03/09/2003
Press Release
SG/SM/8844
DEV/2436

COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT HAS KEY ROLE IN GLOBAL ANTI-POVERTY EFFORTS

SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL IN MESSAGE TO OSLO MEETING

Following is Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message to the General Assembly of the International Cooperative Alliance in Oslo, 3 September:

Millions of men and women throughout the world have secured for themselves, their families and their communities a decent life, economic well-being and expanding opportunities by organizing themselves in cooperative associations and enterprises.� From its modest beginnings in the nineteenth century, the cooperative movement has become a significant force in global civil society, both in terms of membership and impact.� More than 760 million people are engaged in the cooperative sector, and cooperatives are at work in more than 100 countries, in almost all areas of human endeavour.� As people-centred organizations based on equity, solidarity and self-help, cooperatives are a catalyst for entrepreneurial expansion and an important factor in social stability and cohesion.� They also provide essential services, such as appropriate and affordable housing, utilities, infrastructure, health care, and social, financial and insurances services.

The cooperative movement thus has a key role to play in our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.� Those goals will not be met without a major effort to accelerate progress, and it is States which have the overriding responsibility to take the political and economic lead.� But on the ground, cooperatives can make an important contribution.� That is why, two years ago, the United Nations produced guidelines to help Member States create a supportive environment for the establishment of cooperatives.� It is encouraging indeed that cooperatives and governments are working together more closely to provide opportunities for people to improve their lives.

The International Co-operative Alliance, for its part, is a good and long-standing partner of the United Nations, and I look forward to continuing our common quest for the common good.� In that spirit of solidarity, please accept my best wishes for a successful general assembly.

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United Nations





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