UN Millennium Development Goals

SINGAPORE AND THE UN'S MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

During the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new partnership to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women, and agreeing to a set of measurable goals and targets to be achieved by 2015. Expanding on the proposals in the Millennium Declaration, the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with specific time-bound and measurable targets, were identified. More information is available at the UN's MDG website

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

Singapore supports the achievement of the MDGs and recognises the challenges that many developing countries face in achieving them. We are happy to share our development experience with other developing countries, if they find it useful. The Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) is one of the main means through which we provide development assistance to other countries. Since 1992, Singapore has sponsored training courses and study visits for more than 56,000 officials from developing countries in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean regions under the SCP. The courses that we have conducted include areas such as education, environment and healthcare, and cost more than S$280 million. We believe the training will contribute to the achievement of the MDGs in the countries of the participants.

Examples of Singapore's contributions towards the MDGs

• We have been active in promoting the MDG of environmental sustainability and working with others to achieve its objectives. Singapore and China are currently cooperating to build an Eco-City in Tianjin, which is intended to be a model for sustainable development which can be replicated in other parts of China.
  
  
• Through hosting international conferences such as the inaugural World Cities Summit in June 2008 and the establishment of the Centre for Liveable Cities, Singapore is also committed to sharing its expertise and development experience with countries interested to learn from Singapore in areas such as good governance, urban and environmental sustainability and efficient transport systems.
  
  
• Water will be a critical resource in the 21st century and we have singled it out as an area for critical attention. Through events such as the Singapore International Water Week, the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize and the newly formed Institute for Water Policy, Singapore hopes to promote innovative solutions to address water shortages around the world. In August 2007, Singapore and the World Health Organisation (WHO) signed a partnership agreement to jointly promote the safe management of drinking water globally. Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) is also working with the Asia Pacific Water Forum and Asian Development Bank to help the region attain water and sanitation-related MDGs.
  
  
• Another initiative to help developing countries is the Initiative for ASEAN Integration , which was launched at the ASEAN Informal Summit in Singapore in 2000 to help narrow the development gap among ASEAN countries. The IAI is targeted towards capacity building in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, and covers areas such as human resource development, regional economic integration and tourism. Today, there are more than 200 projects under the IAI.

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Counter-Terrorism

Overview

Singapore strongly condemns all acts of terrorism and is committed to the fight against terrorism. At various fora such as the United Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Commonwealth, Asia-Europe Meeting and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, we have played a constructive role to strengthen international counter terrorism efforts. We believe that practical cooperation between countries, especially between front-line law-enforcement and security agencies, is the most effective means of achieving tangible progress in counter terrorism.

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Environment

Overview

As a densely populated city-state, Singapore subscribes to the principle of sustainable development and actively takes part in international initiatives on the environment. Singapore played an active role in ensuring the successful conclusion of the 1992 Rio Summit through Ambassador Tommy Koh's chairmanship of the Summit's Preparatory and Main Committees. We are committed to doing our part to realise global and sustainable development objectives, including the World Summit on Sustainable Development's Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. Singapore is also a committed participant in global and regional environmental sustainability fora, such as the Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GMEF), the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), the Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development (MCED) and the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment.

Singapore recognises that a strong and effective international effort is needed to address climate change and every country must play its part. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) arose from the 1992 Rio Summit. The UNFCCC sets the framework for governments to cooperate on the issue of global warming, and it adopted the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. Singapore ratified the UNFCCC in 1997 and acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in 2006. Singapore continues to support and actively participate in the international climate change negotiations. A Workshop for officials from the Alliance of Small Islands States (AOSIS), was held in Singapore from 3-6 November 2008. AOSIS members are small, low-lying island developing countries, that are most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The workshop allowed AOSIS countries to coordinate and agree on common positions for the key issues to be discussed at the 14th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC in Poznan in December 2008. The Workshop was well-attended with approximately 100 senior officials and climate change experts from 41 AOSIS countries, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNFCCC Secretariat.

Under the aegis of the Singapore Cooperation Programme, Singapore has also hosted several training programmes on urban environmental management, including the Singapore Technical Assistance Programme for Sustainable Development and the Small Island Developing States Technical Co-operation Programme.

Singapore has ratified or acceded to the following key multilateral treaties on the environment:

• ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution
• UN Convention on Biological Diversity
• UN Convention to Combat Desertification
• UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and its Amendments
• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
• Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants