country%20Reports/MDG%20Reporting%20Guidelines/1.%20English.pdf


Sent by heads of UN agencies 6 November 2001:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.undg.org/archive_docs/1607-MDGs_-_letter_-_MDGs_-_letter.pdf






"PLEDGES MADE AT 2000 MILLENNIUM SUMMIT MUST BE TRANSFORMED INTO REALITY, SPEAKERS STRESS, AS GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONSIDERS SUMMIT FOLLOW-UP
...JEAN DE RUYT (Belgium), speaking on behalf of
the European Union, said the Union would like the Millennium Declaration to be the touchstone for any practical steps taken by the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and by all governments."
19 November 2001
Press Release
http://www.un.org/press/en/2001/GA9973.doc.htm



"Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
56/95.  Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 55/2 of 8 September 2000, by which it adopted the
United Nations Millennium Declaration as the outcome of the Millennium Summit
of the United Nations, held at Headquarters from 6 to 8 September 2000,

Recalling also its resolution 55/162 of 14 December 2000, in which it, inter
alia, requested the Secretary-General to prepare a long-term
road map” towards the
implementation of the Millennium Declaration
within the United Nations system
and to submit it to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session,

Reaffirming
the need to maintain the will and momentum of the Millennium
Summit, as well as the importance of a comprehensive and balanced approach in the
implementation of and follow-up to the Millennium Declaration
,

 1.
Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General
entitled
Road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium
Declaration”;

 2. Recommends that the “road map” be considered as a useful guide in the
implementation of the Millennium Declaration by the United Nations system, and
invites Member States, as well as the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade
Organization and other interested parties to
consider the “road map” when
formulating plans for implementing
goals related to the Declaration;

 3.
Requests the Secretary-General to prepare an annual report and a
comprehensive report every five years on progress achieved by the United Nations
system and Member States towards implementing the
Millennium Declaration,
drawing upon the “road map” and in accordance with resolution 55/162, and
requests that the annual reports focus on cross-cutting and cross-sectoral issues, as
well as on the major areas set forth in the “road map”, while the
quinquennial
comprehensive reports
examine progress achieved towards implementing all the
commitments made in the Declaration;

 4. Invites the United Nations system, in cooperation with Member States, to
adopt specific measures to give
widespread publicity to the Millennium Declaration
and to
increase the dissemination of information on the Declaration;

 5. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-seventh session
the item entitled “Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit”.

86th plenary meeting
14 December 2001
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/56/95&Lang=E




"The General Assembly...
Reaffirming also the United Nations Millennium Declaration..."


Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
21 December 2001
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/56/188



“We, the grown-ups, must reverse this list of failures. And we are pledged to do so. The very rights I described for you are part of the promises made in the Millennium Declaration -- a list of pledges agreed by all the leaders of the world. They promised that, by the year 2015, we will have cut by half the number of people living on less than one dollar a day. ...This gathering of the General Assembly is a reminder that these were promises made to you, the next generation.”

The Secretary-General

Address at the opening of the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children
New York, 8 May 2002
http://www.un.org/ga/children/sgopening.htm

 

 


"Something must be done to galvanize the global political will for an accelerated drive to meet the Millennium Declaration targets. ...
I am convinced that the UN Millennium Declaration points the way forward."
Han Seung-soo
President of the General Assembly of the United Nations
International Conference on Financing For Development
Monterrey, Mexico
18th-22nd March 2002
http://www.un.org/ffd/statements/gaunE.htm


"On behalf of Canada I would like to voice strong support for the Monterrey Consensus.
A consensus that is unprecedented in scope and participation.
That seeks to take an indispensable step forward together in securing a fundamental common cause of the United Nations.
As expressed in the Millennium Declaration."

Monterrey, Mexico March 2002


"Mr. Chairman, Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
At the Millennium Summit, leaders across the world declared they would spare no effort...
The peoples of the world are looking to us in anticipation. They expect real steps towards realising the goals in the Millennium Declaration."
Kjell Magne Bondevik, Prime Minister of Norway
International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico
March 2002


"To achieve the aims of the Millennium Summit, the World Bank estimates it will be necessary to double the amount currently spent on poverty eradication."
Jacques Chirac, President of France
http://www.un.org/ffd/statements/franceE.htm


"The slow-down in world economic growth observed in 2001 and the impact of the tragic events of 11 September have had negative repercussions on pursuit of the objectives of the Millennium Declaration. ....
Without respect for human rights, the rule of law and good governance, the Millennium Declaration goals will not be achieved."
http://www.un.org/ffd/statements/italyE.htm


"We are conscious of the absolute moral imperative of combating the extreme poverty suffered by one fifth of humanity and we have fully endorsed the historic development goals written into the Millennium Declaration.
We know that in order to attain these objectives it is necessary...."
European Community
Romano Prodi President of the European Commission at the International Conference on Financing for Development
Monterrey, Mexico
March 22, 2002
http://www.un.org/ffd/statements/ecE.htm


 

 

"This, the first such annual report, focuses on commitments made in all chapters of the Declaration....

