UN secretary-general candidate calls for balanced social development in Asia

A candidate for the position of next United Nations secretary-general on Sunday called on the world community to pay more attention to unbalanced global social development, particularly in Asia.

Jayantha Dhanapala, senior adviser to the president of Sri Lanka, pointed out at the Boao Forum for Asia that one-fifth of the world still lives on a daily income of less than one U.S. dollar.

A report from the Asian Development Bank showed that Asia registered some 1.75 billion laborers at the end of 2005, with 500 million others suffering from underemployment or unemployment. The region's workforce will see another 245 million people in the coming decade, the bank predicted.

"Future stability and growth will therefore depend on creating 750 million jobs in the next decade," said Dhanapala.

Dhanapala, also former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament, urged Asian nations to improve policies concerning corruption, food security and development of rural regions.

Source: Xinhua