Remarks to the Rainbow/Push Coalition

Distinguished guests,

Friends,

Thank you for those warm words of welcome and the wonderful things you said about my country Ghana and the links between my country and the African-American community.

Your references on the forts on the west coast of Ghana and the west coast of Africa is something that can not be lost on anyone who has seen those forts.

Let me thank you for that wonderful welcome and for the opportunity to meet with you this morning. It's encouraging to meet an organization which is committed to the causes of justice and equality - causes that are at the heart of the United Nations mission around the world. Our struggle is one and the same --- for human dignity, for equality of opportunity, and for economic development as the cornerstone of global progress.

We all now recognize that to succeed in any of these global endeavors, we need to build new coalitions, bringing together governments, civil society, foundations, the private sector and organizations such as yours. We live in a world marked by great progress in some areas, and great suffering in others. Inequality within and between countries persists to a shameful degree, and if we are to create a safer, more stable world, we must close the gap between the rich and the poor.

This challenge is at the core of the United Nations' work - fighting poverty, protecting children, promoting human rights, and advancing justice. While we are committed to ending the scourge of poverty wherever it exists, we are focusing on those countries where the needs are the greatest. In this effort, we are guided by the unprecedented unity of purpose expressed by the leaders of the world in the Millennium Declaration issued at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations two years ago.

In that Declaration, the leaders made clear that if we want peace and stability, we must also promote sustainable development and apply our efforts to reducing the hunger, disease, illiteracy and poverty that are debilitating millions of men, women and children around the world. At the heart of this Declaration are eight Millennium Development Goals which will guide our efforts in the years to come.

And when I talk about partnership I was very happy to hear that Reverend Jackson say he was going to Geneva to work with the World Council of Churches and to Crans-Montana where they will discuss the issues of poverty and economic developments. I think these are very important meetings.

Let me begin by mentioning one of these goals - the eight Millennium goals- one that I know will have special significance for you: combating HIV/AIDS. In addition we must fight against malaria and other diseases, particularly in Africa. One million African school children every year find their schooling disrupted because their teacher dies of AIDS and in some areas teachers are dying faster than new ones can be trained. Increasing numbers of children worldwide are living in households with an HIV-infected member, resulting in an added burden of poverty, limited access to education, and social exclusion.

Two of the other development goals are achieving universal primary education and promoting gender equality. These, too, are central to the overall task of development. In 2000, an estimated 120 million children were not enrolled in school, mostly girls. They will join the ranks of nearly one billion adults who cannot read or write - again most of them women. Yet, empirical evidence shows that babies born to mothers without formal education are at least twice as likely to suffer from malnutrition, or die before the age of five, as are babies born to mothers who completed primary school. And educated women are much more likely to make sure that their children, in turn, attend school.

My dear Friends,

We shall not defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague Africa, and other parts of the world, until we have also won the battle for basic health care, safe drinking water, and sanitation. We shall not defeat them until we have also defeated malnutrition, and overcome the ignorance of basic precautions which leaves so many poor people exposed to infection. We shall not defeat these ills until we have secured a sustainable process of economic growth and sustainable development. And we shall not be able to secure lasting prosperity until we see an end to the conflicts in Africa. The United Nations is engaged in addressing every one of these challenges facing Africa, in a spirit of partnership and progress.

I have drawn your attention to these priorities of the United Nations because I believe they concern us all - Africans, African-Americans, Americans and citizens of the world. We cannot stand by idly and witness the destruction caused by the scourges of poverty, AIDS, conflict or intolerance. We are united by this bond - men and women, black and white, citizens' groups and the United Nations - and I am confident that the world can be the better for it if we work in partnership.

I believe there is a real momentum towards a change in priorities, at both the global and national level. The horrors of 11 September strengthened the sense of a common destiny, and people around the world are looking for strategies and solutions to the challenges that we as one human family face together. I thank you for your service and dedication to the goal of making our human family safer, more just and more prosperous one.

Thank you very much my friends. ****