'ROAD MAP' OF MILLENNIUM SUMMIT GOALS SETS OUT BLUEPRINT, TIMETABLE FOR FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION

19 September 2001





Secretary-General's Report Signposts Road Ahead


In a report published today, Secretary-General Kofi Annan examines in detail how Member States, United Nations bodies, international organizations and civil society are putting into practice the goals set out in the Millennium Declaration, adopted by all 189 Member States at the Millennium Summit in September 2000.

The 59-page report -- "Road Map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration" (document A/56/326) -- reviews progress under way, suggests paths to follow and presents “strategies for moving forward” for each of the goals of the Declaration.

"The heads of State and Government at last year's summit charted a cooperative path to meet the challenges ahead", says the Secretary-General. "This road map has attempted to carry forward their vision, identify the areas in which we need to work and offer suggestions for the future."

The road map draws on the work of governments, the entire United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions, and the World Trade Organization, intergovernmental organizations, international organizations, regional organizations and civil society. Accordingly, "the entire United Nations family of Member States, international organizations, funds, agencies, programmes, the private sector and civil society must join together to meet the lofty commitments that are embodied in the Millennium Declaration", says the Secretary-General. "Success requires solidarity."

The road map makes clear the scale of the challenge that lies ahead, and focuses on implementation. "What is needed", the Secretary-General says, "is not more technical or feasibility studies. Rather, States need to demonstrate the political will to carry out commitments already given and to implement strategies already worked out". Its eight sections range from maintaining international peace and security, through development and poverty eradication to strengthening of the United Nations system.

Under the heading, "Peace, security and disarmament", it outlines measures to help promote human security. These steps include strengthening the rule of law, and taking action against transnational crime by helping States ratify treaties and harmonize their domestic laws with international obligations. Specifically, States must take concerted action against international terrorism, putting into practice their commitment to prevent and combat terrorist acts.

Other proactive measures include widening the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and promoting the rapid entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Addressing the need to take action when the rule of law fails -- for example by deploying peacekeeping operations and peace-building missions -- the Secretary-General stresses replacing the culture of reaction to conflict by one of prevention. This, the road map argues, will require the completion of ongoing United Nations peacekeeping reforms and support for peace-building efforts on the ground.

A further area for progress and reform is the "targeting" of sanctions in order to make them more effective and to reduce their impact on civilians. Of overriding importance is the need to pursue disarmament in all areas, from weapons of mass destruction to the illicit small-arms trade.

The second section of the road map is entitled "Development and poverty eradication: the Millennium Development Goals", while an annexed section pinpoints, in concrete and specific terms, the indicators that will measure the implementation of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is crucial, the report says, that the MDGs become national goals and serve to increase the coherence and consistency of national policies and programmes.

The major focus of this section is on eliminating poverty and on meeting the Millennium Summit target of halving the proportion of people subsisting on one dollar a day or less by the year 2015. Any effort to achieve sustainable development, says the Secretary-General, must include the search for solutions to hunger, malnutrition and disease. Noting that the international community should "continue to cooperate on many fronts" to achieve these goals, the road map stresses the need to combat HIV/AIDS through such campaigns as the Global AIDS and Health Fund. It stresses the importance of education -- and particularly of girls' empowerment through education -- in poverty eradication. Ongoing programmes in support of education, such as “school meals” and “take-home rations”, "can have an impact on all the challenges we face: lack of access to education, health problems and poverty", the Secretary-General says. The section also emphasizes that people-centred initiatives must be supplemented with sound national policies. It reiterates the need for wealthier nations to fulfil their commitments on trade access and debt sustainability, as well as on official development assistance -- currently in steady decline. "Indeed", Mr. Annan says, "none of the Millennium Development Goals can be reached unless significant additional resources are made available. Many of these resources will have to be found within the countries where they are spent, but a special obligation falls on the more fortunate countries to ensure that the less fortunate have a genuine opportunity to improve their lot".

The road map also recommends a programme for addressing the special vulnerabilities of landlocked and small island developing countries. In addition, the road map also notes that the newly established United Nations Information and Communications Technologies Task Force will take steps to begin bridging the digital divide.

"Protecting our common environment" describes the devastating impact on the earth of climate change, and the consequent need for vigilant conservation and stewardship. Among essential actions in this area, the road map recommends completing ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It recommends enhancing cooperation on forest-related issues, implementing the Conventions on biodiversity and desertification, pursuing initiatives towards environmentally sound water management and reducing the impact of natural disasters. A further recommendation centres on respect for the principles of human dignity as research on the human genome proceeds; benefits from its advances should be made available to all.

