UN pays tribute to China Report among the winners

Human Development Awards honour five initiatives on tackling poverty and inequality

UN pays tribute to China Report among the winners

25 April, 2007, Bangkok ---China’s 2005 Human Development Report, an assessment of the nation’s progress in confronting the destabilizing wealth gap between its urban and rural communities, is one of five Human Development Award winners whose authors will be honored by the United Nations at a ceremony on 20 June in New York.

The Awards, a biennial recognition of the best regional and national studies of advances and obstacles in the global campaign against poverty and inequality, are hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its role as the UN’s global development network.

“I really want to commend the people involved in producing these Human Development Reports because they provide the hard facts, the insight and the inspiration urgently needed in our efforts to help people realize their potential and to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” said UNDP Administrator Kemal Derviş.

The China report, written by a team of Chinese academics and coordinated by the national China Development Research Foundation, is joined in the spotlight by the Asia-Pacific report ‘Trade on Human Terms’ along with national entries from India, Costa Rica and Guinea-Bissau.

The winning Indian entry articulates villagers’ human development needs and perceptions by drawing on nearly 20,000 ‘Jan Rapats’, or People’s Reports, from across the State of Chhattisgarh; the Costa Rica Human Development Report highlights the links between insecurity and human development; while the Guinea-Bissau entry considers the relationship between political reform and reaching the MDGs, timely given that this summer marks halfway to the MDG endpoint of 2015.

‘Special recognition’ awards will also be presented to Afghanistan and Liberia for developing Human Development Reports in crisis contexts; Brazil for innovation in measuring progress towards the MDGs, and Guatemala for its focus on indigenous people.

The winners were selected from over 50 entries by an international panel of judges: His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, President Jorge Quiroga of Bolivia, Dr. Gita Sen of India, and Her Royal Highness Princess Basma of Jordan. “Many of the reports are very brave. They tackle issues previously considered taboo, such as racism, inter-ethnic conflict, and discrimination against minority groups,” said HRH Princess Basma. She also praised the practicality of the reports: “They put forward possible solutions and alternative development strategies that would lead to more equitable and socially inclusive paths to development,” she said. The same panel selected the recipient of the Mahbub ul Haq Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Development. The winner of this lifetime achievement award will be announced in June. Previous winners include former President of Brazil Fernando Cardoso and Founder of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Fazle Abed.

Speaking of the Mahbub ul Haq Award, HRH Prince Haakon of Norway said “the award focuses on human development, which is key for moving the world forward. We need to be inspired by people who have taken leadership and have shown us a way we can improve the life conditions for humanity. That is why this prize was created.”

ENDS

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