Keeping the Promise : United to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 13 Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields and 115 Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, published in 2010.

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 subjects

Child Mortality Development Development Assistance Environmental Protection Food Security Gender Equality Hiv/Aids Hunger Maternal and Child Health Partnership Poverty Mitigation Primary Education Public Health

What’s in this document?

225 operative paragraphs

Adopts the following outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals at its sixty-fifth session:

Keeping the promise: united to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

We, Heads of State and Government, gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 20 to 22 September 2010, welcome the progress made since we last met here in 2005, while expressing deep concern that it falls far short of what is needed. We reaffirm our resolve to work together for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, recalling the development goals and commitments emanating from the United Nations Millennium Declaration² and the 2005 World Summit Outcome.³

²See resolution 55/2.

³See resolution 60/1.

We reaffirm that we continue to be guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and with full respect for international law and its principles.

We also reaffirm the importance of freedom, peace and security, respect for all human rights, including the right to development, the rule of law, gender equality and an overall commitment to just and democratic societies for development.

We underscore the continued relevance of the outcomes of all major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields and the commitments contained therein, including the Millennium Development Goals, which have raised awareness and continue to generate real and important development gains. Together these outcomes and commitments have played a vital role in shaping a broad development vision and constitute the overarching framework for the development activities of the United Nations. We strongly reiterate our determination to ensure the timely and full implementation of these outcomes and commitments.

We recognize that progress, including in poverty eradication, is being made despite setbacks, including setbacks caused by the financial and economic crisis. In this context, we recognize the deeply inspiring examples of progress made by countries in all regions of the world through cooperation, partnerships, actions and solidarity. We are deeply concerned, however, that the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger surpasses one billion and that inequalities between and within countries remain a significant challenge. We are also deeply concerned about the alarming global levels of maternal and child mortality. We believe that eradication of poverty and hunger, as well as combating inequality at all levels, is essential to create a more prosperous and sustainable future for all.

We reiterate our deep concern at the multiple and interrelated crises, including the financial and economic crisis, volatile energy and food prices and ongoing concerns over food security, as well as the increasing challenges posed by climate change and the loss of biodiversity, which have increased vulnerabilities and inequalities and have adversely affected development gains, in particular in developing countries. But this will not deter us in our efforts to make the Millennium Development Goals a reality for all.

We are determined to collectively advance and strengthen the global partnership for development, as the centrepiece of our cooperation, in the years ahead. The global partnership has been reaffirmed in the Millennium Declaration,1 the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development,⁴ the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (“Johannesburg Plan of Implementation”),⁵ the 2005 World Summit Outcome2 and the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development: outcome document of the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus.⁶

⁴Report of the International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico, 18–22 March 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.II.A.7), chap. I, resolution 1, annex.

⁵Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August–4 September 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1 and corrigendum), chap. I, resolution 2, annex.

⁶Resolution 63/239, annex.

We are committed to making every effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, including through actions, policies and strategies defined in the present outcome document in support of developing countries, in particular those countries that are lagging most behind and those Goals that are most off track, thus improving the lives of the poorest people.

We are convinced that the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved, including in the poorest countries, with renewed commitment, effective implementation and intensified collective action by all Member States and other relevant stakeholders at both the domestic and international levels, using national development strategies and appropriate policies and approaches that have proved to be effective, with strengthened institutions at all levels, increased mobilization of resources for development, increased effectiveness of development cooperation and an enhanced global partnership for development.

We reaffirm that national ownership and leadership are indispensable in the development process. There is no one size fits all. We reiterate that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development and that the role of national policies, domestic resources and development strategies cannot be overemphasized. At the same time, domestic economies are now interwoven with the global economic system and, therefore, an effective use of trade and investment opportunities can help countries to fight poverty. Development efforts at the national level need to be supported by an enabling national and international environment that complements national actions and strategies.

We acknowledge that good governance and the rule of law at the national and international levels are essential for sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger.

We recognize that gender equality, the empowerment of women, women’s full enjoyment of all human rights and the eradication of poverty are essential to economic and social development, including the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals. We reaffirm the need for the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.⁷ Achieving gender equality and empowerment of women is both a key development goal and an important means for achieving all of the Millennium Development Goals. We welcome the establishment of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), and pledge our full support for its operationalization.

