The state of human development

Sixty years ago the UN Charter pledged to free future generations from the scourge of war, to protect fundamental human rights and “to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom”. At the start of the new millennium the world’s governments renewed that pledge. The Millennium Declaration, adopted in 2000, sets out a bold vision for “larger freedom” in the twenty-first century. That vision holds out the promise of a new pattern of global integration built on the foundations of greater equity, social justice and respect for human rights. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of time-bound and quantified targets for reducing extreme poverty and extending universal rights by 2015, provide the benchmarks for measuring progress. More fundamentally, they reflect the shared aspirations of the global human community in a period of sweeping change.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development