Thématique N°14
Foreward, by Jean Hénaire
Twelve decades and one millennium; such has been the UN programme for the past twelve years during which the United Nations has proclaimed 12 decades and one Millennium Declaration.
These decades are a larger part of ambitious goals embodied through an obvious will to make the world a better place. When these objectives are not met, they must be renewed. This is actually the case of the binding report on the goal for equal access to education formulated in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990. Ten years later, the deadline for reaching this goal was set for 2015 at the Dakar Forum in Senegal. Today, it is more or less understood that, if current trends continue, the targeted goal will be far from reached.
Confronted with a paucity of successful endeavours throughout the past few decades, the UN intends to spearhead the goals which allowed the organisation to come into being as a whole. This gave rise to the idea of a Millennium Declaration. Thanks to this Declaration, from now and beyond 2015, universal access to primary education, gender equality, the elimination of AIDS and the durability of environmental resources throughout the world will be well on the way to becoming a reality.
Despite this surge of commendable intentions, the political will of States is somewhat lacking. The UN is also behind on its reform efforts. In this respect, the Reform Plan of the High Commissioner of Human Rights recently submitted by its highest official, Louise Arbour, is a step in the right direction. Above all, this plan suggests creating a special unit of the High Commissioner for carrying out the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as strengthening efforts to promote economic, social and cultural rights in the eyes of the public. We can only hope that this project will produce concrete results.
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