Brussels, 7 December 2010 - Lesley-Ann Knight, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis , delivered a speech yesterday during the Opening Session of the 5^th edition of the European Development Days that are being hold in Brussels on 6-7 December.

Ms. Knight shared the floor with a series of European and international personalities such as Belgium’s Prime Minister Yves Letterme, European Commission President Joao Manuel Barroso, European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Nepal’s Prime Minister Madhav Kumar.

Starting her speech with a clear reminder of Caritas’ preferential option for the poor, Ms. Knight talked about the dire reality in which the have-nots are living across the world. She mentioned the fact that 50% of global migration is composed of women and girls, who face terrible dangers in their attempt to live a better life. She also reminded the forum that poverty is everywhere, even in the richest countries such as the United States, Japan and the European Union (EU).

Ms. Knight welcomed the EU’s initiative to lift 20 million people out of poverty by 2020. She also strongly encouraged all Member States to commit to this goal through their national action plans.

Acknowledging that the roots of poverty are "fed by political and economic choices in both North and South," Ms. Knight encouraged the EU to consider the impact of some EU policies as root to poverty: “We only need to consider (…) the impact of EU agricultural subsidies on poor communities world-wide with the crisis of hunger and food insecurity, as just one example.”