| Resumen |
A new sense of mission \At the Millennium Summit, 6,7 & 8 September 2000, world leaders came together to set goals that make a measurable difference for people everywhere\(Click for a larger poster)\At the end of March 2000, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan released a report entitled We the Peoples—the Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century. This report has become widely known as the Millennium Report.\repared ahead of the Millennium Summit, a special session of the fifty-fifth session of the UN General Assembly (6 –8 September 2000), the report lays out a vision for the United Nations in the age of globalization. In it, the Secretary-General offers an action plan to make globalization work for the people everywhere. The most comprehensive presentation of the UN’s mission in its fifty-five year history, the report contains numerous specific goals and programme initiatives.\The key points of the report are summarized below.\I. New Century, New Challenges \The new millennium, and the Millennium Summit, offer the world’s peoples a unique occasion to reflect on their common destiny, at a moment when they find themselves interconnected as never before. They look to their leaders to identify and act on the challenges ahead. The United Nations can help meet those challenges, if its Members share a renewed sense of mission. Founded to introduce new principles into international relations in 1945, the UN has succeeded better in some areas than others. This is a chance to reshape the United Nations so that it can make a real and measurable difference to people’s lives in the new century. \II. Globalization and Governance \The benefits of globalization are obvious: faster growth, higher living standards, new opportunities. Yet a backlash has begun, because these benefits are so unequally distributed, and because the global market is not yet underpinned by rules based on shared social objectives. \ In 1945 the founders set up an open and co-operative system for an international world. This system worked, and made it possible for globalization to emerge. As a result we now live in a global world. Responding to this shift is a central challenge for world leaders today. \ In this new world, groups and individuals more and more often interact directly across frontiers, without involving the State. This has its dangers. Crime, narcotics, terrorism, pollution, disease, weapons, refugees and migrants: all move back and forth faster and in greater numbers than in the past. People feel threatened by events far away. They are also more aware of injustice and brutality in distant countries, and expect States to do something about them. But new technologies also create opportunities for mutual understanding and common action. If we are to get the best out of globalization and avoid the worst, we must learn to govern better, and how to govern better together. \That does not mean world government or the eclipse of nation states. On the contrary, States need to be strengthened. And they can draw strength from each other, by acting together within common institutions based on shared rules and values. These institutions must reflect the realities of the time, including the distribution of power. And they must serve as an arena for states to co-operate with non-state actors, including global companies. In many cases they need to be complemented by less formal policy networks, which can respond more quickly to the changing global agenda. \ The gross disparities of wealth in today’s world, the miserable conditions in which well over a billion people live, the prevalence of endemic conflict in some regions, and the rapid degradation of the natural environment: all these combine to make the present model of development unsustainable, unless remedial measures are taken by common agreement. A recent survey of public opinion across six continents – the largest ever conducted – confirms that such measures are what people want. \III. Freedom from Want \The past half-century has seen unprecedented economic gains. But 1.2 billion people have to live on less than $1 a day. The combination of extreme poverty with extreme inequality between countries, and often also within them, is an affront to our common humanity. It also makes many other problems worse, including conflict. And the world’s population is still rising rapidly, with the increase concentrated in the poorest countries. We must act to reduce extreme poverty by half, in every part of the world, before 2015. The following are priority areas: \Achieving sustained growth. This means, above all, ensuring that people in all developing countries can benefit from globalization. \Generating opportunities for the young. By 2015, all children must complete primary schooling, with equal opportunities for both genders at all levels of education. And ways must be found to provide young people with decent work. \Promoting health and combating HIV/AIDS. Health research must be redirected at the problems affecting 90 per cent of the world’s people. By 2010 we should have cut the rate of HIV infection in young people by 25 per cent. \Upgrading the slums. We must support the Cities without Slums action plan, which aims to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. \Including Africa. The Report challenges experts and philanthropic foundations to tackle low agricultural productivity in Africa. It also urges African governments to give higher priority to reducing poverty, and the rest of the world to help them. \Building digital bridges. New technology offers an unprecedented chance for developing countries to leapfrog earlier stages of development. Everything must be done to maximize their peoples’ access to new information networks. \Demonstrating global solidarity. Rich countries must further open their markets to poor countries’ products, must provide deeper and faster debt relief, and must give more and better focused development assistance. Ridding the world of the scourge of extreme poverty is a challenge to every one of us. We must not fail to meet it. \IV. Freedom from Fear \Wars between States have become less frequent. But in the