⁷Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4–15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1, annexes I and II.

We acknowledge that peace and security, development and human rights are the pillars of the United Nations system and the foundations for collective security and well-being. We recognize that development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. We reaffirm that our common fundamental values, including freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for all human rights, respect for nature and shared responsibility, are essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

We are convinced that the United Nations, on the basis of its universal membership, legitimacy and unique mandate, plays a vital role in the promotion of international cooperation for development and in supporting the acceleration of the implementation of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. We reaffirm the need for a strong United Nations to meet the challenges of the changing global environment.

We recognize that all the Millennium Development Goals are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. We therefore underline the need to pursue these Goals through a holistic and comprehensive approach.

We acknowledge the diversity of the world and recognize that all cultures and civilizations contribute to the enrichment of humankind. We emphasize the importance of culture for development and its contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

We call on civil society, including non-governmental organizations, voluntary associations and foundations, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders at the local, national, regional and global levels, to enhance their role in national development efforts as well as their contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and we commit ourselves as national Governments to the inclusion of these stakeholders.

We acknowledge the role of national parliaments in furthering the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

A mixed story: successes, uneven progress, challenges and opportunities

We recognize that developing countries have made significant efforts towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and have had major successes in realizing some of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals. Successes have been made in combating extreme poverty, improving school enrolment and child health, reducing child deaths, expanding access to clean water, improving prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care, and controlling malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases.

We acknowledge that much more needs to be done in achieving the Millennium Development Goals as progress has been uneven among regions and between and within countries. Hunger and malnutrition rose again from 2007 through 2009, partially reversing prior gains. There has been slow progress in reaching full and productive employment and decent work for all, advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women, achieving environmental sustainability and providing basic sanitation, and new HIV infections still outpace the number of people starting treatment. In particular, we express grave concern over the slow progress being made in reducing maternal mortality and improving maternal and reproductive health. Progress on other Millennium Development Goals is fragile and must be sustained to avoid reversal.

We underline the central role of the global partnership for development and the importance of Goal 8 in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We recognize that without substantial international support, several of the Goals are likely to be missed in many developing countries by 2015.

We are deeply concerned about the impact of the financial and economic crisis, the worst since the Great Depression. It has reversed development gains in many developing countries and threatens to seriously undermine the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

We take note of the lessons learned and the successful policies and approaches in the implementation and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and recognize that with increased political commitment these could be replicated and scaled up for accelerating progress, including by:

Strengthening national ownership and leadership of development strategies;

Adopting forward-looking, macroeconomic policies that promote sustainable development and lead to sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, increase productive employment opportunities and promote agricultural and industrial development;

Promoting national food security strategies that strengthen support for smallholder farmers and contribute to poverty eradication;

Adopting policies and measures oriented towards benefiting the poor and addressing social and economic inequalities;

Supporting participatory, community-led strategies aligned with national development priorities and strategies;

Promoting universal access to public and social services and providing social protection floors;

Improving capacity to deliver quality services equitably;

Implementing social policies and programmes, including appropriate conditional cash-transfer programmes, and investing in basic services for health, education, water and sanitation;

Ensuring the full participation of all segments of society, including the poor and disadvantaged, in decision-making processes;

Respecting, promoting and protecting all human rights, including the right to development;

Increasing efforts to reduce inequality and eliminate social exclusion and discrimination;

Enhancing opportunities for women and girls and advancing the economic, legal and political empowerment of women;

Investing in the health of women and children to drastically reduce the number of women and children who die from preventable causes;

Working towards transparent and accountable systems of governance at the national and international levels;

Working towards greater transparency and accountability in international development cooperation, in both donor and developing countries, focusing on adequate and predictable financial resources as well as their improved quality and targeting;

Promoting South-South and triangular cooperation, which complement North-South cooperation;

Promoting effective public-private partnerships;

Expanding access to financial services for the poor, especially poor women, including through adequately funded microfinance plans, programmes and initiatives supported by development partners;

Strengthening statistical capacity to produce reliable disaggregated data for better programmes and policy evaluation and formulation.

We recognize that the scaling-up of the successful policies and approaches outlined above will need to be complemented by a strengthened global partnership for development, as set out in the action agenda below.

