THE FOREIGN MINISTRY AND THE UNITED NATIONS COMMEMORATE THE UN’s 67TH ANNIVERSARY

• The 67th anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Charter was commemorated with a panel on the post-2015 development agenda. The discussion was led by the Foreign Secretary with the participation of the UN Resident Coordinator, academics and civil society representatives.

• The panel discussed the achievements and challenges in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and how to set a new agenda for sustainable development.

The commemorative ceremony for the 67th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations was held at the Memory and Tolerance Museum in Mexico City.

The event included a panel discussion with the participation of Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa; the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Mexico, Marcia de Castro; the Executive Secretary of the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), Dr. Gonzalo Hernández Licona; a researcher at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE), Dr. Blanca Heredia Rubio; and the Director of the “Sports are to Share” Education Program,  Dina Buchbinder Auron.

The panelists discussed the progress that had been made in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals and the outlook for the new post-2015 development agenda.

In her speech, Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa reflected on the achievements of and remaining challenges to the Millennium Development Goals at the global level, with an emphasis on the work of the High-Level Panel established by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to define the new post-2015 U.N. development agenda, in which she is participating.

Marcia de Castro said that reducing poverty and protecting the earth's resources are two sides of the same coin and both represent the fundamental work of the UN. She said further that no one institution or individual can do everything alone; the cooperation of everyone everywhere is needed. "We have before us the enormous challenge of strengthening international cooperation to end the ongoing challenges related to sustainable development," added Mrs. Castro, saying that the United Nations in Mexico is ready to do its part.

Other topics addressed were implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in middle-income countries; proposals for measuring poverty and the importance of indicators to measure implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. Also discussed was the innovative “Sports Are to Share” project developed by a civil society association to raise children’s awareness of the importance of applying the Millennium Development Goals on a daily basis.

In addition to being a founding State of the UN, Mexico coordinates closely with the UN, whose contributions to the country in terms of human rights, development, the fight against climate change and disarmament, among others, have been vitally important. Mexico reiterates its commitment to strengthening the UN to enable it to address the most pressing challenges that threaten global governance in this century.