Nobel Peace prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu; wife of
late Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel; Pakistani girl education rights activist,
Malala Yousafzai and two other civil rights campaigners, have written a letter
to world leaders, including President Goodluck Jonathan, warning of dangers
that lie ahead in 2015 as a result of growing insecurity.
In the
letter by the trio, Mo Ibrahim and Muhammed Yunus Bono, said the leaders had
failed to build on progress and allowed poverty, hunger and pandemics to
spread.
They,
therefore, drew the attention of the world leaders to a movement that is on the
way, which will hold accountable those leaders who fail to help secure a
better, safer world and as well celebrate leaders who rise to the occasion.
Their
letter read:
“Dear world
leaders,
We write
to sound a warning; a warning that 2015 will be a year of huge oppor-tunity,
but also of huge risk.
“What is at stake here could not be greater. For it is not less than the future of our human family and the world upon which we all depend.
“What is at stake here could not be greater. For it is not less than the future of our human family and the world upon which we all depend.
“Two
global processes, the replacement of the current UN development framework and
the conclusion of a new climate treaty, culminate within months of each other
at the end of 2015.
“They require us to decide which future we want for people and planet. For there are two dramatically different futures we could live in by 2030.
“They require us to decide which future we want for people and planet. For there are two dramatically different futures we could live in by 2030.
“Down one
hopeful path we have built on progress, and learned how to eradicate extreme
poverty, hunger, as well as put an end to preventable maternal, new-born and
child deaths.
“In so doing, we will give everyone everywhere opportunity and the right to lead their lives with dignity without jeopardising our planet’s ability to provide for its people now and into the future.
“In so doing, we will give everyone everywhere opportunity and the right to lead their lives with dignity without jeopardising our planet’s ability to provide for its people now and into the future.
“This is
an entirely possible outcome if we do the right thing. Down another path we
have failed to build on progress, but have allowed the injustice of poverty,
hunger and pandemics to spread.
“A growing insecurity caused by unequal access to increasingly scarce natural resources leads to tragic conflicts from which nobody, no elite, no matter how rich can hide.
“A growing insecurity caused by unequal access to increasingly scarce natural resources leads to tragic conflicts from which nobody, no elite, no matter how rich can hide.
“This is
an entirely plausible outcome of a complacent business-as-usual approach to
2015.
“Which world do you want to live in by 2030? Which world it will be depends
upon the decision you make in 2015, and the preparations we make for it now.
“The good
news is a global movement is coming together for 2015 and the future, inspired
by the words of Nelson Mandela—Like slavery, like apartheid, poverty is not
natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome by the actions of human beings.
“Climate can change too and must be remedied by the actions of human beings.
“This
movement for people and planet will lead to accolades for those leaders who
rise to this historic occasion.
“It will hold accountable those who fail to help secure a better safer world for all. It will speak up for the marginalised and disenfranchised, and demand justice for all.
“Let’s leave no one behind as we look with
confidence towards a future which we can make great, for you have been given an
opportun
“It will hold accountable those who fail to help secure a better safer world for all. It will speak up for the marginalised and disenfranchised, and demand justice for all.
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