STATEMENT BY DR. ARJUN KARKI, INTERNATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR, AT THE POLICY DIALOGUE PANEL ON ACHIEVING THE MDGS BY 2015: AN AGENDA FOR MORE AND IMPROVED DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION, UN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FORUM

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK, 30 JUNE 2010

Madame Moderator, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

I thank you very much for the opportunity to share my thoughts in this very important panel discussion on behalf of LDC Watch in this policy dialogue on achieving the MDGs by 2015. LDC Watch believes that while reviewing the progress made on the Millennium Declaration at the High Level Plenary in September 2010, progress and setbacks made on the MDGs in the LDCs need to be assessed separately. This is because while the situation in other developing countries may be improving, conditions in LDCs are likely to deteriorate in this decade. Further, we need to break down national data by specific populations - to look at the progress of marginalised groups and not just overall progress. We also need to find ways to measure progress in Human Rights and Gender Justice to accompany the social and economic progress reflected in the MDGs.

STATEMENT BY DR. ARJUN KARKI, INTERNATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR, AT THE SIDE EVENT ON ENHANCING ODA FOR LDCS’ DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSFORMATION, DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FORUM

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK, 30 JUNE 2010

Mr Chairman, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank the organisers for giving me the opportunity to speak on behalf of LDC Watch. As you are aware, LDC Watch has been leading the mobilisation and consolidation of LDC civil society inputs towards its interventions at the Fourth UN Conference on LDCs (LDC IV) in 2011, aiming to produce a pro-poor next-generation LDC development agenda together with all stakeholders in this process.

WASHINGTON, Jul 12, 2010 (IPS) - Six months ago Monday, an earthquake rocked the western hemisphere's poorest country, driving it deeper into poverty and burying it under its nascent infrastructure.

LILONGWE, Jul 10, 2010 (IPS) - As government implements a new HIV/AIDS treatment regimen according to latest world standards, a major grouping of non-governmental organisations are concerned that the high cost of the new medication will mean government will no longer be able provide free treatment to as many people as before.

BANGKOK, Jul 9, 2010 (IPS) - The torturer-in-chief of a notorious prison during the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror in Cambodia will finally learn what price he has to pay for the almost mathematical precision with which he carried out his duty to torment and kill nearly 14,000 people, including babies.

WINDHOEK, Jun 29, 2010 (IPS) - Southern African trade ministers have pledged to sign a significantly scaled down economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) before the end of 2010. Could this be the conclusion to years of divisive negotiations?

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 8, 2010 (IPS) - As the international community readies to commemorate World Population Day Sunday, the United Nations is reviewing the state of the world's women - and how they stack up against the risks of maternal mortality and the lack of universal access to reproductive health.

JOHANNESBURG, Jul 7, 2010 (IPS) - The Mozambican government has adopted various policies to address the effects of climate change, with special attention to women as studies show that they are more adversely affected by this phenomenon.

BANGKOK, June 21, 2010 (IPS) - Once again, parents in military-ruled Burma are counting the cost of a primary education for their children in public schools. It is an annual ritual that comes with the beginning of a new school year, which coincides with the onset of the monsoon rains in June.

PHNOM PENH, June 19, 2010 (IPS) - For Chan Theary, a remote, mountainous stretch of land in western Cambodia encapsulates the uphill struggle this South-east Asian nation faces in reducing the alarming number of women who die during pregnancy.