We take note of the first formal debate organized by the President of the General Assembly in which different views on the notion of human security were presented by Member States, as well as the ongoing efforts to define the notion of human security, and recognize the need to continue the discussion and to achieve an agreement on the definition of human security in the General Assembly.

We recognize that climate change poses serious risks and challenges to all countries, especially developing countries. We commit ourselves to addressing climate change in accordance with the principles and provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,⁸ including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. We maintain the Framework Convention as the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change. Addressing climate change will be of key importance in safeguarding and advancing progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

⁸United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1771, No. 30822.

We recognize that attention must be focused on the particular needs of developing countries and on the large and increasing economic and social inequalities. Disparities between developed and developing countries and inequalities between the rich and the poor, and between rural and urban populations, inter alia, remain persistent and significant and need to be addressed.

We recognize that policies and actions must focus on the poor and those living in the most vulnerable situations, including persons with disabilities, so that they may benefit from progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. In this respect, there is a particular need to provide more equitable access to economic opportunities and social services.

We recognize the urgency of paying attention to the many developing countries with specific needs, and the unique challenges they confront in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

We acknowledge that the least developed countries face significant constraints and structural impediments in their development efforts. We express grave concern that the least developed countries are lagging behind in meeting internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. In that context, we call for continued implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010⁹ and look forward to the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2011, which would further invigorate the international partnership to address the special needs of these countries.

⁹A/CONF.191/13, chap. II.

We reiterate our recognition of the special needs of and challenges faced by the landlocked developing countries, caused by their lack of territorial access to the sea, aggravated by remoteness from world markets and also the concern that the economic growth and social well-being of landlocked developing countries remain very vulnerable to external shocks. We stress the need to overcome these vulnerabilities and build resilience. We call for the full, timely and effective implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action: Addressing the Special Needs of Landlocked Developing Countries within a New Global Framework for Transit Transport Cooperation for Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries,¹⁰ as reaffirmed in the Declaration of the high-level meeting of the sixty-third session of the General Assembly on the midterm review of the Almaty Programme of Action.¹¹

¹⁰Report of the International Ministerial Conference of Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and Donor Countries and International Financial and Development Institutions on Transit Transport Cooperation, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 28 and 29 August 2003 (A/CONF.202/3), annex I.

¹¹See resolution 63/2.

We recognize the unique and particular vulnerabilities of small island developing States and reaffirm our commitment to take urgent and concrete action to address those vulnerabilities through the full and effective implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.¹² We also recognize that the adverse effects of climate change and sea-level rise present significant risks to the sustainable development of small island developing States. We note the uneven progress of small island developing States in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and express concern that progress in some areas has been lagging. In this regard, we welcome the five-year high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy to be conducted on 24 and 25 September 2010 to assess progress made in addressing the vulnerabilities of small island developing States.

¹²Report of the International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, Port Louis, Mauritius, 10–14 January 2005 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.05.II.A.4 and corrigendum), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.

We recognize that more attention should be given to Africa, especially those countries most off track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Progress has been made in some African countries, but the situation in others remains a grave concern, not least because the continent is among the hardest hit by the financial and economic crisis. We note that aid to Africa has increased in recent years; however, it still lags behind the commitments that have been made. We therefore strongly call for the delivery of those commitments.

We recognize also the specific development challenges of middle-income countries. These countries face unique challenges in their efforts to achieve their national development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. We also reiterate that their efforts in that regard should be based on national development plans that integrate the Millennium Development Goals and should be adequately supported by the international community, through various forms, taking into account the needs and the capacity to mobilize domestic resources of these countries.

We acknowledge that disaster risk reduction and increasing resilience to all types of natural hazards, including geological and hydro-meteorological hazards, in developing countries, in line with the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters,¹³ can have multiplier effects and accelerate achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Reducing vulnerabilities to these hazards is therefore a high priority for developing countries. We recognize that small island developing States continue to grapple with natural disasters, some of increased intensity, including as a result of the effects of climate change, impeding progress towards sustainable development.

¹³A/CONF.206/6 and Corr.1, chap. I, resolution 2.

The way forward: an action agenda for achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015

We resolve to promote and strengthen national ownership and leadership of development as a key determinant of progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, with each country taking the primary responsibility for its own development. We encourage all countries to continue to design, implement and monitor development strategies tailored to their specific situations, including through broad consultations and participation of all relevant stakeholders, as appropriate for each national context. We call on the United Nations system and other development actors to support the design and implementation of these strategies, at the request of Member States.

