Kofi Annan, Michel Camdessus and Robert Rubin penned an editorial in the Financial Times yesterday pleading with world leaders to keep the right against poverty a priority, even in uncertain economic times. The piece is in anticipation of the Doha meeting on financing for development that will be held a month from now.

Excerpts below, full piece here

There are two lessons that history and our personal experience teach us. One is that when crises occur, the least responsible are usually the worst affected and the least able to cope. The second is that crises can provide the momentum for reform and radical change. These moments are fleeting and need to be grasped to put arrangements in place that will prevent their recurrence. In today’s globalised world, that means new arrangements that are more effective, efficient and equitable.

The Group of Eight leading industrialised nations and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries must honour their existing commitments, particularly aid levels, to the developing world and not use the crisis as a pretext for abandoning them. These commitments have been hard won and are encouraging many African and other developing countries to plan around MDG achievement. Not honouring commitments would send a powerful negative message to them and undermine the fragile but growing sense of mutual accountability that is emerging between Africa and its traditional partners for addressing the continent’s many challenges.

-Chris Scott