"Human rights, democracy and good governance" reaffirms the need to work collectively for more inclusive political processes, with genuine political participation. Recommended strategies include fostering national human rights institutions and supporting a "rights-based" approach to economic and social development. They also include continuation of electoral assistance to help consolidate new and restored democracies, as well as further ratification and implementation of the conventions on eliminating discrimination against women, and protection of the rights of migrants and their families. Another major target is helping ensure the independence of the media.

The sixth section, "Protecting the vulnerable", focuses on groups (particularly women and children) forced into situations of abuse because of complex humanitarian emergencies. It identifies practical measures to protect civilians, including by prosecuting violations of international humanitarian law, gaining access to vulnerable populations and separating civilians and armed elements in situations of forced displacement. Among "essential next steps" it includes fostering a culture of protection through the use of international humanitarian law, protecting refugees and internally displaced persons and disseminating international standards such as the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. It advocates support for efforts to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, with special stress on halting the use of children as soldiers.

"Meeting the special needs of Africa" addresses the challenges posed to the continent by extreme poverty, devastating debt burdens, disease, conflict and "wavering international interest". Noting that Africa's share in trade, investment and technological advances has diminished further over the past decade, the road map emphasizes that African leadership has galvanized local and international support for a range of forward-looking initiatives. These include the New African Initiative adopted earlier this year by African heads of State, a blueprint for radical new approaches to economic issues on the continent. Other initiatives include strengthening democratic governance and further developing peacekeeping capacity, in cooperation with regional organizations. Also recommended are continued efforts to promote sustainable development by increasing official development assistance, by enhancing private capital flows and by building capacities for trade. A final target is enhanced response to the Abuja Summit Declaration in order to combat HIV/AIDS.

The final section of the road map, "Strengthening the United Nations", argues that "renewing the capacity of the Organization to provide a space for genuine dialogue and a catalyst for effective action calls for improved coordination among its principal organs and enhanced partnerships with other multilateral organizations and civil society". Specifically, there is a need to reaffirm the central position of the General Assembly, achieve a comprehensive reform of the Security Council and strengthen the role of the Economic and Social Council.

Key reforms in this area, says the Secretary-General, will involve ensuring the safety of United Nations and associated personnel. He also notes the importance of the Organization receiving needed financial resources on a timely and predictable basis. Among other recommendations for strengthening the Organization, the road map stresses continuing to adopt the best internal management practices. It recommends building a stronger relationship among the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization through the United Nations body established for that purpose, the Administrative Committee on Coordination. Other strategies include deepening the relationship with the Inter-Parliamentary Union and engaging the private sector, non-governmental organizations and the rest of civil society through the United Nations Foundation for International Partnerships and the Global Compact.

In the concluding section of the document, "The road ahead", the Secretary-General says that this year's road map will be followed up with annual reports, buttressed by comprehensive five-yearly reports on progress made in achieving the Millennium Assembly's goals. The Secretary-General also submits for the consideration of Member States a sequence of priorities. For 2002, he proposes that the annual report focus on progress made in the prevention of armed conflict and the treatment and prevention of diseases, including HIV/AIDS and malaria. For 2003, he suggests that the emphasis be placed on strategies for development and strategies for sustainable development. For 2004, it should be on bridging the digital divide and curbing transnational crime.

In 2005, five years after the Millennium Summit, the Secretary-General will prepare the first comprehensive report, focusing on progress made over the preceding five years. The report will review the implementation of decisions taken at the international conferences and special sessions on the least developed countries, progress on HIV/AIDS and financing for development and sustainable development.

An annexed section entitled "Millennium Development Goals" pinpoints concrete, time-bound indicators that will be used to monitor the implementation of the eight Millennium Development Goals. The material in this section was assembled through consultations among members of the United Nations Secretariat and representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank. It describes in detail the indicators to be employed to monitor progress on such time-bound targets as eliminating extreme poverty and hunger, combating HIV/AIDS, reducing child mortality, ensuring environmental sustainability, significantly improving slum conditions and addressing the special needs of landlocked developing States. It also proposes indicators measuring official development assistance, market access, and debt sustainability in order to track progress in meeting the eighth goal, “developing a global partnership for development”.

In the introduction to the annexed section, the report notes that "in order to focus national and international priority-setting, goals and targets should be limited in number, be stable over time and communicate clearly to a broad audience. Clear and stable numerical targets can help to trigger action and promote new alliances for development".


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Scheduled for release on Wednesday, 19 September, the road map is available in all six official United Nations languages.




See attached Annex & Chart