M.D.G. Campaign
MDG Lobbying Document
1 World 8 Goals U decide
What we are asking for
This document is part of a broader, MDGs focused, education campaign involving students and young people from Ireland and Zambia. We have studied the issues and discussed the challenges; we have designed our own Charter, lobbied politicians and carried out workshops and public education activities on the MDGs. We are disappointed that the promises made in the Millennium Declaration have not been kept and we feel strongly that the world has the capacity and the resources necessary to deliver the agenda BUT not the political will.
We have therefore produced this document as a basis for lobbying governments, politicians and relevant institutions in the hope that better progress can be made before the deadline of 2015. The debate is political - it is about using the political process to ensure the minimum basic needs and rights of millions of people. It is our moral and political duty to act.
We are asking YOU to read this document, to take it seriously and to do all in your power to help us achieve these basic goals - goals that relate directly and immediately to some of the world's very poorest, least powerful yet most vulnerable people.
The Millennium Development Goals summarised
- Goal 1 - poverty and hunger - cut by half the number of people who live on less than $1US per day and who suffer from hunger
- Goal 2 - education - make sure that all children start and finish primary school
- Goal 3 - girls - ensure that as many girls as boys go to school
- Goal 4 - infants - cut back by two-thirds the number of children who die before they reach the age of 5
- Goal 5 - mothers - cut back by three-quarters the number of women who die when they are having babies
- Goal 6 - disease - stop diseases like HIV and AIDS, Malaria, TB from spreading further
- Goal 7 - environment - cut in half the number of people who lack clean water, improve the lives of people who live in slums and promote policies that respect the environment
- Goal 8 - global partnership - promote greater cooperation among all nations with special concern for fairer deals for poor countries in trade, aid, debt, new technologies etc.
Some Fundamental Values
The overall Millennium Campaign (as stated in the Millennium Declaration) recognises certain fundamental values as being essential to international affairs in the 21st century.
Freedom: Men and women have the right to live their daily lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and from the fear of violence, oppression or injustice. Democracy and just government based on the will of the people best assures these rights.
Equality: No individual and no nation must be denied the opportunity to benefit from development. The equal rights and opportunities of women and men must be assured.
Solidarity: Global challenges must be managed in a way that distributes the costs and burdens fairly in accordance with basic principles of equality and social justice. Those who suffer or who benefit least deserve support from those who benefit most.
Tolerance: Human beings must respect one other, in all their diversity of beliefs, cultures and languages. Differences within and between societies should be neither feared nor repressed, but cherished as a precious asset of humanity. A culture of peace and dialogue among all civilisations should be actively promoted.
Respect for nature: Care and attention must be shown in the management of all living species and natural resources, in accordance with the idea of sustainable development. Only in this way can the riches provided to us by nature be preserved and passed on. The current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption must be changed in the interest of our future welfare and that of our descendants.
Shared responsibility: Responsibility for managing worldwide economic and social development, as well as threats to international peace and security, must be shared among all nations. As the most universal and most representative organisation in the world, the United Nations must play the central role.