Page 429 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

But while new technology is forging some of us closer than ever before, it is also
driving us apart as a global community. Although many of us watch in awe at
the pace of technological advance, for most in this world the daily issues remain
the same. It is not a question of how they get “on-line”, it is a question of how
they will be fed, how their children will be schooled and how they will receive
the health care they need.

This is why, when we talk about the world becoming a smaller place, we
need to remember that what we are too often referring to is a process of
exclusion. As the Secretary-General has said, it is shameful that the vast
majority of people on this planet receive none of the benefits of globalization.

In his Millennium Report, the Secretary-General highlights three areas
needing the particular attention of the whole global community: extreme
poverty, environmental neglect and armed conflicts. Thus, we must make a
reality for ALL people which includes: freedom from want, freedom for future
generations to sustain their lives on this planet, and freedom from fear.

To start with freedom from want, the Special Session of the General
Assembly on Social Development in Geneva recommended further specific
actions for implementation of the 10 commitments adopted at the
Copenhagen World Summit of 1995. These, with a view towards eradicating
poverty, promoting full and productive employment, fostering social
integration and creating an enabling environment for social development. The
immediate aim is the reduction of the proportion of people living in extreme
poverty (defined as US$ 1per day) by half by the year 2015.

In reference to health, there is an urgent necessity to begin to reverse the
spread of HIV/AIDS Our goal is to cut the rate of HIV infection in young
people by 25 per cent by 2010. HIV/AIDS is having a devastating effect on the
economies and societies in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

But this is by no means the only problem which the continent faces. The
Secretary-General asks for Africa to be given special provision and for Africans
to be fully supported in their struggle to overcome the continent’s problems.
Specifically, experts and foundations have been urged to tackle the problem of
agricultural productivity in Africa

There is an urgent need to revive the issue of environmental responsibility.
It has lost much of the impetus of the early 1990s. The Rio Conference of 1992

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