We recognize that the increasing interdependence of national economies in a globalizing world and the emergence of rules-based regimes for international economic relations have meant that the space for national economic policy, that is, the scope for domestic policies, especially in the areas of trade, investment and international development, is now often framed by international disciplines, commitments and global market considerations. It is for each Government to evaluate the trade-off between the benefits of accepting international rules and commitments and the constraints posed by the loss of policy space.

We reaffirm the Monterrey Consensus3 and the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development5 in their entirety, and their integrity and holistic approach, and recognize that mobilizing financial resources for development and the effective use of all those resources are central to the global partnership for development, including in support of the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.

We call for the expeditious delivery of commitments already made by developed countries in the context of the Monterrey Consensus3 and the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development.5 Short-term liquidity, long-term development financing and grants, in accordance with these commitments, will be utilized to assist developing countries to adequately respond to their development priorities. In our common pursuit of growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development, a critical challenge is to ensure the necessary internal conditions for mobilizing domestic resources, both public and private, sustaining adequate levels of productive investment and increasing human capacity. Private international capital flows, particularly foreign direct investment, along with international financial stability, are vital complements to national and international development efforts.

We stress the need for further reform and modernization of the international financial institutions to better enable them to respond to and prevent financial and economic emergencies, effectively promote development and better serve the needs of Member States. We reaffirm the importance of enhancing the voice and representation of developing countries in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and note the reforms undertaken by the World Bank and the progress made by the International Monetary Fund in that direction.

We call for increased efforts at all levels to enhance policy coherence for development. We affirm that achievement of the Millennium Development Goals requires mutually supportive and integrated policies across a wide range of economic, social and environmental issues for sustainable development. We call on all countries to formulate and implement policies consistent with the objectives of sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development.

We reiterate the important role of trade as an engine of growth and development and its contribution to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. We emphasize the need to resist protectionist tendencies and to rectify any trade distorting measures already taken that are inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules, recognizing the right of countries, in particular developing countries, to fully utilize their flexibilities consistent with their World Trade Organization commitments and obligations. The early and successful conclusion of the Doha Round with a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and development-oriented outcome would provide much needed impetus to international trade and contribute to economic growth and development.

We stress that promoting sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth is necessary for accelerating progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, as well as for promoting sustainable development, but it is not sufficient: growth should enable everyone, in particular the poor, to participate in and benefit from economic opportunities and should lead to job creation and income opportunities and be complemented by effective social policies.

We commit ourselves to redoubling our efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality and improve the health of women and children, including through strengthened national health systems, efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, improved nutrition, and access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, making use of enhanced global partnerships. We stress that accelerating progress on the Millennium Development Goals related to health is essential for making headway also with the other Goals.

We reiterate our commitment to ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary education.

We emphasize the importance of addressing energy issues, including access to affordable energy, energy efficiency and sustainability of energy sources and use, as part of global efforts for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the promotion of sustainable development.

We recognize the importance of developing economic and social infrastructure and productive capacities for sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development, particularly in developing countries, bearing in mind the need to enhance employment and income opportunities for all, with a special focus on the poor.

We stress the need to create full and productive employment and decent work for all and further resolve to promote the Global Jobs Pact as a general framework within which each country can formulate policy packages specific to its situation and national priorities in order to promote a job intensive recovery and sustainable development. We call on Member States to take effective measures for promoting social inclusion and integration and incorporate these into their national development strategies.

We resolve to take further effective measures and actions, in conformity with international law, to remove obstacles and constraints, strengthen support and meet the special needs of the regions and countries struggling to achieve economic and social development, including the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States, middle-income countries, Africa, and people living in areas affected by complex humanitarian emergencies and in areas affected by terrorism. In addition, we acknowledge the need to take concerted actions, in conformity with international law, to remove the obstacles to the full realization of the rights of peoples living under foreign occupation to promote the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

We recognize the specific development challenges related to peacebuilding and early recovery in countries affected by conflict and the effect of these challenges on their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. We request donor countries to provide adequate, timely and predictable development assistance in support of these efforts, tailored to country-specific needs and situations, at the request of the recipient country. We are determined to strengthen international partnerships to address these needs, demonstrate progress and enable improved international support.

