10 Sep 2012

UN / MDGS

At the opening of a debate on macro-economic policies for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser said the recent global economic downturn "caused significant setbacks" in progress on the MDGs. UNTV

Posted at: September 10, 2012 4:01 pm

Duration: 02:08

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: UN / MDGS
TRT: 2.08
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 10 SEPTEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1.	Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

10 SEPTEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2.	Zoom in, General Assembly
3.	Pan left, audience
4.	SOUNDBITE (English) Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the UN General Assembly:
"The recent global economic downturn has severely disrupted economic growth worldwide and caused significant setbacks in the progress being made towards achieving the MDGs. The global financial and economic crisis has now turned into a jobs crisis, with millions of men and women – and especially youth – becoming unemployed or under-employed."
5.	Med shot, delegate
6.	SOUNDBITE (English) Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the UN General Assembly:
"Current macro-economic governance and policies have proven to be less than adequate in containing the risks emanating from the current fragile global economy. There is a growing recognition that macro-economic policymaking needs to be re-visited and re-shaped to better achieve macro-economic stability and sustainable development."
7.	Med shot, delegate
8.	SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations:
"The debate has been hovering between two choices. The first is to provide more fiscal stimulus to get back on the growth track, unclog credit channels, and take measures to bring down unemployment. The second choice is to shift into fiscal austerity to reduce public debts to more sustainable levels."
9.	Pan right, delegates
10.	SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations:
"We have to allocate more resources to the key sectors employment, education and health. This reduces poverty and opens doors to a better future for coming generations. At the same time, it contributes to economic stability and long-term growth. We also have to invest in protecting the environment, our common future."
11.	Pan right, General Assembly

STORYLINE:

The President of the General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser today (10 September) said the recent global economic downturn "has caused significant setbacks" in progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Opening the General Assembly's dialogue on meeting international development goals, the Assembly President said the global financial and economic crisis "has now turned into a jobs crisis, with millions of men and women – and especially youth – becoming unemployed or under-employed."

He said "current macro-economic governance and policies have proven to be less than adequate in containing the risks emanating from the current fragile global economy" and "there is a growing recognition that macro-economic policymaking needs to be re-visited and re-shaped to better achieve macro-economic stability and sustainable development."

Also addressing the meeting's opening, UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson called for a broad, sustainable and far-reaching vision that aims not only to overcome the recent global financial crisis, but also to create jobs and protect the environment.

Eliasson noted that "the debate has been hovering between two choices, the first is to provide more fiscal stimulus to get back on the growth track, unclog credit channels, and take measures to bring down unemployment. The second choice is to shift into fiscal austerity to reduce public debts to more sustainable levels."

He said "we have to allocate more resources to the key sectors employment, education and health" which would help reduce poverty and contribute to economic stability and long-term growth. He also called for investment in protecting the environment.

The MDGs, agreed on by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, set specific targets to slash extreme poverty and other global ills by 2015. The eight goals focus on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and the creation of a 'Global Partnership for Development.'

This year's annual development dialogue takes its theme, 'Macroeconomic Policies for the Future We Want,' from the recent United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), which took place in June this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.