Egypt, France airdrop aid to Gaza amid growing humanitarian crisis, global criticism of Israel    Supply minister discusses strengthening cooperation with ITFC    Egypt launches initiative with traders, manufacturers to reduce prices of essential goods    SCZONE chief discusses strengthening maritime, logistics cooperation with Panama    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Egypt reviews health insurance funding mechanism to ensure long-term sustainability    Gaza on verge of famine as war escalates, ceasefire talks stall    Gaza crisis, trade on agenda as Trump hosts Starmer in Scotland    Egyptian president follows up on initiatives to counter extremist thought    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Egypt will keep pushing for Gaza peace, aid: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi calls for boosting oil & gas investment to ease import burden    EGX to close Thursday for July 23 Revolution holiday    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    58 days that exposed IMF's contradictions on Egypt    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Human rights are key to the MDGs
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 23 - 09 - 2010

Sha'ban Riyad Abdel Latif, a 45-year-old father of four, was made homeless after being forcibly evicted from his room on 25 December 2009, along with many other families living on a dangerous rocky slope in the Duweiqa informal settlement, east of Cairo. He was barely given time to remove his possessions before a bulldozer demolished the building where he used to share a toilet with nine neighbors.
Like many victims of forced eviction, Sha'ban Riyad Abdel Latif presented a formal grievance to the neighbourhood authority seeking to obtain alternative housing but to no avail. For a month, his family, and about 26 other homeless families, set up tents by the nearby alternative housing units of Suzanne Mubarak dwellings, in New Duweiqa. With little protection the children suffered from the cold winter. On 25 January 2010, women gathered outside the local authorities' re-housing office asking for alternative housing, but the police dispersed them and later that night tore apart their tents. Sha'ban Riyad Abdel Latif lost many of his possessions.
In February 2010, he told Amnesty International that he used to earn about 20 Egyptian pounds a day at the food shop (about US$3.5), and brought back some left over food for his children. Since he became homeless he hasn't been able to meet his family's needs, has been using a toilet at a local mosque and gets water for his family in jerry cans from neighbors. His search for alternative housing seems unlikely to be solved any time soon.
Like the other members of the United Nations, the Egyptian government committed to improving the lives of slum dwellers as one of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000. The MDGs represent an unprecedented promise to address global poverty, adopting eight targets addressing a range of issues from extreme poverty and health to education and living standards to be met by 2015.
But, a decade on, the fate of the MDGs is in doubt. The UN has issued a clear warning that many of the MDGs will not be met in time unless efforts are radically ramped up. Even by the most conservative estimates, more than a billion people are being left behind.
Amnesty International's work over the years has shown how discrimination and exclusion can often cause or exacerbate many of the problems the MDGs seek to address. In rich countries as well as developing ones, vulnerable people on the fringes of society are frequently subjected to violations of their right to adequate housing, health, water, sanitation, and education, among others. They are often left out of consultations about things that will affect them, or ignored when they try to make their voices heard. As Amnesty has also shown, equality and inclusion are essential for making things better.
Ten years on, it is worthwhile to reflect upon where we are and where we need to go to meet the MDGs. The architects of the MDGs established the original targets as a starting point for progress. They always intended that states should set their own individual targets, adapted to their national contexts but within the MDG framework. This was left for states to do voluntarily. Unfortunately, most countries have chosen not to act.
Some countries have adopted targets above the MDG level. For example, Latin American and Caribbean countries have expanded their commitments on education to include secondary education. In Africa and South Asia, Kenya, South Africa and Sri Lanka adopted targets stronger than the MDGs for access to water and sanitation. Peru has taken steps towards addressing health barriers for poorer women and Nepal has explored improving maternal health care.
These countries have shown that it is possible to adapt the MDGs to address some of their most pressing needs and to bolster the rights of some of their most vulnerable people. The rest of the world should be working to do the same.
We have an opportunity to ensure that the political momentum around the MDGs can be used as a catalyst to bring about the far deeper and longer-term change that is necessary for people living in poverty.
But this can only be achieved if world leaders make a commitment at this week's MDG Summit to uphold the human rights of those who need the greatest support. Discrimination against women and exclusion of the marginalized must be addressed in all MDG efforts, if they are to be effective.
To achieve this, all governments should make an honest assessment of their progress on the MDGs. They should work to end discrimination and promote equality and participation, ensuring that progress towards the MDGs is inclusive, aimed at ending discrimination, guaranteeing gender equality and prioritizing the most disadvantaged groups.
Finally, they should remember that the Millennium Declaration--from which the MDGs are drawn--promised to strive for the protection and promotion of all human rights, civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights, for everyone.
As the members of the United Nations gather this month to reflect upon the progress made on the MDGs, approximately 12 million people continue to live in informal settlements in Egypt. Among them about 850,000 people live in 404 areas now designated by the Egyptian authorities as “unsafe areas” because they are threatened by rock falls, built with makeshift materials, or situated under high voltage power lines. Plans to deal with “unsafe areas” are developed by the local authorities without genuine consultation with the communities. UN guarantees against forced eviction continue to be ignored, driving people deeper in poverty. It is up to us to help change that.
Salil Shetty is Secretary General of Amnesty International.


Clic here to read the story from its source.