We consider that promoting universal access to social services and providing social protection floors can make an important contribution to consolidating and achieving further development gains. Social protection systems that address and reduce inequality and social exclusion are essential for protecting the gains towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

We stress that fighting corruption at both the national and international levels is a priority and that corruption is a serious barrier to effective resource mobilization and allocation and diverts resources away from activities that are vital for poverty eradication, the fight against hunger and sustainable development. We are determined to take urgent and decisive steps to continue to combat corruption in all of its manifestations, which requires strong institutions at all levels, and urge all States that have not yet done so to consider ratifying or acceding to the United Nations Convention against Corruption¹⁴ and to begin its implementation.

¹⁴United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2349, No. 42146.

We recognize that the respect for and promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of effective work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

We acknowledge the importance of gender equality and empowerment of women to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Women are agents of development. We call for action to ensure the equal access of women and girls to education, basic services, health care, economic opportunities and decision-making at all levels. We stress that investing in women and girls has a multiplier effect on productivity, efficiency and sustained economic growth. We recognize the need for gender mainstreaming in the formulation and implementation of development policies.

We reaffirm that States should, in accordance with international law, take concerted, positive steps to ensure respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, on the basis of equality and non-discrimination and recognizing the value and diversity of their distinctive identities, cultures and social organization.

We resolve to work with all stakeholders and strengthen partnerships in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The private sector plays a vital role in development in many countries, including through public-private partnerships and by generating employment and investment, developing new technologies and enabling sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth. We call upon the private sector to further contribute to poverty eradication, including by adapting its business models to the needs and possibilities of the poor. Foreign direct investment and trade, as well as public-private partnerships, are important for the scaling-up of initiatives. In this connection we note the work of the United Nations Global Compact, in which companies have committed to corporate social responsibility and action in support of the Millennium Development Goals.

We stress the importance of strengthening regional and subregional cooperation for accelerating national development strategy implementation, including through regional and subregional development banks and initiatives. We also emphasize the importance of strengthening regional and subregional institutions to provide effective support to regional and national development strategies.

We reaffirm that the United Nations funds, programmes and regional commissions, and the specialized agencies, in accordance with their respective mandates, have an important role to play in advancing development and in protecting development gains, in accordance with national strategies and priorities, including progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We will continue to take steps for a strong, well-coordinated, coherent and effective United Nations system in support of the Millennium Development Goals. We emphasize the principle of national ownership and leadership, support the initiative of some countries to use, on a voluntary basis, common country programme documents, and emphasize our support for all countries that wish to continue using the existing frameworks and processes for country-level programming.

We stress the need for adequate quantity and quality of funding for the operational activities of the United Nations development system as well as the need to make funding more predictable, effective and efficient. We also reaffirm, in this context, the importance of accountability, transparency and improved results-based management and further harmonized results-based reporting on the work of the United Nations funds and programmes and the specialized agencies.

We resolve to enhance efforts to mobilize adequate and predictable financial and high-quality technical support, as well as to promote the development and dissemination of appropriate, affordable and sustainable technology and the transfer of such technologies on mutually agreed terms, which is crucial for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

We consider that innovative financing mechanisms can make a positive contribution in assisting developing countries to mobilize additional resources for financing for development on a voluntary basis. Such financing should supplement and not be a substitute for traditional sources of financing. While recognizing the considerable progress in innovative sources of financing for development, we call for scaling-up of present initiatives, where appropriate.

We welcome the ongoing efforts to strengthen and support South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation. We stress that South-South cooperation is not a substitute for, but rather a complement to, North-South cooperation. We call for the effective implementation of the outcome document of the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, held in Nairobi from 1 to 3 December 2009.¹⁵

¹⁵Resolution 64/222, annex.

