Tiistaina 1.4.2008 YK:n erityisistunnossa pitämässään puheessaan Matti Vanhanen kertoi, että sisäiseen kehitykseen viime vuosina keskittyneen Euroopan unionin tulee toimia aktiivisemmin maailmanlaajuissa kysymyksissä, kuten muun muassa ilmastonmuutokseen hillitsemisessä ja köyhyyden poistamisessa. Alla puhe kokonaisuudessaan englanniksi.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen\’s opening statement at a Special Session of the UN General Assembly, 1 April 2008
General Assembly Thematic Debate on the Millennium Development Goals
Mr President, Secretary-General, Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. May I thank you, Mr President, for your invitation to me to attend this session and to speak on such an important theme. I would also like to commend the Secretary-General for his intervention and assure him of Finland\’s continued support to the United Nations organisation and for a more effective, efficient, and coherent United Nations.
2. It is a great honour for me to participate in this forum which addresses the achievements and challenges of the Millennium Development Goals. The session in the Millennium Summit in 2000 in which they were adopted, was chaired by Ms Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, together with Mr Sam Nujoma, the President of Namibia. The goals were adopted in order to manifest the political will of the international community to turn the wheel for development in a way that every nation shall contribute, according to its resources.
3. We have now passed the halfway mark of the timeline. As we approach the target year of 2015, it is our duty to analyse what we have achieved and what remains to be done to fulfil our commitment to
the world\’s poor and to provide for a better future for those whose needs are the greatest.
4. Let me first admit that we Europeans have perhaps recently been focused more on the internal devolopment of the European Union. But now, after having concluded our negotiations for the Treaty of
Lisbon, we in Europe now need to move on from our own institutional questions and continue our active global role. It is only through active engagement that we can meet the common goals of the entire international community, such as eradicating global poverty and tackling climate change.
5. Many leaders have pointed out that the Millennium Development Goals, are not being met. I agree with the assessment of my British colleague Gordon Brown, presented here at the UN Headquarters in New York. We face an emergency – a development emergency – and we need to take immediate action if we are to meet the goals we have set. This year is indeed a critical year for development. After reaching the halfway point towards the MDGs it is clear that we must inject new momentum into the process.
6. Progress can however be seen with some Millennium Development Goals, in particular with the topics we address in today\’s panels. The goals and the ways to achieve them are interlinked in many ways. Security, development and human rights constitute the foundation of a just society. Democracy needs to be further promoted. The eradication of corruption and the promotion of good governance are also crucial for development.
7. According to the available data, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 is possible. Globally, we have made gains but more efforts are needed in Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. In East Asia, some countries have been able to stabilise their policies on the path of accelerated economic growth and break away from the low-income category. But vast inequalities still exist in some regions, in
income, asset distribution, opportunities of employment, social services and
benefits, or political power, access to information and political participation.
8. Gender inequality and social exclusion of some populations make the pattern even more complex. This is also true in some areas of South Asia where rapid population growth generates massive migration. In low-income regions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, high indebtedness aggravates the situation.
9. Many children still lack access to health services and education. Child mortality has decreased but maternal mortality rates are still very high. Especially vulnerable are those living in fragile states where poverty is aggravated by wars and conflicts. This shows the enormous challenge of implementation.
10. A particular challenge relates to our environment. We have committed ourselves to integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes in order to reverse the loss of environmental resources. We should reduce by half the number of people without access to drinking water and significantly improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020.
11. The year 2008 will be crucial for the global response to climate change. The outcome of the negotiations in Bali was a breakthrough but the real challenge lies ahead: We have less than two years to come to an international agreement to combat climate change. It is clear that all countries need to contribute to this effort but we also need to help each other with this demanding task. And we need to act with urgency. Two months ago I had a chance to attend the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit. It was once again alarming to hear how in many countries climate shocks already affect the living conditions of the poor. At the Delhi meeting it was clearly underlined that in the long run climate change can seriously undermine the international community\’s efforts to reduce extreme poverty.
