Millennium Development Goals
World leaders from 189 nations agreed and signed the United Nations (UN) Millennium Declaration in 2000, committing these governments to a set of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.
A decade later major advances in the fight against poverty have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global economic and other crises and insufficient political leadership. Despite some progress, the MDGs are badly off-track.
With the UN holding a summit to review progress towards the MDGs and other international development goals in September, 2010 is a critical year for governments to commit to the decisive actions needed to accelerate meeting and exceeding these poverty targets and keeping the promises made to the poorest people in the world.
Bond and its members are working in the UK and internationally with partners and allies including NGO national platforms in Europe and across the world and as part of Concord and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), to significantly increase the pressure on governments and elicit concrete actions to reach the MDGs by 2015.
Demands around this event include specific, time-bound actions for the five year period between 2010 and 2015, and a focus on expanding the MDG framework to look at the institutions and processes that need to be changed in order to respond to the challenge of ending poverty and inequality.
The role of the EU and Europe in forming positions ahead of the MDG summit
The European Union (EU) will be a main player in ensuring good outcomes at the UN MDG Review Summit if European governments adopt an ambitious, progressive and coherent approach ahead of, during and in follow to the summit.
Most positions will be agreed during the first six months of the year, when Spain holds the presidency. The EU process of agreeing a common position starts in the first few months of 2010 with the European Commission (EC) drafting the 'April Package' a set of communications which will then be elaborated by the European Council and agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meetings in May and June and finally adopted by European Heads of States at the European Council meeting in June.
The April Package will be released by the EC in the first half of April and will consist this year of an number of papers covering the following areas: MDGs (general paper), financing for development, aid effectiveness, aid for Trade, tax governance and policy coherence for developmen. In addition there will be a number of papers on specific MDGs to include: health, education, gender, food security. (Read the notes of the meeting with the European Commission on 19 January).
Meanwhile the Development Committee (DEVE) of the European Parliament will be preparing a report on the MDGs to be ready by June.
Belgium will hold the presidency during the second six months of the year, when the MDG summit actually takes place. Belgium will then be the place both where the EU institutions reside and where the presidency lead meetings and conferences take place. The Belgian GCAP platform has been proactive in developing campaigning plans for this period. Many GCAP Europe platforms will be supporting these initiatives to help ensure there is a strong civil society push to achieve a good EU position for the MDGs summit.
See the institutional timeline in the run up of the UN MDGs Review Summit.
How UK NGOs can get involved
Working closely with Concord Bond is supporting UK NGOs and other civil society organisations to get involved and link their advocacy and campaigning efforts to that of others in the UK, Europe and elsewhere internationally, especially with civil society and communities in the South.
Initial meetings have been held with Bond and Concord members and there are meetings planned with the European Commission and the UK Government in 2010.
For more information, contact advocacy@bond.org.uk.
Read the notes of previous meetings and other useful resources (Login required - Bond members only)
