Jeffrey Sachs, U.N. special adviser on the Millennium Development Goals, criticised the United States at a press conference here for focusing on Iraq while much of the rest of the world was busy this week with the issue of sustainable development.
Much criticism has been directed at President George Bush for staying away from the World Summit in Johannesburg, a move which has been interpreted as a signal of the US’s tepid interest in sustainable development concerns.
This has prompted US congressional representatives attending the World Summit to step forward at a press conference and distance themselves from the stance of the Bush administration.
Representative George Miller from California described the US as "becoming somewhat obstructionist in terms of meeting the goals of sustainable development".
In contrast to the Bush administration's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, the three Democrats from Congress announced their support for the Kyoto Protocol and the principles of environmental sustainability.
"We are calling on the Bush administration to reconsider its position and to affirm participation with the global community", Dennis Kucinich of Ohio declared.
Further assurances came from the former Governor of California, Jerry Brown (now Mayor of Oakland), who said that some of the American states have been proactive in instituting progressive ecologically sensitive laws and mechanisms, despite the Bush administration's "isolationist" position.
Critics point out that, in the war against terrorism, the US needs to recognise that it cannot withdraw from engagement with the global community. This is in line with US public opinion. A recent poll by the United Nations Foundation finds 32% of the American public keen for the US to play a larger international role, as opposed to 19% who feel the US should scale down its action in the international arena.
In every respect, delegates here say it will be in the vested interest of the US to demonstrate greater support for the World Summit and its goals. As George Miller of California pointed out, "It can't just be the US agenda over and over again".
(c) Global Youth Reporters Programme
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