Vol. 571 No. 2
177 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the present position in relation to the achievement of the millennium development goals of the UN in relation to commitments made, resources delivered and achievements; his further views on the failure to achieve the development aims announced at Doha two years ago at the recent meeting in Cancún and search for the measures as he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21345/03]
The declaration which was adopted at the UN millennium summit in 2000 included eight development goals. The goals set specific targets to be achieved by 2015 in areas such as the reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty, universal primary education, maternal and child mortality and HIV/AIDS. The UN General Assembly subsequently requested the Secretary General to report annually on progress towards the goals and to prepare a comprehensive progress report in 2005.
The most recent such progress report was published on 2 September 2003. The 2003 UN Development Programme's human development report, which was launched by the Taoiseach in Dublin in July 2003, also examined progress towards the millennium development goals. On current trends, it seems likely that globally most of the goals will be achieved by 2015. Progress towards the goals is, however, being achieved largely on the basis of continuing economic growth and poverty reduction in China and India where large numbers of poor people continue to be lifted out of extreme poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, many countries are falling behind and are not expected to meet the goals unless economic growth increases significantly. The UNDP has estimated that, at the current pace, sub-Saharan Africa would not reach the goals for poverty until 2147 and for child mortality until 2165.
The eighth goal calls for a global partnership for development and relates to increased overseas development assistance, more debt relief and increased trade opportunities. Since the millennium summit, developed countries have made commitments to provide an additional $16 billion in ODA by 2006. The World Bank and the IMF's heavily indebted poor countries initiative is providing increased debt relief to 26 countries, but is still not delivering a definitive exit from the debt treadmill.
In trade, the EU's everything but arms initiative has opened the EU market, duty and quota free, to all products, except armaments, from the 48 least developed countries, with transition periods for rice, sugar and bananas. Many of the LDCs do not, however, have the domestic production capacity to take advantage of these new trade opportunities.
The Doha WTO ministerial meeting in November 2001 adopted a declaration launching the Doha development round of global trade negotiations. The declaration provided that "needs and interests" of developing countries would be placed "at the heart of the Work Programme adopted in this Declaration." The work programme covered issues such as trade in agriculture, services, market access for non-agricultural products and the trade related aspects of intellectual property rights. It also made commitments to provide long-term funding for the provision of WTO technical assistance to developing countries. WTO members subsequently established the WTO Doha development agenda global trust fund which will provide Sw. Fr. 24 million in technical assistance in 2003. Ireland has contributed €340,000 to this trust fund.
The failure of the WTO ministerial meeting in Cancún to agree on a framework for carrying forward the Doha round is a significant setback for developing countries. Their efforts to reduce poverty and to integrate into the global economy would be better promoted through a fair and equitable multilateral trade agreement rather than bilateral or regional arrangements. I believe that we must redouble our efforts to secure an agreement at the WTO that offers fair market access and, at the same time, allows all of us preserve the essence of our rural culture and environment.
Question No. 178 answered with Question No. 122.
Question No. 179 answered with Question No. 109.
