OPENING REMARKS (only)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press,
Before I talk about my activities of the past few hours, I wish to stress a few points about my just-completed Asia trip, in particular my two-day visit to Myanmar. First, I went to Myanmar to convey to the highest authorities of the country the concerns and expectations of the international community for democratization and the protection of human rights; the immediate release of all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi and the free participation of all parties and citizens in the political process; a resumption of substantive and time-bound dialogue between the Government and Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy; criteria for free, fair and inclusive elections in 2010, including a timely publication of the electoral law, the establishment of an electoral commission and a firm date to hold the elections. Only then will the elections be seen as credible and legitimate.
On the humanitarian front, I raised the practical issues of access, in particular the issuance of visas to aid workers; and the expansion of humanitarian assistance beyond the Irrawaddy Delta where I visited Kyon Da Village to see the results of recovery and reconstruction work.
It is now up to the leaders of Myanmar to set in place the elements necessary for the election to be credible and legitimate. And I’m going to follow up to see how the authorities will act on the issues that I have raised in our discussions.
Now, let me turn to today’s very important meetings. The Global Review of Aid for Trade could not have come at a more critical moment for both international trade and the development goals. The aid for trade initiative has made real progress in the three years since its launch. The April G-20 Summit pledge of $250 billion for trade financing could lead to a significant increase in the $25 billion that aid-for-trade received in 2007.
Despite these encouraging prospects, our development goals, as noted in the recent report on the Millennium Development Goals, are thrown into question by the economic crisis. This crisis has had a severe impact on demand. It is now widely predicted that global trade will decline by 10 per cent this year. Unless the direction of the crisis is reversed soon, it will further unravel the progress that developing countries have made over the past two decades in reducing poverty. That is why I am urging donor countries to meet existing pledges on aid for trade. And that is why the United Nations continues to stress aid for trade as a crucial component in improving trade competitiveness of developing country producers and exporters.
In my address to the UN Economic and Social Council’s annual ministerial meeting this morning, I noted that the crises of the past 12 months -- the energy crisis, the food crisis and the current economic crisis -- have caused widespread hardship and grief.
And yet, if unaddressed, these crises will pale in comparison to the growing impacts of climate change which poses a grave threat to all the Millennium Development Goals. This is why we must Seal the Deal in Copenhagen in December. Later this week I will be calling on world leaders at the G8 meeting in L’Aquila, Italy, to be bold and ambitious. The time for good rhetoric and half measures is over. All countries must now do their part, and G8 leaders should lead the way. Now this means more ambitious emission reduction targets, committing to serious financing and technology transfer. It also means working out concrete modalities and ensuring that adaptation does not become an orphan of the UNFCCC negotiations.
G8 leaders must also fulfill the commitments they made at the Gleneagles Summit in the summer of 2005. Those commitments do include raising annual aid flows to Africa, and yet aid remains at least $20 billion below the Gleneagles targets. I therefore call again for solidarity and special attention on the plight of the poor – those least responsible for the crisis, and those least able to bear its impact. I made the same appeal in April at the G20 London Summit, and I will do so again at the G8 meeting two days from now. I will remind the G8 leaders of the specific commitments they made to increase financial and technical support to developing countries by 2010 to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. I will also urge them to set out, country by country, how donors will scale up aid to Africa over the next year. The credibility of the international system depends on whether donors deliver. The United Nations, for its part, will continue to do its utmost to speak up for those most in need.
In the meantime, we must also confront other pressing issues. That’s why, later today, I will be chairing a meeting of potential donors to enhance the global response to the H1N1 flu. WHO is tracking H1N1 closely as the virus evolves. At this very moment, countries in the southern hemisphere are particularly hard hit. Argentina alone reports over 2800 cases and over 40 deaths. And Argentina is not alone.
Our gathering this afternoon will focus on meeting the needs of developing countries in the face of H1N1. We must make certain they get what they need. That will require funding for medicines, vaccines and other response measures. In short, we must remain vigilant and we must ensure all are protected regardless of where they live or how wealthy they are. Human decency and global solidarity demand that we pull together for the poorest and most vulnerable among us. They demand that we ensure a truly powerful global partnership for health. I am very encouraged by the response from donor countries and agencies and I look forward to meeting them later today.
I thank you for your attention and will now take a few questions.
