| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Jabriol" |
| Date: |
23 Mar 2005 06:08:22 AM |
| Object: |
A deal for world leaders-U.N. |
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13710&Cr=Larger&Cr1=freedom
Annan calls for deal by world leaders on poverty, security and human
rights
20 March 2005 - In a new report released today, Secretary-General
Kofi Annan put forward a comprehensive deal for tackling poverty,
security threats and human rights abuses while overhauling the United
Nations through a set of recommendations slated for action by national
leaders when they gather to mark the world body's sixtieth anniversary
later this year.
Taking its name from a phrase in the UN Charter the report, In Larger
Freedom marks the culmination of a process Mr. Annan has initiated to
realign the world body in this milestone year so that it can better
respond to today's pressing challenges.
If acted on, the proposals - ranging from a nine-member increase in
the Security Council's membership to the establishment of a new Human
Rights Council - would mark the most dramatic change in the UN's
functioning ever achieved at once.
The report, the full text of which can be accessed at
www.un.org/largerfreedom, argues that this seismic shift is warranted
by the interrelated imperatives at stake. "[W]e will not enjoy
development without security, we will not enjoy security without
development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human
rights," Mr. Annan warns. "We can and must act together."
The report's first main section, "Freedom from want," deals with
the deadly toll of poverty, which currently plagues more than a billion
people in a world beset by growing inequality. "A single bite from a
malaria-bearing mosquito is enough to end a child's life for want of a
bed net or $1 treatment," the Secretary-General points out. He adds
that while this sad reality has long been viewed as an inescapable
aspect of the human condition, that view is now "intellectually and
morally indefensible."
In order to achieve the far-reaching Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) - a set of anti-poverty targets agreed to by world leaders at
a 2000 UN summit - he proposes that all developed States allocate 0.7
per cent of their gross national income to official development
assistance by no later than 2015, with significant increases by 2006.
Calling climate change "one of the greatest environmental and
developmental challenges of the twenty-first century," Mr. Annan
notes that the Kyoto Protocol, a pact that contains binding targets for
the emissions that cause climate change, only extends until 2012. He
calls for developing a more inclusive framework beyond that date with
broader participation by all major emitters and both developed and
developing countries.
In the second main section, "Freedom from fear," the
Secretary-General endorses a report he commissioned by a high-level
panel on threats, challenges and change. "I fully embrace the broad
vision that the report articulates and its case for a more
comprehensive concept of collective security: one that tackles new
threats and old and that addresses the security concerns of all
States."
Specifically, he backs the panel's definition of terrorism - an issue
so divisive agreement on it has long eluded the international community
- stating unequivocally that "any action constitutes terrorism if
it is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or
non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or
compelling a government or an international organization to do or
abstain from doing any act."
This proposal has "clear moral force," he says, urging world
leaders to back it and conclude a comprehensive terrorism treaty during
the next General Assembly session.
The report's other security proposals include a call for a fissile
material cut-off treaty aimed at reducing the risk of nuclear
proliferation, and the creation of a UN Peacebuilding Council to help
countries emerging from conflict.
The report's third main section, "Freedom to live in dignity,"
deals with human rights and democracy. The Secretary-General recommends
replacing the current Commission on Human Rights with a standing Human
Rights Council whose members are elected directly by the General
Assembly and who "undertake to abide by the highest human rights
standards."
He also calls for the creation of a democracy fund to help countries in
need and pledges to galvanize UN efforts in this field.
The last main section deals with strengthening the UN and sets out
measures to improve its workings, including reforming the Security
Council. Here again, Mr. Annan backs the high-level panel, which
outlined two possible models for increasing the Council's membership in
order to make it more representative and inclusive.
Model A provides for six new permanent seats, with no veto, and three
new two-year term, non-permanent seats, divided among the major
regional areas. Model B provides for no new permanent seats but creates
a new category of eight four-year, renewable-term seats and one new
two-year, non-permanent (and non-renewable) seat, divided among the
major regional areas.
Although Security Council reform has been discussed at the UN for
decades, the issue is so complex and politically sensitive that
agreement has been impossible. Seeking to break the deadlock, Mr. Annan
urges realistic action. "It would be preferable for Member States to
take this vital decision by consensus," he says, "but if they are
unable to reach consensus this must not become an excuse for postponing
action."
The report also contains a number of proposals for improving the UN
Secretariat. "Today's United Nations staff must be: (a) aligned with
the new substantive challenges of the twenty-first century; (b)
empowered to manage complex global operations; and (c) held
accountable," the Secretary-General declares.
In order to foster progress on this front, Mr. Annan requests that the
General Assembly give him the authority and resources to offer a
one-time buyout for UN personnel "so as to refresh and realign the
staff to meet current needs."
Urging countries to act on the deal offered in the report, he says it
is both necessary and achievable. "What I have called for here is
possible," he says. "From pragmatic beginnings could emerge a
visionary change of direction in our world."
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| User: "bphw" |
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| Title: Re: A deal for world leaders-U.N. |
24 Mar 2005 05:49:53 PM |
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"Jabriol>
In order to achieve the far-reaching Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) - a set of anti-poverty targets agreed to by world leaders at
a 2000 UN summit - he proposes that all developed States allocate 0.7
per cent of their gross national income to official development
assistance by no later than 2015, with significant increases by 2006.
So let me get this straight, he, the leader of a proven corrupt group of
people, wants to collect .7 % of the richest nations GDP to spread equally
among the worlds most poverish people? RRRRIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHTTTT
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