UN General Assembly
2009

are being held, 25,000 children will die in various parts of the world. That is the equivalent of saying that a child will die every three seconds, or 18 children every minute. By the time I conclude my statement this afternoon — my 15 minute statement — worldwide 270 children will have died, whose early deaths could have been avoided. Throughout the course of this year, 9 million children, which is equivalent to the entire population of my country, the Dominican Republic, will have lost their lives for no reason or justification. This represents a human tragedy of epic proportions, a true catastrophe. It is morally and politically unacceptable. For that reason, it is important to call upon the General Assembly to declare a state of emergency with regard to compliance with the Millennium Development Goals. When facing the challenges to our efforts to meet the eight goals established in the year 2000 for improving the human dignity and living conditions of millions of people worldwide, it is possible to adopt different attitudes. We might consider that we have