Blair heads to UN summit
Tony Blair will tomorrow join more than 170 world leaders for a United Nations (UN) summit in New York for what is the largest such gathering in history.
The meeting is a chance to assess the progress on meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and discuss issues of international security.
The prime minister is pushing in particular for a UN resolution on terrorism, which would not only set out member countries’ commitments on fighting terrorism, but also their obligations to take action against the incitement of terrorism.
During a meeting to India last week, Mr Blair stressed his belief that international cooperation was vital in the fight against terrorism.
“There is no question in my mind that the international community now, in a way that I don’t think was the case a few years ago, speaks as one and speaks with not just determination but a certain degree of passion as a result of the experiences we have all had,” he said.
Five years after the ambitious MDGs were agreed upon, this week’s summit will also be a chance to assess the international community’s progress on fighting global poverty.
The goals agreed in 2000 include cutting extreme poverty by half by 2015, while many donors have pledged to increase aid to 0.7 per cent of their gross national income by the same deadline.
The idea behind taking collective action on development and security is that one cannot exist without the other – while many also believe that neither can exist without the universal application and protection of human rights.
UN reform will also be high on the agenda, including plans to set up a Human Rights Council and changes to the Security Council itself.
Mr Blair has already given his support to efforts by some states such as India to win a permanent seat alongside the UK, France, US, China and Russia, although he has admitted that this is likely to be a long-term aim.
Pressure on the world leaders to achieve something at this historic summit remains high, however, as Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell noted.
“The heads of government have an awesome responsibility. Opinion throughout the world simply will not understand if they fail to reach agreement,” he said.
