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Posted: January 23rd, 2007 at 12:52am By: Rev. Jay Speights
Now that Ban Ki-moon is settling in as the new secretary-general of the United Nations. I hope that, like his predecessor, Kofi Annan, he will make the Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were adopted by the United Nations in 2000 at Annan's urging, the cornerstone of his tenure. The MDGs are a global public policy agenda that would uplift all of humankind and move us closer to a more united and civil world community, as Annan envisioned. The Eight Millennium Development Goals are:
To promote gender equality and empower women.
To reduce child mortality.
To improve maternal health.
To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
To achieve universal primary education.
To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
To ensure environmental sustainability.
To develop a global partnership for development.
I want to assure Mr. Ban that I understand he needs to have a U.N. legacy all his own and that he is not sacrificing it by adopting his predecessor's agenda as his primary focus. He is entitled to have a legacy. He has worked long and hard to reach this level, and he would not be there if he did not feel that he had some prescriptive measures that would advance all of humanity. I want to assure him that if he did make the MDGs the cornerstone of his tenure, he would not be sacrificing his chance at leaving his personal imprint on the United Nations. Actually, he would enhance his legacy.
Here's what he can do. Shortly after the United Nations adopted the Eight MDGs, the religious non-government organizations affiliated with the United Nations began pushing for "interfaith education for peaceful coexistence" to be adopted as the Ninth MDG. They are still pushing for its adoption, and they now call it the "Unofficial Ninth MDG." So there you have it, Mr. Ban, place your personal imprint on what is perhaps the most far-reaching and significant initiative the United Nations has ever adopted. Make the "Unofficial Ninth MDG," "interfaith education for peaceful coexistence," official. You should move immediately and early in your tenure to do this. By pushing for its immediate adoption, you will make the MDGs uniquely yours in a way, and bring the subject of religious intolerance to the top of the list of things that cause the most trouble around the globe.
In my opinion, and I feel I speak with some authority as the main U.N. representative of a religious non-government organization, that if this Unofficial Ninth MDG were adopted, the religious groups affiliated with the United Nations would be more energized than ever about what would become the Nine Millennium Development Goals. This would provide a perfect platform for the religions of the world to come together in the spirit of interfaith and interact with government leaders to push for their global enactment. So Mr. Secretary-General, here's your opportunity to do something truly significant early in your tenure. Think about it, by having "interfaith education for peaceful coexistence" adopted as the Ninth MDG, you would take the leadership in helping religion to become a more viable tool for uniting the global community and not dividing it. That's a pretty impressive thing and a great legacy.
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Rev. Jay Speights, who has an MA in public policy, is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at http://ngo.newseminary.org/. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Jay Speights
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Now that Ban Ki-moon is settling in as the new secretary-general of the United Nations. I hope that, like his predecessor, Kofi Annan, he will make the Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were adopted by the United Nations in 2000 at Annan's urging, the cornerstone of his tenure. The MDGs are a global public policy agenda that would uplift all of humankind and move us closer to a more united and civil world community, as Annan envisioned. The Eight Millennium Development Goals are:
To promote gender equality and empower women.
To reduce child mortality.
To improve maternal health.
To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
To achieve universal primary education.
To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
To ensure environmental sustainability.
To develop a global partnership for development.
I want to assure Mr. Ban that I understand he needs to have a U.N. legacy all his own and that he is not sacrificing it by adopting his predecessor's agenda as his primary focus. He is entitled to have a legacy. He has worked long and hard to reach this level, and he would not be there if he did not feel that he had some prescriptive measures that would advance all of humanity. I want to assure him that if he did make the MDGs the cornerstone of his tenure, he would not be sacrificing his chance at leaving his personal imprint on the United Nations. Actually, he would enhance his legacy.
Here's what he can do. Shortly after the United Nations adopted the Eight MDGs, the religious non-government organizations affiliated with the United Nations began pushing for "interfaith education for peaceful coexistence" to be adopted as the Ninth MDG. They are still pushing for its adoption, and they now call it the "Unofficial Ninth MDG." So there you have it, Mr. Ban, place your personal imprint on what is perhaps the most far-reaching and significant initiative the United Nations has ever adopted. Make the "Unofficial Ninth MDG," "interfaith education for peaceful coexistence," official. You should move immediately and early in your tenure to do this. By pushing for its immediate adoption, you will make the MDGs uniquely yours in a way, and bring the subject of religious intolerance to the top of the list of things that cause the most trouble around the globe.
In my opinion, and I feel I speak with some authority as the main U.N. representative of a religious non-government organization, that if this Unofficial Ninth MDG were adopted, the religious groups affiliated with the United Nations would be more energized than ever about what would become the Nine Millennium Development Goals. This would provide a perfect platform for the religions of the world to come together in the spirit of interfaith and interact with government leaders to push for their global enactment. So Mr. Secretary-General, here's your opportunity to do something truly significant early in your tenure. Think about it, by having "interfaith education for peaceful coexistence" adopted as the Ninth MDG, you would take the leadership in helping religion to become a more viable tool for uniting the global community and not dividing it. That's a pretty impressive thing and a great legacy.
— — —
Rev. Jay Speights, who has an MA in public policy, is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at http://ngo.newseminary.org/. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Jay Speights
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