Gill Champions Commission for Africa

11.18.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 30th Mar 2005

Parmjit Singh Gill, MP for Leicester South, reaffirmed his active role promoting international development by laying an Early Day Motion commending the recently published Commission for Africa. This follows on from his attendance of the Make Poverty History rally at Trafalgar Square, which was addressed by Nelson Mandela.

The Commission for Africa report makes the case for action for a strong and prosperous Africa, which will be achieved through a variety of means:

* Increased aid

* Striking an equitable balance between free and fair trade

* Promoting good governance in Africa

* Reducing the debt burden

Gill noted that

"If used properly, this report will act as a tool to force change when the G8 powers meet at Gleneagles in July 2005. It is crucial that Africa sees concrete action this time...

"We have promised but failed to deliver far too many times in the past.

Tony Blair has referred to Africa as a scar on the moral conscience of mankind, yet this scar will only grow deeper if the international community does not do the right thing".

In commending the report to the House of Commons, Gill also applauded the work of the Sach's report published in January 2005 at the United Nations in New York. Dr Jeffrey Sach's report makes the first step in a series of global initiatives and events focusing on progress against the UN Millennium Development Goals set out in 2000, to halve global poverty and hunger, to protect the environment, improve health and sanitation and tackle illiteracy and discrimination against women, to be achieved

by 2015.

In concluding, Gill commented;

"Ultimately poverty is a man made phenomenon, we must do all we to help developing countries earn their way out of poverty. According to the UN, currently 10 million children die of hunger and preventable diseases per year. This will rise to a staggering 45 million in the next ten years unless urgent action is taken. It is time for action, not words".

Ends

Notes to editors:

See http://www.commissionforafrica.org/english/report/introduction.html

The EDM has already attracted widespread cross party support , ranging from people such as Mark Oaten (Lib Dem), Dianne Abbot (Lab) and Charnwood MP Andy Reed, and conservative support from Peter Bottomley (Cons)

EDM 944 reads as follows, which was tabled by Parmjit Singh Gill MP

That this House welcomes the Commission for Africa in highlighting the desperate action that is needed to promote development in that continent; notes that Africa has heard many good words before but that

it is concrete action that is now needed both in Africa and from the international community; urges the international community to raise its aid contributions by an extra 30 billion pounds per year; and notes that for the international community to be genuinely serious about helping Africa to earn its way out of poverty it must focus on properly implementing the Doha rounds of the WTO and reaffirm this commitment in Hong Kong at the end of this year.

See below for the full list of MPs endorsements:

Parmjit Singh Gill

Ms Diane Abbott Mr Harry Barnes Peter Bottomley

Tom Brake Mr Colin Breed Mrs Annette L Brooke

Dr Vincent Cable Mr Martin Caton Mr Tony Colman

Jeremy Corbyn Brian Cotter Mrs Ann Cryer

Valerie Davey Jim Dobbin Mr David Drew

Mr Don Foster Dr Hywel Francis Andrew George

Sandra Gidley Mr Win Griffiths Mr Mike Hancock

Dr Evan Harris Nick Harvey Paul Holmes

Dr Brian Iddon Mr Nigel Jones Mr David Lepper

John McDonnell Julie Morgan Mr Mark Oaten

Lembit Opik Syd Rapson Mr Andy Reed

Bob Russell Mr Adrian Sanders Mr Andrew Stunell

David Taylor Dr Jenny Tonge Dr Desmond Turner

Mr Paul Tyler Dr Rudi Vis Brian White

Mrs Betty Williams Mr Shaun Woodward Richard Younger-Ross

See http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/reports/index_overview.htm

The mission statement for Sachs report reads:

A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals

We have the opportunity in the coming decade to cut world poverty by half. Billions more people could enjoy the fruits of the global economy. Tens of millions of lives can be saved. The practical solutions exist. The political framework is established. And for the first time, the cost is utterly affordable. Whatever one's motivation for attacking the crisis of extreme poverty-human rights, religious values, security, fiscal prudence, ideology-the solutions are the same. All that is needed is action.

See http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/reports/index_overview.htm

The UN Millennium Development Goals were drafted by the United Nations and agreed by all members states in 2000. They read as follows:

1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2) Achieve universal primary education

3) Promote gender equality and empower women

4) Reduce Child Health

5) Improve maternal health

6) Combat HIV Aids, Malaria and other diseases

7) Ensure environmental sustainability

8) Develop a global partnership for development