last decade internal wars have claimed more than 5 million lives, and driven many times that number of people from their homes. At the same time weapons of mass destruction continue to cast their shadow of fear. We now think of security less as defending territory, more in terms of protecting people. The threat of deadly conflict must be tackled at every stage: \Prevention. Conflicts are most frequent in poor countries, especially in those that are ill governed and where there are sharp inequalities between ethnic or religious groups. The best way to prevent them is to promote healthy and balanced economic development, combined with human rights, minority rights and political arrangements in which all groups are fairly represented. Also, illicit transfers of weapons, money, or natural resources must be forced into the limelight. \Protecting the vulnerable. We must find better ways to enforce international and human rights law, and ensure that gross violations do not go unpunished. \Addressing the dilemma of intervention. National sovereignty must not be used as a shield for those who wantonly violate the rights and lives of their fellow human beings. In the face of mass murder, armed intervention authorized by the Security Council is an option that cannot be relinquished. \Strengthening peace operations. The Millennium Assembly is invited to consider recommendations from a high-level panel the Secretary-General has established to review all aspects of peace operations. \Targeting sanctions. Recent research has explored ways to make sanctions smarter, by targeting them better. The Security Council should draw on this research when designing and applying sanctions regimes in future. \Pursuing arms reductions. The Secretary-General urges Member States to control small arms transfers more rigorously; and to re-commit themselves to reducing the dangers both of existing nuclear weapons and of further proliferation. \V. Sustaining our future \We now face an urgent need to secure the freedom of future generations to sustain their lives on this planet – and we are failing to do it. We have been plundering our children’s heritage to pay for unsustainable practices. Changing this is a challenge for rich and poor countries alike. The Rio Conference in 1992 provided the foundations, and the Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances is an important step forward. But elsewhere our responses are too few, too little and too late. Before 2002 we must revive the debate and prepare to act decisively in the following areas: \Coping with climate change. Reducing the threat of global warming requires a 60 per cent reduction in emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases. This can be achieved by promoting energy efficiency and relying more on renewable energy sources. Implementing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol would be a first step. \Confronting the water crisis. The report urges endorsement of the World Water Forum Ministerial Conference’s target of cutting by half the proportion of people without access to safe and affordable water before 2015. It also calls for a Blue Revolution which would increase agricultural productivity per unit of water, while improving management of watersheds and flood plains. \Defending the soil. The best hope of feeding a growing world population from shrinking agricultural land may lie in biotechnology, but its safety and environmental impact are hotly debated. The Secretary-General is convening a global policy network to try and resolve these controversies, so that the poor and hungry do not lose out. \Preserving forests, fisheries, and biodiversity. In all these areas, conservation is vital. Governments and the private sector must work together to support it. \Building a new ethic of stewardship. The Secretary-General recommends four priorities: \1) Education of the public. \2) Green accounting, to integrate the environment into economic policy. \3) Regulations and incentives. \4) More accurate scientific data. \Peoples, as well as Governments, must commit themselves to a new ethic of conservation and stewardship. \VI. Renewing the United Nations \Without a strong UN, it will be much harder to meet all these challenges. Strengthening the UN depends on Governments, and especially on their willingness to work with others – the private sector, non-governmental organizations and multilateral agencies – to find consensus solutions. The UN must act as a catalyst, to stimulate action by others. And it must fully exploit the new technologies, especially information technology. The Secretary-General recommends action in these areas: \Identifying our core strengths. The UN’s influence derives not from power but from the values it represents, its role in helping to set and sustain global norms, its ability to stimulate global concern and action; and the trust inspired by its practical work to improve people’s lives. We must build on those strengths, especially by insisting on the importance of the rule of law. But we also need to adapt the UN itself, notably by reforming the Security Council so it can both work effectively and enjoy unquestioned legitimacy. And we must expand the UN’s relationship with civil society organizations, as well as with the private sector and foundations. \Networking for change. We must supplement formal institutions with informal policy networks, bringing together international institutions, civil society and private sector organizations, and national governments, in pursuit of common goals. \Making digital connections. We can use the new information technology to make the UN more efficient, and to improve its interaction with the rest of the world. But to do so we must overcome a change-resistant culture. The Secretary-General is asking the information technology industry to help us do it. \Advancing the quiet revolution. To meet the needs of the 21st century we need real structural reform, a clearer consensus on priorities among Member States, and less intrusive oversight of day-to-day management. Decisions are needed from the General Assembly – for instance to include sunset provisions in new mandates and to introduce results-based budgeting. \VII. For consideration by the Summit \The Secretary-General lists six shared values, reflecting the spirit of the Charter, which are of particular relevance to the new century: Freedom; Equity and Solidarity; Tolerance; Non-Violence; Respect for Nature; and Shared responsibility. He urges the Millennium Summit to adopt a series of resolutions, drawn from the body of the Report, as an earnest of its will to act on those values.