11 September 2014 – With an “intense and important year ahead,” United Nations Member States must work to build a framework that will sustain and finish what was accomplished with the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease, while rising to challenges old and new – not least climate change.
This was the charge given to the 193-Member General Assembly today by its President, John Ashe, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, at the opening of a High-Level Stocktaking Event to weigh the various post-2015 development-related processes which have occurred during the current session of the Assembly.
The MDGs, targets adopted by the Assembly in 2000 and which galvanized the world towards goals such as halving extreme poverty rates, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, are set to expire next year. This stocktaking event is a key step in preparation for the negotiation phase of the post-2015 development agenda during the Assembly’s 69th session, which opens next Tuesday, 16 September.