'Rethink approach towards tackling extreme poverty'

Next 2 years critical as world tackles sustainable development: Shanmugam

By Himaya Quasem, The Straits Times, 30 Sep 2013

NEW YORK - Extreme poverty remains a major concern in many parts of the world and societies need to rethink their approach to this pressing problem, said Foreign and Law Minister K. Shanmugam as he delivered Singapore's statement at the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr Shanmugam said the next two years will be critical as the world tries to tackle a range of issues linked to poverty.

Speaking at the UN last Saturday, he described the global economic recovery as "anaemic and uneven" and warned of the impact of high unemployment, particularly among the young.

"This has exacerbated problems like increasing poverty levels, widening income gaps, social instability and a decline in public trust in governments and institutions," he added.

Mr Shanmugam said Singapore understood the importance of poverty eradication and sustainable development.

Since gaining independence, Singapore's government had focused on education and skills development as well as moving industries up the value chain towards higher-skilled, innovation-focused sectors, he added.

The Republic has shared its expertise by training more than 80,000 government officials from 170 countries on areas including sustainable urban development and water management.

Mr Shanmugam told the UN about the cutting-edge membrane technology that Singapore had been using to reclaim used water and turn it into high-grade, ultra-clean water, called NEWater.

During a visit to Singapore in March last year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon chose to make a toast with NEWater, rather than wine, describing it as "something far more valuable - the elixir of life", Mr Shanmugam recounted.

Singapore also tabled a resolution, which was adopted by the UN, to designate Nov 19 as World Toilet Day, he said. It is hoped that this will raise awareness of the plight of more than 2.5 billion people in the world who do not have access to basic sanitation.

Mr Shanmugam said societies need to find sustainable solutions to tackle poverty without jeopardising the planet for future generations.

"We cannot go on with business as usual," he added.

Singapore had been working with China to develop a "low carbon" Eco-City by 2020, Mr Shanmugam said.

The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City is intended to house 350,000 people in an area that is half the size of Manhattan and will become a model for sustainable urbanisation in China.

Mr Shanmugam also spoke about how critical the next two years will be as the international community approaches the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

These are a set of eight targets, on areas ranging from eradicating poverty to reducing child mortality rates, agreed upon by all countries in the world in 2000.

Back then, nations made a pledge to meet these targets by 2015. Now the UN is looking at what course the world should chart once that deadline passes.

This "Post-2015 Development Agenda" should incorporate the concerns of small states, Mr Shanmugam said. He added that Small Island Developing States were "among the most vulnerable members of the UN family".