23 September 2008: The President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Miguel D’Escoto, opened its annual High-Level debate by stating that the confluence of global interrelated crises, including climate change, high food prices, disasters and financial troubles, highlight the need to overturn the culture of selfishness and shift towards solidarity.

He called for moving beyond words and taking concrete action against the world’s inequities. He stressed that these challenges threaten progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). D’Escoto added that the world’s most pressing problems were all man-made and could be largely traced back to the UN’s lack of democracy. The opening of the High-Level segment followed a day-long meeting at UN Headquarters on Africa’s development needs. On 25 September 2008, UN member States will discuss progress towards the MDGs. [UN Press Release]