VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was a an address delivered by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi C.S., permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, during the "Substantive Session" of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
In his English-language talk, which he delivered on July 4, Archbishop Tomasi made it clear that "the continued effort to address the plight of people trapped in poverty and to search for new ways and means to free them from its destructive consequences remains essential if the international community wants to achieve truly integral human development."
"Poverty elimination demands an integration between the mechanisms that produce wealth and the mechanisms for the distribution of its benefits at the international, regional and national levels."
"The projects of multilateral institutions and developed countries aimed at reducing poverty and improving growth in poor regions, like the Millennium Development Goals, the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the Poverty Reduction Strategy, have made some limited progress," said the permanent observer.
After highlighting the fact that "eradication of poverty is a moral engagement," Archbishop Tomasi concluded by saying that "the various religions and cultures see the achievement of this end as a most important task that frees people from much suffering and marginalization, that helps them to live peacefully together, and that provides individuals and communities the freedom to protect their dignity and actively contribute to the common good."
DELSS/POVERTY/TOMASI:GENEVAVIS 070716 (250)