March 23, 2005

IDEA Congratulates Kofi Annan for his Larger Freedom Report

In spite of his detractors, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan once again proved to the world that he is capable of leading and coordinating matters of global proportions. In his capacity as the chief executive of the �world government,� he has demonstrated, beyond doubt, that he is an effective leader, an efficient manager, and a visionary statesman. His magnanimity and leadership quality are embodied in his Report, In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All.

The Report echoes the spirit of the 2000 Millennium Summit and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) agreed upon, endorsed, and ratified by 191 UN member states. The Secretary General reiterated and emphasized a shared vision of development, and he appreciates the Millennium Project with its blue print of Investing in Development: A practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (January 2005).

However, Kofi Annan also critically examines the drawbacks and shortcomings of the MDG. He acknowledges that �progress in achieving the MDG was far from uniform across the world,� and as a result �sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania are lagging in almost all areas.�

Kofi Annan�s diagnosis is on track, but most importantly his prescription to the problem MDG encountered, as aptly put in �A framework for action,� is cogent and lucid. �However well crafted on paper,� the Secretary General says, �investment strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals will not work in practice unless supported by States with transparent, accountable systems of governance, grounded in the rule of law, encompassing civil and political as well as economic and social rights, and underpinned by accountable and efficient public administration. Many of the poorest countries will need major capacity-building investments to put in place and maintain the necessary infrastructure and to train and employ qualified personnel. But without good governance, strong institutions and a clear commitment to rooting out corruption and mismanagement wherever it is found, broader progress will prove elusive.�

We at IDEA hope the developed industrialized nations of the North will seriously consider Annan�s Report and wholeheartedly cooperate in the meaningful translation of the Millennium Development Goals into a viable program of action. In this regard, the North has a special responsibility to help the poorest nations of the world realize a modicum of development programs within the framework of the MDG.

In Larger Freedom is a comprehensive report of what we ought to have done and what we should do to address issues surrounding development, security, and human rights, and IDEA hopes to witness the fruition of the MDG, especially in halving poverty (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger), realizing universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality rate, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and forging a global partnership for development.

The MDG is a calling for all humanity; Kofi Annan and his associates are the harbingers of such a calling and we must give them a hand in the making of a new, just, peaceful, and better world.

On behalf of IDEA, Inc.

Ghelawdewos Araia, PhD/President