¹ú²úAV

When Heads of State and Government met at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 8 September 2000, we reflected on many previous resolutions and declarations made at the international, continental, as well as regional levels. We realized then, and we know now, that almost all of them centred on the now famous Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were the core of the UN Millennium Declaration. During the Summit, we agreed to "spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty". We further committed ourselves to "making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire race from want".


The Millennium Declaration sets out within a single framework key policy issues that require action by Governments, the private sector and civil society. It advocates the way forward to mobilize resources and establishes concrete measures for assessing performance by UN Member States through a set of interrelated goals on peace, development, governance, human security and human rights. The MDGs cover all spheres of development aims, notably, that:

• Economic development is an extricable part of human development.
• ¹ú²úAV and stability are prerequisites.
• Good governance is essential for human development.
• Human rights, equality and equity are fundamentals of human development.
• The MDGs represent the most critical challenges facing humanity for its development.
  
  

Looking back seven years ago, I vividly remember the leadership that Namibia provided in formulating and coordinating the collective commitment of world leaders contained in the historic UN Millennium Declaration, which serves as one of the instructive indicators of how far our country has progressed since then.
Members of the United Nations family had been for decades true friends and dependable allies to our people until we won our freedom and independence. What we did in return was a small token of our gratitude to one and all. The right thing for us to strive for is a strong partnership for world peace, human security and sustainable development. And that is what the Millennium Declaration and its goals and targets call for.


Namibia is proud to have served the global community, when we assumed the presidency of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, through the capable leadership of comrade Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab. On my part, I take particular pride in having jointly co-chaired the Millennium Summit, which endorsed the historic Declaration, with my counterpart, Tarja Halonen, President of Finland.


The challenges ahead. Like all good global ideas, the realization of the MDGs poses many challenges. Despite the fact that specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound targets were set within the international effort to promote human development, monitoring the MDGs is presenting a serious challenge, especially for us in the developing countries.


At the country level, the challenge is to engage political leaders and top decision makers, as well as mobilize civil society, communities, the general public and the media. As partners, all stakeholders should work closely in ensuring that the MDGs at the national level be tailored to the specific circumstances of that country. Most countries derived their medium-term national development plans from our respective long-term visions. This usually presents a serious problem due to the lack of linkages among national, sectoral and regional policies, as outlined in national development plans with strategic and operational plans of sectors.


Furthermore, the lack of integrated planning to minimize wastage of scarce resources is also a challenge in the realization of the MDGs. The most critical challenge is the mobilization of development resources. In terms of MDG 8 -- develop a global partnership for development -- developed nations should provide assistance to developing countries to assist them in realizing the MDGs. Unfortunately, developed nations have not yet met their commitment. Even in cases where the financial resources are available, we developing countries face another challenge -- lack of human resources and capacities to formulate the right plans and implement, as well as monitor, programmes and projects.


This is further perpetuated by the killer disease of HIV/AIDS, which has befallen us, especially in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The pandemic is not only undermining most of our development efforts but also eroding the very same human resources we need to develop, especially the young and productive members of our societies. Internationally, we are challenged by unfavourable economic conditions, as well as wars and conflicts. But despite all these challenges, I am optimistic that, with more commitment and dedication, we will emerge victorious and meet most, if not all, of the MDGs come 2015.