Assembly President Honoured For Anti-Poverty Goals

Assembly President Honoured For Efforts In Promoting UN Anti-Poverty Goals

New York, Sep 12 2008 6:10PMGeneral Assembly President Srgjan Kerim today was honoured for his work in pushing for progress in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015.

Mr. Kerim, who has made reaching the Goals a priority, said he was accepting the MDG Award both as President of the Assembly and on behalf of the body, “as it is a recognition of the importance of the work the General Assembly has done so far” on development.

He called for “more dedication and more commitment” to achieve the targets, stressing the importance of the participation of the private sector and others. “Without their partnership, I don’t think the results will be satisfactory,” he told reporters at a press conference at UN Headquarters.

The Assembly President stated that during the body’s 62nd session, he has also sought to reach beyond Member States to build support for the MDGs.

“I regard this Award also as the acknowledgment of the potential power of the General Assembly to be not just the venue for political commitments but also a catalyst for creative partnerships.”

Also addressing the press were Ambassador Francis Lorenzo of the Dominican Republic, Ambassador Zina Andrianarivelo-Razafy of Madagascar, actor and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Danny Glover and Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan.

“The time is running short. We need to kick-start this effort” to achieve the MDGs, Mr. Glover said.

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