The development goals set out in the Millennium Declaration express the resolve of the world’s political leaders....

...the world has committed itself to reducing child mortality by two thirds between 1990 and 2015."

Kofi Annan, 31 July 2002

Report of the Secretary-General: Implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/sgreport2002

 

 


We, the representatives of the peoples of the world…

At the beginning of this Summit, the children of the world spoke to us in a simple yet clear voice that the future belongs to them, and accordingly challenged all of us to ensure that through our actions they will inherit a world free of the indignity and indecency occasioned by poverty…

“As part of our response to these children, who represent our collective future, all of us, coming from every corner of the world, informed by different life experiences, are united and moved by a deeply-felt sense that we urgently need to create a new and brighter world of hope.”

 

Accordingly, we assume a collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development – economic development, social development and environmental protection – at local, national, regional and global levels.”

 

From this Continent, the Cradle of Humanity we declare, through the Plan of Implementation and this Declaration, our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life and to our children.”

commit ourselves to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and to expedite the achievement of the time-bound, socio-economic and environmental targets contained therein.”

[Plan:] "Reduce, by 2015, mortality rates for infants and children under 5 by two thirds, and maternal mortality rates by three quarters, of the prevailing rate in 2000 (reaffirmation of millennium development goal)"

http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/1009wssd_pol_declaration.htm

http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/2309_planfinal.htm

 

 

How will Government adherence to commitments made in Johannesburg be monitored?

Following decisions made at the Summit, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) will now have an enhanced role in respect of reviewing and monitoring …”

http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/basic_info/faqs.html#joburg12

 

 

"The General Assembly...

Reaffirming the United Nations Millennium Declaration...

...increase in ...resources will be required if developing countries are to achieve the internationally agreed development goals and objectives, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration...

Encourages ...to continue to provide....resources...to meet the development targets...agreed upon at ...the Millennium Summit..."

23 December 2003
A/RES/58/206
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N03/460/64/PDF/N0346064.pdf

 

 

 

 

2005 World Summit:

"We reaffirm the United Nations Millennium Declaration...

"We call for strengthened cooperation between the United Nations and national and regional parliaments, in particular through the Inter-Parliamentary Union, with a view to furthering all aspects of the Millennium Declaration"

 

More detail:

 

"We, Heads of State and Government...reaffirm the United Nations Millennium Declaration....

we commit ourselves to: ...integrating [the reproductive health] goal in strategies to attain the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, aimed at reducing maternal mortality, improving maternal health, reducing child mortality...."

"We therefore resolve to create a more peaceful, prosperous and democratic

world and to undertake concrete measures to continue finding ways to implement

the outcome of the Millennium Summit"

"We emphasize the critical role of both formal and informal education in the achievement of poverty eradication and other development goals as envisaged in the Millennium Declaration"

"We call for strengthened cooperation between the United Nations and national and regional parliaments, in particular through the Inter-Parliamentary Union, with a view to furthering all aspects of the Millennium Declaration"

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Attach/Indicators/ares60_1_2005summit_eng.pdf

 

 

 

"The MDGs were agreed at the UN in 2000 [!]. These eight goals have guided international development ever since. Having set the standard, the UN is helping hold countries to account for progress. [!]
In 2005 at the UN summit, world leaders re-committed themselves to achieve the MDGs by 2015." [?]

UK Department for International Development White Paper
2006

 

 

"The United Nations General Assembly embraced the eight Goals only as late as October 2005."

Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals in Practice:
A review of country strategies and reporting
United Nations, 2010
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/HRAndMDGsInPractice.pdf

 

 

"...Charter of this United Nations...Universal Declaration of Human Rights...a decade ago, at the dawn of a new millennium, we set concrete goals... These are the standards that we set."

