Are We There Yet?

 

Major progress towards Millennium Development Goals,  but the most vulnerable are left behind, UN report says.

UN Secretary-General urges world leaders to step up efforts to meet the Goals

Geneva, 7 July 2011 – Significant strides towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been made, yet reaching all the goals by the 2015 deadline remains challenging because the world’s poorest are being left

behind, a UN report says.

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011, launched today by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, says there is reason to celebrate, as major successes have been made since world leaders in the year 2000 established the Goals to reduce extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease.

"Already the MDGs have helped lift millions of people out of poverty, save countless children’s lives and ensure that they attend school,” Mr. Ban said. “They have reduced maternal deaths, expanded opportunities for women, increased access to clean water, and freed many people from deadly and debilitating disease. At the same time, the report shows that we still have a long way to go in empowering women and girls, promoting sustainable development, and protecting the most vulnerable from the devastating effects of multiple crises, be they conflicts, natural disasters or volatility in prices for food and energy.”

To read the complete report, click here.

How is the World Doing?

Meeting the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals

For a review of results of the MDG's, watch the set of slides under the picture on the left in this video; more success stories are recorded in the right column in this video.

A Look at the Millennium Development Goals

 

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion--while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic human rights -- the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security. 

To understand more about the MDGs, watch this video.

UN Efforts To Tackle Causes of Extreme Poverty

What are the UN Millennium Development Goals?

The Millennium Development Goals were agreed upon by 189 UN members in 2000.  They encompass universally accepted human rights such as freedom from hunger, the right to basic education, the right to health, and a responsibility to future generations. More than halfway toward the target date – 2015 – will the Millennium Development Goals achieve a more prosperous and equitable world?  

View this video as Kofi Annan (former Secretary General of the UN) explains the need for the MDG goals.

CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS

PREAMBLE                      

WE, THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS, DETERMINED

• to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
• to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
• to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
• to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

AND FOR THESE ENDS

• to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and
• to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
• to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and
• to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,

HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS

http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml

Meet an incredible woman!

Celebrating Women's Leadership

An incredible woman leader, Bella Abzug  was a passionate perfectionist and risk-taker. Bella was born on July 24, 1920, one month before U.S. women won their long struggle for the right to vote. Recognized early as a natural leader, Bella lived to become one of the 20th century’s great women leaders. She was honored and loved for her championship of the world’s women, human rights, the poor and oppressed, and most of all for her people-nurturing vision of a healthy, peaceful planet. Admirers and foes alike praised her for her brilliance, honesty, principles and dedication to women’s empowerment and democratic values.

...“We must each wear the hat of an advocate. Never hesitate to tell the truth. Never give in. Never give up.” -Bella S. Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998)

Bella Abzug: In Her Own Words (Video)

What Does the UN Do All day?

A Day in the Life of the UN

           

At the web site UN Journal you also have access to the day's agenda and happenings at the UN.  

Click HERE to read what is happening at the UN on August 11, 2011.