12. It is of extreme importance to work together to ensure that climate change does not throw human development into reverse. Global development must be both environmentally sustainable and socially
just. As predicted by the International Panel on Climate Change, the impacts of climate change will be unevenly distributed among different regions, generations, income groups and among men and women.
13. The poor, of which 70% are women, are disproportionately affected. The disadvantages that poor women face – their limited access to resources, restricted rights, limited mobility and muted voice in
shaping decisions – make them highly vulnerable to climate change. Only by fully engaging women as active participants in all aspects of
society can we achieve our goals.
14. Climate change and environmental questions have become the main issues of development policy in Finland. We see renewable energy as a key factor in this matter. Finland supports programmes and projects that focus on saving energy, increasing energy efficiency and producing renewable energy. These types of projects should specifically target poor countries and regions. Bio-energy projects can further be linked with the promotion of sustainable forestry. Local production of energy and linking it with forestry generate sustainable economic growth.
Mr. President,
14. In spite of all the commitments and efforts of the international community and the positive developments in some parts of the world, there are still more than 800 million people suffering from hunger. We currently face the challenges of soaring food prices due to low food stocks, high oil prices and increasing demand for biofuels and changing consumption patterns. Small farmers and rural populations are often the most vulnerable and also the first to suffer from the negative consequences of climate change.
15. One important aspect of development which I would like to mention here is the link between trade and development. How to generate development which increases economic and trading capacity of the least developed countries? There is no trade without a sound economic basis which includes production infrastructure, administrative structures as well as communication and distribution channels. With the help of trade, economic dependence can be broken and a higher level of economic development attained. The business and financial world should be invited to participate fully in this process. Investment opportunities should be shared by all, domestic and international actors alike. It has been clearly shown that globalisation has all in all been beneficial, especially to the middle-income countries, and raised many countries from poverty.
Mr. President,
16. There is an immediate urgency to address the challenges of maternal mortality. Practically no improvement has lately been seen although it is one of the most significant factors causing inequalities
between developed and developing countries. In Finland, high maternal mortality and child mortality were overcome with rather simple and low-cost measures, such as community-level midwives, hospital access for women with complications and nurse counselling after birth. To combat maternal mortality effectively, it is essential that the prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and rights become fundamental elements of basic health care everywhere in the world. Unlimited population growth easily undermines many otherwise successful efforts to achieve millennium development goals.
17. The two education-related Millennium Development Goals are of critical importance. Finland is strongly committed to promoting the universal right to education. Our development policies highlight the
importance of the education of women and girls as the key element of sustainable development. In accordance with the lessons we have learned on our own path of development, the promotion of educational equality, universal primary education and the comprehensive sector plans for education are essential.
Mr President,
18. In conclusion, allow me to emphasise that sustainable development requires national ownership. Foreign aid and partnerships can complement and support national efforts. Much has been recently said
about donor responsibility. We should be better co-ordinated and the quality of our aid should be improved. More resources are needed. Let me say a few words on our approach.
19. My own country is on track to achieve the 0.7 % target by 2015 but it is a challenging job. When my first government started in 2003, we directed 506 million euros to development aid. When my second government ends its work in 2011, development aid will have risen according to the decisions already made to 1110 million euros. The growth is of the order of 119 percent in eight years. During my present government, the growth of development aid corresponds to 20 percent of the total growth of government spending.
20. In spite of this rapid growth, I know that meeting the target of 2015 will entail many difficulties but I believe that our decisions taken so far reflect the serious commitment and willingness of my country to reach this goal. When we increase development aid, we shall have to save in some other sectors. To keep the support of our citizens for the rapid growth of development aid I cannot but hope that our wishes on aid efficiency are taken seriously into account. People in donor countries want to help but they also expect that aid fulfils the purposes it is meant for.
21. The topics of today\’s debate, poverty and hunger, education and health, are the most vital issues to be addressed in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. We should also keep in mind that
these goals must be sustained beyond 2015. This is crucial for the future and well-being of humankind.
Thank you, Mr President
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