UNITED NATIONS: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Tuesday that capitalism faces inevitable defeat and called for the overhaul of "undemocratic and unjust" global decision-making bodies.
In a speech on the second day of a UN anti-poverty summit, the Iranian leader blamed capitalism and transnational corporations for "the suffering of countless women, men and children in so many countries".
Ahmadinejad's speech to the 192-member General Assembly never mentioned the Millennium Development Goals — the UN targets set by world leaders in 2000 to combat global poverty by 2015 — that are the focus of the three-day summit called by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to spur their implementation.
The UN chief has expressed satisfaction that the world is technically on track to cut extreme poverty by half, the No. 1 goal, though some critics say it's mainly because of the tremendous improvements in China and India. Many recent reports show that the world's poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have made little progress in eradicating poverty.
And in Africa, Asia and Latin America there also has been a lack of progress in meeting other key goals including reducing mother and child deaths, increasing the number of people with access to basic sanitation, and promoting women's equality.
According to the UN, the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day in developing countries fell from 46 percent in 1990 to 27 percent in 2005 and should reach the target despite the recent economic crisis. "However, even if these positive trends continue, in 2015, roughly 920 million people would still be living under the international poverty line of $1.25 a day, as adjusted by the World Bank in 2008," the UN said.
Ahmadinejad said world leaders, thinkers and global reformers should "spare no effort" to make practical plans for a new world order that would reform international economic and political institutions.
Arab News
