UN General Assembly to hear Indian civil society concerns

'Wada Na Todo', an umbrella body of Indian civil society groups, will voice concerns regarding fresh development goals at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 25.
It is for the first time that UNGA will hear Indian civil society representatives on what is needed to be done to make the new development agenda work in developing nations, home to 85 per cent of the world's poor, says a release.
The new development framework will succeed the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expire in 2015.
Amitabh Behar, a representative of the coalition of 4,000 Indian civil society organisations under the umbrella of Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, will voice their concerns related to the new development agenda at the UN Special Event on MDGs at the 68th General Assembly in New York on September 25.

"Extreme poverty is an important but insufficient frame and we need to look at poverty, inequalities and dignity as the central principles of a new frame," Behar said in a statement.
Behar was selected by UN to speak on behalf of the coalition, which seeks to hold Indian government accountable to its promise of ending poverty and social exclusion.

With India slated to play a key role in shaping the contours of the new development agenda, "it is a critical opportunity for Indian civil society to articulate its concerns at the global platform," Behar added.
The event would see attendance by all member states, heads of nations, including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, global media and all UN agencies.

Wada Na Todo Abhiyan separately endorsed the Ministry of External Affairs' statement that India would push for poverty eradication "without any qualifiers" in the upcoming General Assembly session.
On the sidelines of the 68th General Assembly and the Special Event on MDGs, Wada Na Todo Abhiyan is organising a civil society dialogue on September 23 in New York to discuss recommendations from India and the global South, the release added.