Statement by
H.E. MR. HARRI HOLKERI
President of the General Assembly
Rural Poverty Report
2001: The Challenge of Ending Rural Poverty
Release Luncheon
5 February 2001
We have gathered here to
launch the "Rural Poverty Report 2001: The Challenge of Ending Rural Poverty"
of the International Fund for Agricultural Development. I should like to congratulate
IFAD for commissioning this report. It makes a significant contribution to the
implementation of the Millennium Summit, in which 147 heads of state or government,
and representatives from 191 nations, pledged to halve extreme poverty by the
year 2015.
The report clearly points out, that to reach this goal, the international community
needs to focus on the specific needs of the rural poor. After all, the vast
majority of the extremely poor - almost 1 billion men, women and children -
live in rural areas. Poverty in rural areas differs from that in urban areas,
and therefore, different approaches are needed.
For the international community, a specific contribution of the Report, is its
clear assessment of what constitutes rural poverty within the context of a globalised
world. It identifies approaches that empower the rural poor to make better lives
for themselves, their families, and their communities.
These fresh assessments will help us to combat rural hunger and poverty on a
sustainable basis, and to steer international development towards the needs
of the rural poor.
I am confident that the findings of this report we are launching today will
also contribute and enlighten the dialogue and discussions at the forthcoming
Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, the Conference
on Financing for Development, the General Assembly's Special Session on HIV/AIDS,
and many other fora.
I strongly believe that the Rural Poverty Report of IFAD will strengthen the
overall international debate on and understanding of poverty alleviation, which
will help us reach our goal, reiterated in the Millennium Summit, to halve extreme
poverty during the next 15 years.