This week marks the 69th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN). In many respects, our world today is a far different place to what it was when the UN was founded. We are witnessing unprecedented technological change, huge reductions in poverty across the globe, and the rise of emerging powers in the global South.
We also face new challenges. The earth’s ecosystems, on which all our lives depend, are being taxed to breaking point. Climate change threatens to bring more severe weather shocks.
We have seen how food and commodity price volatility inflicts hardships on poor and vulnerable communities. The current Ebola outbreak is wreaking havoc on lives communities, and public institutions in three West African countries.
Yet, much remains unchanged since the end of World War II. The world today still needs more peace and security; human rights are not always protected; and for too many people, the dream of a better life remains beyond reach.
This coming year is an important one for Ethiopia. It will see the launch of the successor to the Growth & Transformation Plan (GTP), the current version of which has seen rapid economic growth and an impressive reduction in poverty.
Coming closer to home, Ethiopia achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing child mortality two years ahead of schedule. It has expanded access to basic social services, such as health, education, and water and sanitation. Overall, Ethiopia is on track to achieve most of the MDGs.
Now, we have just over one year to make sure that Ethiopia achieves all eight MDGs by the 2015 deadline.
This coming year will also see the articulation of the successor to the MDGs. The Post-2015 consultations have found that while the provision of education, clean water, and health services is rightly seen as very important, lifting human development also requires a focus on other areas. Specifically, these consultations, including those conducted in Ethiopia last year, suggest that capable and accountable governments, backed by strong institutions, are seen as essential for driving development forward.
To be sure, governance is not just about institutions. It is also about people being empowered to engage with institutions and to hold them to account. Governance in this broader context, based on the rule of law and principles of transparency, inclusion and participation, will be important to ensure success across all dimensions of the next iteration of the global development agenda.
If we look at countries North and South, East and West, we know that democracy is not an end point, nor is it a finish line. Democracies are born imperfect. They require ongoing commitment from all elements of society to improve how to make government, and indeed society as a whole, more inclusive, more accountable, and more responsive to citizens.
If we look around the world, we also know that there is no single model of democracy and no single path to success. Democratic transitions are processes. Ethiopia is no exception. And it is important that the transition underway in this country is owned and shaped by Ethiopians.
At the same time, we also know that democracies share some important common features – such as equality before the law; the management of diversity; the values of tolerance and compromise; and regular credible, free and fair elections.
Ethiopia is currently preparing to hold national elections in about eight months time. These will place Ethiopia in the international spotlight and it should be an occasion for the country to shine brightly on the African stage.
Ensuring credible, free and fair elections next year is so important to ensure that all Ethiopians have an equal say in decisions which affect their lives; to encourage their participation in a range of political activities in the future; and to inspire them to be active in civic organizations and volunteerism in their communities.
Within the UN, together with the government and its development partners, we are developing a programme of support to help Ethiopia prepare for and conduct next year’s national elections. We are very passionate to see that this programme is successfully implemented, because we see democracy and good governance not as important ends in themselves. They are also important means to improve and secure development.
As we mark this UN Week, let us re-dedicate ourselves to working together to build a bright future for all Ethiopians.
Let us all re-dedicate ourselves – government, the citizenry, the UN, and international partners – to work together in support of Ethiopia’s democratic journey.
Let us re-dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the impressive development progress we have seen over the last decade is sustained and indeed improved upon, so that Ethiopia can achieve its ambition of becoming a stable, prosperous, democratic, middle income and carbon neutral country in the next decade.
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