We recognize the regional efforts being made to advance the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. In this regard, we welcome the convening of the fifteenth ordinary session of the Summit of the African Union in Kampala from 19 to 27 July 2010, with the theme “Maternal, infant and child health and development in Africa”, the launch of the African Union Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa; the slogan “Africa cares: no woman should die while giving life”; the Special Ministerial Meeting to Review the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific: run-up to 2015, held in Jakarta on 3 and 4 August 2010; the report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean on progress in Latin America and the Caribbean towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals; and similar reports produced by other regional commissions, all of which have contributed positively to the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, as well as to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

We welcome the increasing efforts to improve the quality of official development assistance and to increase its development impact, and recognize that the Development Cooperation Forum of the Economic and Social Council, along with recent initiatives such as the high-level forums on aid effectiveness, which produced the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action,¹⁶ make important contributions to the efforts of those countries which have committed to them, including through the adoption of the fundamental principles of national ownership, alignment, harmonization and managing for results. We also bear in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all formula that will guarantee effective assistance and that the specific situation of each country needs to be fully considered.

¹⁶A/63/539, annex.

We encourage continued efforts in the Development Cooperation Forum, as the focal point within the United Nations system, to carry out a holistic consideration of issues related to international development cooperation, with the participation of all relevant stakeholders.

We consider that the cultural dimension is important for development. We encourage international cooperation in the cultural field, aimed at achieving development objectives.

We recognize that sport, as a tool for education, development and peace, can promote cooperation, solidarity, tolerance, understanding, social inclusion and health at the local, national and international levels.

We recognize that all countries require adequate, timely, reliable and disaggregated data, including demographic data, in order to design better programmes and policies for sustainable development. We commit ourselves to strengthening our national statistical systems, including for effectively monitoring progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. We also reiterate the need to increase efforts in support of statistical capacity-building in developing countries.

We take note of the Global Pulse initiative to develop more up-to-date and actionable data as a joint effort among all relevant stakeholders for rapid impact and vulnerability analysis.

Millennium Development Goal 1 – Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 1, including by:

Addressing the root causes of extreme poverty and hunger, while noting that the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger has a direct impact on the achievement of all the other Millennium Development Goals;

Adopting forward-looking economic policies that lead to sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development, and which increase employment opportunities, promote agricultural development and reduce poverty;

Increasing efforts at all levels to mitigate the social and economic impacts, particularly on poverty and hunger, of the multiple crises through global responses that are comprehensive, effective, inclusive and sustainable, taking into account the needs of developing countries;

Pursuing job-intensive, sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all, including for women, indigenous people, young people, people with disabilities and rural populations, and promoting small- and medium-sized enterprises through initiatives such as skills enhancement and technical training programmes, vocational training and entrepreneurial skills development. Employers and workers’ representatives should be closely associated with these initiatives;

Improving opportunities for young people to gain access to productive employment and decent work through increased investment in youth employment, active labour-market support and public-private partnerships, as well as through the creation of enabling environments to facilitate the participation of young people in labour markets, in accordance with international rules and commitments;

Taking appropriate steps to assist one another in the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, strengthening child protection systems and combating trafficking in children through, inter alia, enhanced international cooperation and assistance, including support for social and economic development, poverty eradication programmes and universal education;

Promoting comprehensive systems of social protection that provide universal access to essential social services, consistent with national priorities and circumstances, by establishing a minimum level of social security and health care for all;

Promoting inclusive financial services, particularly microfinance, and including affordable and accessible credit, savings, insurance and payments products for all segments of society, especially women, people in vulnerable situations and those who would not normally be served, or are underserved, by traditional financial institutions, as well as for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises;

Promoting the empowerment and participation of rural women as critical agents for enhancing agricultural and rural development and food security and ensuring their equal access to productive resources, land, financing, technologies, training and markets;

Reaffirming the international commitment to eliminating hunger and to securing access to food for all and reiterating, in this regard, the important role of relevant organizations, particularly the United Nations system;

Supporting the Five Rome Principles for Sustainable Global Food Security contained in the Declaration of the World Summit on Food Security;¹⁷

¹⁷See Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, document WSFS 2009/2.

