We are at the half-way point in the great global campaign to address the unacceptable divide between rich and poor. The 2000 Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – agreed by 189 Governments from the North and South - have provided a global framework to measure the world’s progress to reduce poverty by the year 2015. It is unique for 2 reasons. First because it has specific measurable goals and second because it is about a 15 year campaign. Campaigns come and go and it is difficult to keep sustained attention over a long period of time.

The MDGs help keep attention going and growing. The High Level Event on MDGs in September, called by the UN Secretary-General is another opportunity to reinvigorate the commitments of every country. Where do we stand on the MDGs? Some progress has been made. 15 years ago one in three people lived on less than a dollar a day. We are now at one in five. More children have enrolled in primary education and child mortality has declined globally. The tuberculosis epidemic appears to be on the verge of decline and key interventions to control malaria have been expanded. But this is not enough. We have only 7 and a half years left and one billion people still live in extreme poverty. More than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water. About 2 billion people have no regular access to reliable energy services. 6,000 people die of AIDS each day. 750 million adults cannot read. And one of the most striking statistics is that the odds that a woman will die from complications in pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa are 1 in 16 over the course of her lifetime, compared to 1 in 3,800 in the developed world. And those who carry almost zero responsibility for climate change are bearing the brunt of its effects, while the gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening.

What can we do to ensure these stark statistics turn into positive progress in the next few years? According to the United Nations report on the MDGs (2007) rapid and large scale progress is feasible. The know-how exists to advance human development. And the analysis shows that a breakthrough on each and every one of the MDGs demands concentrated attention and action on improving the social, cultural and economic position of women. This cannot happen without strong governments leading pro-poor policies and actions, coupled with the international community’s financial and technical backing. The world has never seen so much prosperity as now. But resources need to be directed to the right causes and not squandered in unnecessary wars – last year around a trillion dollars was spent on arms. Financially it has been estimated that to meet all the MDGs by the year 2015 rich countries would need to devote 0.54% of their GNI. I noted that Israel contributes 0.06%. However, it will not be possible to reach the 2015 goals through government and donor initiatives alone. Civil society also has an essential role to play. A strong civil society enables people, including the most vulnerable groups, to influence public policies at all levels.

Civil society can take many forms: non-government organizations, cooperatives, trade unions, service organizations, community-based organizations, indigenous peoples' organizations, youth and women's organizations, academic institutions, policy and research networks, and faith-based organizations. But civic engagement is not limited to formal involvement through civil society organizations. Informal mechanisms also play a vital role. Countless citizens are involved on a daily basis in volunteer acts that make a real difference. Let me mention a number of expressions of civic engagement, formal and less-formal, to help achieve the MDGs . First, civil society hold governments to account financially and morally. Citizens can remind governments in developing and developed countries of their promise to end poverty and social exclusion. Many civil society organizations have a proven capacity for broad-based mobilization and creating bottom-up demand that holds leaders accountable. Examples over the past decade have shown that it is possible to hold governments to account through democratic means.

The Jubilee Campaign on Debt and the anti-landmine and cluster munitions campaigns show how concerted action by mobilizing citizens with powerful arguments can bring about change to issues that negatively affect the poor. Second, civil society can put pressure to promote that strategies towards the achievement of the MDGs are tailored to the local context. One thing is about making big statement but delivery is all about efficiency and effectiveness in the local context. Participation from different stakeholders in policies and strategies that aim to achieve the MDGs is key. It is key because national poverty reduction strategies should respond to peoples’ needs. And likewise international development assistance needs to be demand driven which is not always self-evident. Central to UNDP’s work is the promotion of inclusive participation and responsive governance as well as strengthening state capacity, including at the local level, to deliver services. Ensuring that all citizens have the ability, the agency and the opportunity to participate in development processes is a crucial condition for success.

In Ethiopia for example the conventional monitoring and evaluation of the national Poverty Reduction Strategy Program (PRSP) was supplemented by user perceptions of the quality and satisfaction of services. These have been documented through the first citizen report card survey. Third, civil society can have a very useful role in monitoring and reporting on progress towards the MDGs. Data collection and dissemination is extremely powerful.

Early this year a ‘Citizens’ Report on the MDGs’ was released in New Delhi with representatives of civil society and the UN. It was published by Wada Na Todo Abhiyan , which is a network of over 3000 development organizations across 23 states working to hold the government of India accountable to meet the MDGs and National Development Goals. The report provides an overview of progress, as well as focused reviews from the lens of socially disadvantaged groups such as Dalits, Denotified Tribes and Muslim Minorities. Fourth, civil society can advocate and campaign for the MDGs. Because advocacy is key to ‘spreading the message’. The United Nations Millennium Campaign supports and inspires people from around the world to take action in support of the Millennium Development Goals. On 17 October last year over 43.7 million people, in 127 countries literally stood up against poverty and the MDGs, breaking the Guinness World record. Across the globe, millions stood up and spoke out to demand a more urgent political response to the growing crisis of global poverty and inequality. They called on their leaders to keep the commitments made in the Millennium Development Goals. Fifth, civil society can volunteer their time, skills, expertise and passion for the MDGs.

Volunteerism can be a highly effective channel for individuals to support development. Volunteerism can contribute not only to long-term development, but as experience has shown after the Tsunami and the earthquake in Pakistan, volunteers play a crucial role in the period immediately after a crisis or disaster in reconstruction and bringing societies together. The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) has close to 8,000 volunteers from 160 nationalities every day working to support communities, citizen’s initiatives and governments by providing technical knowledge, hands-on support and training in support of human development through education, health, water and sanitation and urban management initiatives. As a further example of an approach to strengthen the impact of volunteerism, the UN Volunteers are working with the Johns Hopkins University, to encourage its inclusion into National Accounts Systems in countries from both the North and the South in order to account for the very significant contribution of non-profit sectors. Working for development, equality and justice creates the fundament for overcoming conflict and confrontation. In this region mired by war and violence it is the only truly solid bridge to lasting peace and prosperity. Allow me therefore to express some genuine, concerns that refer to the context of this conference. Human development presumes recognition and observance of human rights, equal for all human beings. A legitimate concern to assure security for one group of people should not disavow the rights of others.

The ongoing confrontation in Gaza, that by many is seen as a disproportional collective punishment and the many obstacles in daily life in the West Bank are widely seen as counterproductive to the development effort needed to create better opportunities for growth, trade, jobs and thereby stability and security. At the same time I would like to express our appreciation for the increasing interest and partnership for development from the side of Israel, including the preparations underway between the UNDP Bureau for the African region and Mashav to have several countries in Africa benefit from a pragmatic high impact initiative to strengthen agricultural productivity and output which should be stepped up. It is very important that countries commit themselves to the General Assembly supported target 0.7% of GDP of ODA as a key condition to make the MDG campaign possible. If Israel would be able to make a plan towards this goal it would be very powerful, especially with the great opportunity Israel has as it will probably be joining the OECD soon. The Israeli society has substantial knowledge, human and financial resources to offer to narrow the daunting gap between rich and poor in a world of affluence. Whether it is driven by identity, faith or secular pragmatism: eradicating poverty is very much within our collective capacity and moreover serving our common interest in a stable and open world. Therefore I would like to strongly encourage you to bring together the forces supporting multilateralism, human rights and justice for all to build such an international community, driven by civic engagement derived from a wide range of sources of inspiration. That is not calling for Utopia, but simply building on achievements and proven impact elsewhere. Let’s work together for these noble goals. Thank you.