Brown's UN call on global poverty | Forging a "coalition of justice"

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Last Updated: Tuesday, 31 July 2007, 15:14 GMT 16:14 UK
Brown's UN call on global poverty
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a greater international effort to combat what he called the "emergency" of global poverty.


The UK prime minister held talks at the UN with Ban Ki-moon

Mr Brown wants world leaders to live up to their promises made in 2000 to tackle a range of development issues.

In a speech at the UN, after meeting the secretary general Ban Ki-moon, he said the millennium development goals were "a million miles" from being met.

He also outlined plans to deploy a peacekeeping force in Darfur, Sudan.

(snip)

"To address the worst of poverty, we need to summon up the best of humanity, and I want to summon into existence a great coalition of conscience in pursuit of the greatest of causes.

"And I firmly believe that if we can discover a common purpose, there is no failing in today's world, that cannot be addressed by mobilising our strengths, and there's no individual struggle that drags people down that cannot benefit from a renewed public purpose that will lift people up."

Goals include eradicating extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, cutting child deaths and combating diseases.

(snip)

Mr Brown compared the plan to former US President John F Kennedy's 1960 call for an international peace corps.

That was "an international commitment to harness the idealism many felt in the face of threats to human progress and world peace," Mr Brown said.

"Today we should evoke the same spirit to forge a coalition for justice."


Continued @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6923453.stm

[rodeodance]

1. He just stepped all over the WH. te he.

[waiting for hope]

2. I wonder if he will throw support

behind Edwards?

K&R - Great News, I'm happy to see another leader taking on this issue.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. No - he won't give open support to any candidate

The Labour party may have some discrete contacts with the Democrats over election strategy, but the leaders never openly prefer one candidate to another - not even generic Democrat over generic Republican. It makes for bad feeling afterwards, and Brown is not the impulsive type to start something like that - look at how pally he was with Bush.

[malaise]

4. So is that the reason he met with

Bill Clinton?

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. I imagine he's met Bill Clinton many times

and the Clinton Foundation fits well with Brown's talk about overseas aid.