Annan Urges World Social Forum To Keep Focus On Plight Of World's Poor by United Nations Secretary-General United Nations 1:49pm 29th Jan, 2003   27 January – Even with international attention galvanized by high-stakes security issues - from Iraq to the Korean peninsula - social activists must make sure that the plight of the world's poorest people and weakest countries is not abandoned, United Nations Secretary-General said in a message to the World Social Forum, under way in Porto Alegre, Brazil.    "You meet against a backdrop of great anxiety - about the possibility of war in Iraq, about nuclear proliferation on the Korean peninsula, about escalating violence in the Middle East, and about the possibility of new terror attacks," Mr. Annan said in his message delivered on his behalf by Nitin Desai, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.    The Forum is an annual conference of civil society groups that looks at ways to counteract the negative affects of globalization and is held at the same time as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.    In his message, the Secretary-General said he shared their worries that a number of other issues, from the merciless spread of AIDS to the negative effects of globalization, will be neglected when so much else may be happening in the weeks and months ahead.    "These phenomena and threats have an equal claim on the world's conscience," Mr. Annan said, warning that neglecting such threats would be a tragedy, "not least because today we are better positioned than ever before to tackle these problems." He said the international community now had more than pledges, promises and lengthy plans of action, noting the common framework the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) offer for governments to push forward on key questions of economic and social development.    While stressing that governments must act to push the MDGs forward and that the UN system would do all it could, the Secretary-General said neither could succeed without the involvement of the "dynamic forces" arrayed in Porto Alegre. He urged the participants not only to hold their governments to their promises, but also to work in partnerships with them and to forge alliances with each other, UN agencies and the private sector.    Mr Annan also said the non-governmental organizations and the business community could enrich the debate on the direction of the international system. "Our goal must be to make globalization an inclusive, equitable process," he said, "and your advocacy will continue to play a vital part in the effort to shape it so that it offers opportunities not just for a fortunate few, but for all people, especially the poor and vulnerable."    UNICEF seeks $543 million for children in 33 'crisis countries'    28 January – The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today said the agency is seeking $534 million to meet the needs of children in 33 countries in crisis, including Iraq.    Executive-Director Carol Bellamy's appeal came during a donor briefing in Geneva to detail UNICEF's funding needs for countries in crisis and followed on the heels of a stop at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she took part in a number of panel discussions related to global development and the importance of investing in children.    Turning to the subject of Iraq during the briefing, Ms. Bellamy said that although it was her hope that here would not be a war, UNICEF, along with the rest of the UN family, has been working on contingency plans to meet the humanitarian needs of the population, about half of whom are children. She added that even though some of the countries in crisis occupy the headlines, the world should not overlook the children in any of them.    Ms. Bellamy was in Geneva as part of her two-week trip to Europe and South Asia to take part in discussions on sustainable development, armed conflict and HIV/AIDS. Visit the related web page
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