Strengthening international coordination and governance for food security, through the Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, of which the Committee on World Food Security is a central component, and reiterating that it is essential to enhance global governance, building on existing institutions and fostering effective partnerships;

Promoting efforts to improve capacity-building in sustainable fisheries management, especially in developing countries, as fish is an important source of animal protein for millions of people and is an essential component in the fight against malnutrition and hunger;

Supporting a comprehensive and coordinated response to address the multiple and complex causes of the global food crisis, including the adoption of political, economic, social, financial and technical solutions in the short, medium and long term by national Governments and the international community, including for mitigating the impact of the high volatility of food prices on developing countries. The relevant United Nations organizations have an important role to play in this regard;

Promoting at all levels a strong enabling environment for enhancing agricultural production, productivity and sustainability in developing countries, including through public and private investment, land-use planning, efficient water management, adequate rural infrastructure, including irrigation, and developing strong agricultural value chains and improving access of farmers to markets and land and supportive economic policies and institutions at the national and international levels;

Supporting small-scale producers, including women, to increase production of a wide spectrum of traditional and other crops and livestock, and improving their access to markets, credits and inputs, thereby increasing income-earning opportunities for poor people and their ability to purchase food and improve their livelihoods;

Increasing the rate of agricultural productivity growth in developing countries through promotion of the development and dissemination of appropriate, affordable and sustainable agricultural technology, as well as the transfer of such technologies on mutually agreed terms, and supporting agricultural research and innovation, extension services and agricultural education in developing countries;

Increasing the sustainable production and augmenting the availability and quality of food, including through long-term investment, access of smallholder farmers to markets, credit and inputs, improved land-use planning, crop diversification, commercialization, and development of an adequate rural infrastructure and enhanced market access for developing countries;

Delivering on the commitments made to achieve global food security, and providing adequate and predictable resources through bilateral and multilateral channels, including the commitments set out in the Aquila Food Security Initiative;

Addressing environmental challenges to sustainable agricultural development such as water quality and availability, deforestation and desertification, land and soil degradation, dust, floods, drought and unpredictable weather patterns and loss of biodiversity, and promoting the development and dissemination of appropriate, affordable and sustainable agricultural technologies and the transfer of such technologies on mutually agreed terms;

Reaffirming the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, so as to be able to fully develop and maintain his or her physical and mental capacities;

Making special efforts to meet the nutritional needs of women, children, older persons and persons with disabilities, as well as those living in vulnerable situations, through targeted and effective programming;

Accelerating progress on the challenges faced by indigenous peoples in the context of food security, and in this regard taking special actions to combat the root causes of the disproportionately high level of hunger and malnutrition among indigenous peoples.

Millennium Development Goal 2 – Achieve universal primary education

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress in achieving Millennium Development Goal 2, including by:

Realizing the right of everyone to education and re-emphasizing that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity and shall strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Making further progress towards the goal of universal primary education by building on the gains made during the past decade;

Removing barriers, outside and within education systems, so as to provide equitable educational and learning opportunities for all children, since knowledge and education are key factors for sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and for the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals, through continued political emphasis on education and by promoting, with the support of the international community, civil society and the private sector, appropriate and targeted, evidence-based measures such as abolishing school fees, providing school meals, ensuring that schools have separate sanitation facilities for boys and girls and in other ways making primary education for all children available, accessible and affordable;

Addressing the root causes of the inequalities, disparities and diverse forms of exclusion and discrimination affecting children, particularly out-of-school children, including by enhancing enrolment, retention, participation and achievement of children, by developing and operationalizing an inclusive education and defining targeted, proactive strategies, policies and programmes, including cross-sectoral approaches, to promote accessibility and inclusion. In this regard, additional efforts should be undertaken to work across sectors to reduce drop-out, repetition and failure rates, especially for the poor, and to eliminate the gender gap in education;

Ensuring quality education and progression through the school system. This requires establishing learner-friendly schools and institutions; increasing the number of teachers and enhancing their quality through comprehensive policies that address issues of recruitment, training, retention, professional development, evaluation, employment and teaching conditions as well as the status of teachers through increased national capacity; and building more classrooms and improving the material conditions of school buildings and infrastructure as well as the quality and content of the curriculum, pedagogy and learning and teaching materials, harnessing the capabilities of information and communications technology and the assessment of learning outcomes;

Strengthening the sustainability and predictability of funding for national education systems by ensuring adequate national education budgets to, inter alia, address infrastructural, human resources, financial and administrative constraints. These systems should be supported by adequate and predictable development assistance and international cooperation for education, including through new, voluntary and innovative approaches for education financing that should supplement and not be a substitute for traditional sources of finance;

Continuing to implement national programmes and measures to eliminate illiteracy worldwide as part of the commitments made in the Dakar Framework for Action, adopted in 2000 at the World Education Forum,¹⁸ and in the Millennium Development Goals. In this regard, we recognize the important contribution of South-South and triangular cooperation through, inter alia, innovative pedagogical methods in literacy;

¹⁸See United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Final Report of the World Education Forum, Dakar, Senegal, 26–28 April 2000 (Paris, 2000).