Remarks by the President at the Millennium Development Goals Summit
22 September 2010
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/22/remarks-president-millennium-development-goals-summit-new-york-new-york

 

 

"Between now and 2015, we must make sure that promises made become promises kept. The consequences of doing otherwise are profound...
We must hold each other accountable.
The UN system and I personally will do our utmost to promote accountability on all sides."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
Closing remarks at High Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals
New York, 22 September 2010
http://www.un.org/sg/STATEMENTS/index.asp?nid=4798

 

 

"Gordon Brown has expressed "anger" at the failure of rich nations to honour pledges to combat global poverty. The United Nations' eight Millennium Development Goals were set out in 2000 [!] with the aim of being reached by 2015. ...

"I'm angry because we made commitments that we would meet these Millennium Development Goals," he told the BBC....

"I think rich countries have not done enough to honour the promises [!] that we made." ...

Mr Brown, who was UK chancellor at the time the pledges were made, said the governments of wealthy nations needed to face continuing public pressure to ensure they stuck to their pledges....

Target:..between 1990 [!] and 2015...

Target:...between 1990 [!] and 2015."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11378604 21 September 2010

 

 

 

 

"The translation from the Millennium Declaration into the MDGs involved a shift in the process of elaboration. The Declaration was driven by the UN Secretary General and his staff and was negotiated by diplomats. It was built on the agendas adopted at the UN development conferences driven by interest groups including sectoral ministries and social activists. The MDGs, on the other hand, were defined by technocrats—experts—from UN agencies with expertise in development data representing several multi-national agencies.

The chair of this group was Michael Doyle, another well-known international relations scholar who succeeded Ruggie as the chief strategy adviser to the Secretary General, who focused on the big picture issues of political negotiations and basic principles.15 But the dominant members were the representatives of the UNDP, the World Bank and the OECD who had worked together on reporting on the DAC's International Development Goals. It is worth noting that this was an unusual group for a UN initiative on data since the three individuals were not from the statistical units of UN Secretariat such as the Department of Social and Economic Affairs and of UN specialized agencies with thematic/sectoral mandates such as the WHO and UNESCO. They were development economists rather than statisticians. It was highly unusual for the World Bank and OECD to be participating in a UN exercise, but here the two organizations were playing a leading role. Statisticians from the UN agencies were also included in this group but did not dominate the process. Many voiced dissatisfaction that it did not reflect adequate consultation with the UN statistical networks and the knowledge and experience of specialized agencies in areas such as education and health.16"

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19452829.2014.910180

 

 

 

 

"The MDGs were presented to UN member States during the 56th session of the General Assembly (2001), as an annex to the Secretary-General’s report titled “Roadmap towards the implementation of the UN Millennium Declaration.” States only took note of the report and recommended that the roadmap be considered a “useful guide” in implementing the Millennium Declaration by the UN System in 2001 (A/RES/56/95). Clearly, not all States immediately endorsed the MDGs, arguing that they had not been inter-governmentally negotiated and adopted. Nonetheless, there was already broad acceptance of the Goals as benchmarks of progress on the part of several donors, developing countries, civil society and main development institutions."

Morgera, E 2010, 'The Environmental Dimension of the MDGs: Progress Made?' Environmental Policy and

Law, vol 40, no. 6, pp. 269-72.

Elisa Morgera (LL.M, Ph.D), Lecturer in European Environmental Law, University of Edinburgh School of Law, UK

www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/files/15496367/EPL_MDG_Summit_FINAL.pdf

 

 

"The Declaration was driven by the UN Secretary General and his staff and negotiated by diplomats. It was built on the agendas adopted at the UN development conferences driven by interest groups including sectoral ministries and social activists.

The MDGs, on the other hand, were defined by technocrats from UN agencies with expertise in development data representing several multinational agencies.

The Chair of this group was Michael Doyle, another well-known international relations scholar who succeeded Ruggie as the chief strategy adviser to the Secretary General, who focused on the big-picture issues of political negotiations and basic principles.

But the dominant members were the representatives of the UNDP, the World Bank and the OECD who had worked together on reporting on the Development Assistance Committee’s International Development Goals. It is worth noting that this was an unusual group for a UN initiative on data, since the three individuals were not from the statistical units of a UN secretariat such as the Department of Social and Economic Affairs or specialised agencies with thematic/sectoral mandates such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). They were development economists rather than statisticians.

And it was highly unusual for the World Bank and OECD to be participating in a UN exercise, but here the two organisations were playing a leading role.”

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/863IPCWorkingPaper108.pdf