Article for Local Newspapers: Visit to the UN

I have just returned from New York where I had the privilege to be joint Chairman, with Michel Rocard, the former Prime Minister of France, of the European Parliament's delegation to the World Summit at the United Nations General Assembly.

The atmosphere was one of crisis, with everyone accusing the United States of trying to sabotage plans for reforming the UN. In fact the intervention of the new US Ambassador, John Bolton, served to concentrate minds on the essentials, and we agreed a Declaration at the last moment.

We managed to get all the governments of the world to agree to "strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever, and for whatever purposes, as it constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security." They also agreed to call upon all States "to refrain from organizing, financing, encouraging, providing training for or otherwise supporting terrorist activities."

The Declaration also made it clear for the first time that each State has an international obligation to protect its own population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. Agreement was reached to set up a Human Rights Council, to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission, and a Peace-Building Commission to re-build countries in the aftermath of conflict. The details of these new institutions have still to be worked out.

On development, the world leaders committed themselves to the Millennium Development Goals, and I was pleased to hear President Bush expressly commit the United States to this when he addressed the General Assembly. They also endorsed the "Quick Impact Initiatives" such as anti-malaria mosquito nets, school-meals programmes, and basic health care and education, for which I have already allocated funds in the EU budget, as the responsible Member in the Development Committee of the Parliament.

Tony Blair is long on words and short on action on global poverty but I am pleased to say that the British Conservatives in the European Parliament have got on with the job of alleviating the misery of so many people in the world.