After the United Nations High Level Meeting in New York, citizen demands become more necessary than ever to move from promises to deeds.
The Spanish Alliance against Poverty asks citizens to participate in the October mobilizations and demand policy coherence to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Madrid, September 26, 2008 . “Developed countries cannot excuse the breach of their obligations in the market situation” With these good words, the president of the government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero urged yesterday the international community to reinforce the necessary measures to achieve the fulfillment of the MDGs However, the summit has only managed to collect the commitment of the countries to contribute 16, 000 million dollars when, according to estimates, about 150, 000 a year are needed until 2010 to achieve the purpose.
Meanwhile, 1400 million people, one in four inhabitants of the planet, continue to live in poverty. Once again, therefore, we are witnessing a declaration of good intentions, but the reality is that 2015 - set to reach the goals of improving living conditions for a large part of the population - is getting closer and the MDGs will not be fulfilled to continue as until now.
If in the year 2000 the Millennium Declaration was signed by 189 heads of state and government, the political will to address the problem of poverty has not been sufficient and the necessary resources have not been allocated. Ending poverty is possible. As indicated by Pablo Martínez Osés, representative of the Alliance, “right now, in the midst of the global financial crisis, we are attending a decisive intervention by governments, such as the US, which involves an investment up to 10 times greater of what was deemed necessary to meet the MDGs. ”
Precisely in times of economic crisis, the most vulnerable are the ones that are most affected, an estimated 75 million more people will go hungry because of the rise in food and fuel. For this reason it is the obligation of the richest countries to reinforce the commitments made. Zapatero has ratified before the United Nations its commitment to reach 0.7% of GDP destined for development aid, today we can see, predictably, if this will is reflected in the draft General State Budget for 2009. This is one of The historical demands of civil society that the Alliance has raised with greater force, but it is not only a matter of quantity, it is also essential that our aid be effective: that it goes to the countries that need it most, that it be invested in social services basic, at least 20%, and that is
detached from economic and commercial interests.
Foreign Minister Miguel ngel Moratinos has announced in New York the destination of games for the Water Fund, the Spain-UNDP fund, the V a R pida initiative for Education n and the Delivering as one 'project, positive but clearly insufficient steps, according to the Alliance member who, as a representative of civil society, has accompanied the Spanish delegation for the first time He is in New York. However, according to David Ortiz, we now have to follow up on the next steps taken by the government and, in that sense, we will have to see Spain's commitments at the next summit of Doha, which is held in December for the revision of the Monterrey Consensus on financing for development. They remain pending, he said, such important issues as the abolition of foreign debt and advance in the adoption of fair standards for international trade.
Mobilizations against poverty in the month of October
All these claims and the global context oblige us to see that "A promise is nothing", with promises it is not eaten, it is not cured, it does not protect people who live in poverty.
This is the axis of the advertising campaign that invites this year to the October mobilizations and that wants to fill the streets of committed citizens to demand to pass from words to deeds.
Last year, hundreds of thousands of Spaniards joined the mobilization (more than 40 million worldwide) and this year we have to be more in so much that the global situation has worsened.
The mobilizations will take place throughout the country in the Week Against Poverty that takes place between October 13 and 19 and will be announced on the Alliance's website. www.rebelatecontralapobreza.org
Press: Laura Chinchetru
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