Reviewing the Millennium Declaration, revitalizing the organization.

• Author: Talwar, Namrita
• Position: 59th General Assembly

From the opening of the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly, delegations stressed the need for an international review of the Millennium Declaration and for revitalizing the United Nations as the centrepiece of its sixtieth anniversary, commemorated this year. Speakers from the developing world, particularly African countries, emphasized that progress towards the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger was uneven. Similar sentiments were expressed on the progress of achieving universal primary education, gender equality and combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases like malaria. The number of hungry people in Africa has increased over the past two decades, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic is claiming more than 8,000 lives every day. Sub-Saharan Africa represents the biggest development challenge, and if current trends persist, it may not reach some of the goals until the year 2147. Some delegates said that part of the problem was the limited resources committed by the international community. Others stressed that certain trade policies had effectively denied a large number of developing countries the opportunity to reap the benefits of globalization, and a much needed boost was required to empower nations to participate fully in the global trading system. To address some of those concerns, the General Assembly unanimously adopted a multi-stage work plan on the format and organization of its work from late June to mid-September. Member States agreed to have the 2005 high-level millennium review follow the structure of the earlier 2000 Millennium Summit, that is, three days of plenary debate, each covering the meeting's agenda on the internationally agreed development goals and the global partnership required for their achievement.

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The General Assembly, in plenary meetings that are not covered by its six main Committees, adopted 55 resolutions, among them "Strengthening emergency relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and prevention in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster", which was unanimously adopted. By the text, the Assembly invited the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to bring together members of the international community to address the medium- and long-term rehabilitation and rebuilding needs of the affected areas, from Thailand to the Horn of Africa, in the aftermath of the disaster that left an arc of destruction, killing more than 200,000 persons (see page 38).

Another resolution...