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Message from Hunger Project President Joan Holmes to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan You are invited to add your voice to this communication by sending your personal message to the Secretary-General. To do so, please click here. May 15, 2006 Dear Mr. Secretary-General, On behalf of thousands of people from more than 23 countries who are committed to the end of hunger, I want to register our formal protest that the composition of the High-Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence in the Areas of Development, Humanitarian Assistance and Environment includes only three women among the 15 members. This panel was created to strengthen the UN to be more effective in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Six of the eight Millennium Development Goals are gender related. It is unquestionable that unless gender inequality is addressed as a high priority, the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved. This egregious lack of gender parity on the panel is inconsistent with your own statement, "Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance." Given that the UN is the world's premier institution whose charter includes working for the benefit of all people, the UN must have a reform committee that is equally representative of both women and men. It is our hope that you will utilize the power of your office and your personal leadership to alter the composition of this panel to reflect gender parity. Thank you for your leadership and for your consideration of this recommendation. With warmest personal regards and highest esteem,
Dr. John Coonrod, Vice President, The Hunger Project
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