\ The Millennium Report: A Common Vision for Humanity \Each new school year brings with it hopes of learning anew, building on prior knowledge and mobilizing energy for new pursuits. Likewise, the beginning of the new millennium brings an unparalleled sense of hope and opportunity. But it can also bring new dangers.\The world has accumulated unprecedented wealth, yet one-sixth of humanity lives in abject poverty. Science and technology have made great progress, yet we are helpless in the face of devastation caused by HIV/AIDS. The world has not known large-scale war during the past 55 years, yet many countries are ravaged by genocide and ethnic violence. We have conquered the moon, yet the health of our earth is threatened by environmental degradation. \How do we confront our future and to whom do we turn for leadership?\One answer has been provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan. In a report entitled, We the peoples, the role of the United Nations in the 21st century, the Secretary-General presents an overview of the challenges facing humankind and suggests practical solutions. This report, also known as the Millennium Report, was prepared in advance of the Millennium Summit of the United Nations (6 – 8 September 2000). In essence, the report provides world leaders with the tools needed to identify problems, to understand their magnitude, to consider how best to confront them and to generate discussions for reaching consensus\The report is also intended for people in all walks of life. Everyone has a stake in the future of the world; hence everyone should participate however possible in discussing the course the world might take. \As teachers, you can play an important role. You can explain to your students the ideas of the Secretary-General and the role he envisages for the United Nations, and also encourage them to become involved. I invite you to incorporate the themes of the Millennium Report in your lesson plans. Whether you teach history, geography, international relations or environmental sciences, the report contains issues and ideas that you should find not only relevant but extremely useful. \To help you achieve this, the Department of Public Information has produced a series of briefing papers addressing the key themes of the Secretary-General’s report. Each paper presents an overview of the issue under discussion, identifies recent development, explains the areas needing attention or more effort and includes case studies. Each paper also includes suggested activities for students who are encouraged to involve themselves at local, national and international levels\The papers have been prepared with four goals in mind:\To help young people better understand the challenges the world faces; \To let young people know that positive steps are being taken; \To help them better understand the many ways in which the United Nations is working to build a better world; and \To provide them with practical ideas for getting involved \It was through the United Nations that the world mobilized some of the great movements of the last half-century, in the process revolutionizing our views of human rights, the environment and conflict resolution. We need to create the same kind of energy and commitment to tackle the challenges of the new millennium. You can help.\Kensaku Hogen\Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information\United Nations\What can you do?\(Click for larger poster) Now that you have learned about the major challenges facing today’s world, the obvious question to ask is: what can you do to help? This is how Secretary-General Kofi Annan replies to this question. \More and more, young people are asking me this encouraging question: What can I do to make things better? My advice is always start by learning and looking around you. Get to know people whose lives are different from yours. Find out what you have in common with them. Build bridges of understanding with them. It is only by doing so that we can truly appreciate the worth of others. We do so whether we are sharing our lunch with someone sitting next to us, or exchanging e-mail greetings with someone at the other end of the world. \Computers and modems help us talk and listen to each other across oceans. But that would not do us much good if we did not already have a lot in common. Every society needs shared values: for our global society, that is respect for our equal human rights. We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skins -- but we all belong to one human race. We are all part of the same human family -- and when one part of that family does well, we all do better. So we want to help others to have the same opportunities we have. \If something has not been done before, it does not mean it can't be done; it only means you could be the first to do it. \Once you have created a bridge with others, keep it open by talking to each other and, above all, by listening. This is what I try to do in my job as Secretary-General, because I know that once I have built up trust with someone, we can work to change things together. So can you. When you see something that is wrong, no matter how big the problem is, ask yourself: Who else would like to change this? How can we work together? Take action with others who share your conviction. Have the courage to believe you can make a difference. As with everything in life, small steps count. If something has not been done before, it does not mean it can't be done; it only means you could be the first to do it.\Kofi Annan\Secretary-General\United Nations http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/briefing/index.asp http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/briefing/index.asp |
