/ 16 June 2010

Wise words from our Elders

The Every Human Has Rights (EHHR) campaign seeks to uncover the failings of the Millennium Development Goals and the importance of recognising freedom from poverty as a human right.

The EHHR campaign was launched by the Elders — a group of eminent global leaders and activists — to promote an understanding of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Elders members Graca Machel, Mary Robinson, Gro Bruntland, Martti Ahtisaari and Ela Bhatt speak in this exclusive set of interviews about where the Millennium Development Goals are failing and call for donor governments to meet their Gleneagles commitments, and for civil society groups to be secure and able to play their role.

The members call for stronger commitments and determined action to uphold the rights of children, women and all citizens to be free from poverty.

A recent UN report on the progress of the MDGs, “Keeping the Promise”, suggests that many critical goals will be missed and that extreme poverty will not be halved by the original target date of 2015.

The Elders’ call came ahead of the UN General Assembly’s Informal Interactive Hearings with NGOs and the private sector on June 14 and 15, the findings of which will provide input into the MDG summit on September 20 to 22 2010.

Watch the videos here:
Graça Machel
We need greater commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals:

Graça Machel is a renowned international advocate for women’s and children’s rights, and has been a social and political activist for decades. She is president of the Foundation for Community Development, a not-for-profit Mozambican organisation she founded in 1994. In 1994, the secretary general of the United Nations appointed Graça Machel as an independent expert to carry out an assessment of the impact of armed conflict on children.

Mary Robinson
Civil society is under threat:

The need for a human rights approach:

Mary Robinson was the first woman president of Ireland (1990-1997) and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002), and has spent most of her life as a human rights advocate.

Martti Ahtisaari
The right to security is vital to achieving the MDGs and fighting poverty:

After a distinguished career with the United Nations and the Finnish Foreign Ministry, Martti Ahtisaari was elected president of the Republic of Finland in 1994. Throughout his career he has been actively involved in conflict resolution, state-building and mediation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2008.

Dr Gro Brundtland
The right to health is crucial to achieving the Millennium Development Goals:

Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland is a medical doctor and Master of Public Health (MPH). She spent 10 years as a physician and scientist in the Norwegian public health system and served 20 years in public office, including 10 years as Prime Minister of Norway. In 1998 she became director general of the World Health Organisation for five years.

Ela Bhatt
Women’s rights must be upheld for full development:

Ela Bhatt founded the Self-Employed Women’s Association — a trade union which now has more than 1 000 000 members. Founder chair of the Cooperative Bank of SEWA, she is also founder and chair of Sa-Dhan– the All India Association of Micro Finance Institutions in India — and founder-chair of the Indian School of Micro-finance for Women.

www.everyhumanhasrights.org