To galvanize support for the Millennium Development Goals, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established an MDG Advocacy Group of eminent personalities who have shown leadership in promoting the implementation of the Goals, including prominent figures such as Bill Gates, Muhammad Yunus and Jeffrey Sachs. The MDG Advocacy Group will support the Secretary-General in building political will and mobilizing global action to make the MDG Summit in September a turning point in the collective effort to achieve the Goals by 2015. Also joining the push are celebrities such as Antonio Banderas, Annie Lennox, Zinedine Zidane, and Paulo Coelho, who already have a track record in speaking out about one or more of the Millennium Development Goals, and have agreed to use every opportunity they have to raise awareness for the Goals and the September Summit.
On 3 August, the Government of Ecuador and the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) announced the establishment of an international trust fund to receive donations supporting the government’s proposal to keep some 900 million barrels of oil in the ground. The proposal seeks to strike a balance between protecting the extreme biodiversity of the Yasuni National Park, 2.5 million acres of primary tropical rainforest, while still generating some revenue for Ecuador, a country dependent on oil for 60% of its exports. Initial donor countries include Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, and Switzerland which have collectively committed an estimated US $1.5 billion of the US$3.6 billon that the Ecuadorian government seeks.
Global Sustainability Panel focuses on transparency
On 9 August, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability, which brings together leading global policy makers, private sector and civil society experts in order to formulate a new blueprint for sustainable growth and low-carbon prosperity. The main objective of the Panel is to explore new ways to build a low-carbon, green and resilient economy that can eradicate poverty while effectively addressing climate change. This includes formulating a new vision for sustainable growth and prosperity, along with mechanisms for achieving it. The High Level Panel will issue its final report by the end of 2011, and its inputs will feed into inter-governmental processes, including preparations for the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.
UN study emphasises economic growth as a poverty reduction strategy
A new report by the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) argues that current poverty reduction approaches that separate poverty from the broader process of economic growth and development are unlikely to succeed and could leave about 1 billion people destitute by 2015. The report focuses on the multiple and complex processes involved in sustainable poverty reduction and lays out a range of policies and institutional measures that countries can adopt to succeed. It argues that while simple prescriptions may attract government support and funding from donors, they are unlikely to create conditions in which poor people can lift themselves out of poverty.
International Anti-Corruption Academy inaugurated in Vienna
The inauguration of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) on 2-3 September was attended by more than 1,000 participants from over 120 UN member states and over 25 organizations and institutions from the private and business sector, civil society, academia and the media. 35 UN member states and the European Public Law Organization signed the Agreement for the Establishment of IACA as an International Organization, and highlighted their strong commitment to join forces in the fight against corruption. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the audience that the establishment of the Academy represents a “milestone” in global efforts to combat corruption.
On 14 September the Guardian launched a new section of its website, dedicated to global development. The website is a major new initiative in partnership with the Gates Foundation, and has an advisory panel which includes Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, and US economist Jeff Sachs. The site will track progress on the Millennium Development Goals up to 2015, debating and reporting on how development and aid works, who has the best ideas and how change happens. It will focus on efforts to feed the world’s growing population, reduce poverty and fight disease. Resources include a data store, multimedia, graphics and content from a network of partners and bloggers.
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