Deputy Secretary-General hails European Union’s efforts to promote peace, development

The United Nations and the European Union (EU) “are engaged in a vital, tremendously complementary partnership,” particularly in helping the world’s poorest countries boost their social and economic development and providing urgent relief following natural disasters and other emergencies, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today.

In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Ms. Migiro hailed the EU for bringing “the admirable solidarity of its citizens with the plight of the world’s poor and with the agenda of the United Nations.

“You bring resources, creativity, innovation and the inspiring example of a continent that has proved to the world that peace, stability and human security can be achieved through cross-border cooperation,” she said.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s launch in Brussels of the first-ever comprehensive report on UN-EU cooperation, Ms. Migiro noted that the two organizations share common values, such as respects for fundamental rights for freedom, as well as a shared commitment towards attaining the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“I welcome the fact that more than 60 per cent of the [European] Commission’s cooperation with the United Nations pertains to Africa, which is home to some of the most complex developmental, environmental and humanitarian challenges of our day,” she added.

Ms. Migiro said the UN and EU had worked together to achieve success on promoting governance and democratization, fighting illegal trafficking of drugs and people, fostering better education and improving health care around the world.

She also pointed to the support given to economic development in fragile industries in poorer nations, and to the joint help provided in the wake of emergencies such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.