The importance of human rights in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals by Mary Robinson, Ethical Globalization Initiative 3:04pm 10th Feb, 2010   Poverty in Focus is a regular publication of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG). Its purpose is to present the results of research on poverty and inequality in the developing world.    This month''s issue reviews the experience of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to date and asks what we can do to accelerate MDG progress in the years 2010–2015 and beyond.    These debates acquire greater significance as we enter 2010 and embark on the discussions leading up to and beyond the UN review of the MDGs. The global economic crisis has changed the context within which MDG debates will happen.    The upcoming five years are very uncertain as developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, face several interconnected crises to which climate change is central. Such uncertainties not only have the potential to have an adverse impact on poverty levels, but they also change the context for achieving the MDGs.    The MDGs have generated commitment across governments, international organisations, civil society and the private sector.    However, as Mary Robinson writes in the current issue of Poverty in Focus, despite the signs of progress, there remains an urgent need to ensure that the planned 2010 UN Development Summit acknowledges the added value of a human rights and justice framework, and calls for incorporating human rights commitments more squarely into future development strategies.    Excerpt: "We are now well past the halfway mark on the timetable for achieving the MDGs by 2015. Progress has been made in some areas. The MDGs have generated commitment across governments, international organisations, civil society and the private sector.    They have focused attention on key human dimensions of development that more economistic frameworks miss, and have mobilised many stakeholders around a shared set of objectives that are measurable. But in some regions and in many target areas, progress is overshadowed by the numbers of those left behind and by rising inequalities within and between nations.    * Visit the link below to access these reports. Visit the related web page
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