Supporting the efforts of national Governments to strengthen their capacity to plan and manage education programmes by involving all education providers in line with national policies and educational systems;

Giving greater focus to the transition from primary education and access to secondary education, vocational training and non-formal education and entry into the labour market;

Strengthening efforts to ensure primary education as a fundamental element of the response to and preparedness for humanitarian emergencies, ensuring that affected countries are supported, at their request, in their efforts to restore their education systems by the international community.

Millennium Development Goal 3 – Promote gender equality and empower women

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress to achieve Millennium Development Goal 3, including by:

Taking action to achieve the goals of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action6 and its twelve critical areas of concern, our commitments in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development¹⁹ and the obligations and commitments of States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women²⁰ and the Convention on the Rights of the Child;²¹

¹⁹Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5–13 September 1994 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.XIII.18), chap. I, resolution 1, annex.

²⁰United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249, No. 20378.

²¹Ibid., vol. 1577, No. 27531.

Ensuring access to education and successful schooling of girls by removing barriers and expanding support for girls’ education through measures such as providing free primary education, a safe environment for schooling and financial assistance such as scholarships and cash transfer programmes; promoting supportive policies to end discrimination against women and girls in education; and tracking completion and attendance rates with a view to retaining girls in schools through secondary levels;

Empowering women, in particular women living in poverty, through, inter alia, social and economic policies that guarantee them full and equal access to all levels of quality education and training and vocational training, including technical, managerial and entrepreneurial training, and to affordable and adequate public and social services;

Ensuring that women benefit from policy measures to generate full and productive employment and decent work for all, in accordance with commitments by States to International Labour Organization conventions, including policy measures to promote, inter alia, access of women and girls, including mothers and pregnant women, to formal and non-formal education, equal skills development and employment opportunities, and closing wage gaps between women and men, recognizing women’s unpaid work, including care work;

Investing in infrastructure and labour-saving technologies, especially in rural areas, benefiting women and girls by reducing their burden of domestic activities, affording the opportunity for girls to attend school and women to engage in self-employment or participate in the labour market;

Taking action to improve the numbers and active participation of women in all political and economic decision-making processes, including by investing in women’s leadership in local decision-making structures and processes, encouraging appropriate legislative action and creating an even playing field for men and women in political and Government institutions, and intensifying our efforts for the equal participation of women and men as key stakeholders at all levels in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and peacebuilding processes;

Strengthening comprehensive national laws and policies as well as programmes to enhance accountability and raise awareness, prevent and combat all forms of violence against women and girls everywhere, which undermine their full enjoyment of all human rights, and to ensure that women have access to justice and protection, and that all perpetrators of such violence are duly investigated, prosecuted and punished in order to end impunity, in conformity with national legislation, international humanitarian law and international human rights law;

Improving national-level capacity to monitor and report on progress, gaps and opportunities through better generation and use of sex- and age-disaggregated data, including with the support of the international community;

Enhancing the impact of development assistance in advancing gender equality and empowerment of women and girls through targeted activities including capacity-building, as well as through gender mainstreaming and enhanced dialogue between donors and partners, involving, as appropriate, civil society and the private sector, with a view to ensuring adequate funding;

Facilitating access by women to affordable microfinance, in particular microcredit, which can contribute to poverty eradication, gender equality and the empowerment of women;

Promoting and protecting women’s equal access to adequate housing, property and land, including rights to inheritance, and enabling them to secure access to credit through appropriate constitutional, legislative and administrative measures;

Promoting women’s economic empowerment and ensuring women’s access to productive resources. In this regard, strengthening gender responsive public management, in order to ensure gender equality in resource allocation, capacity development and benefit sharing in all sectors, including in central and local level governments.

Promoting global public health for all to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress in promoting global public health for all, including by:

Realizing the values and principles of primary health care, including equity, solidarity, social justice, universal access to services, multisectoral action, transparency, accountability, community participation and empowerment, as the basis for strengthening health systems, and recall, in this regard, the Declaration of Alma-Ata;²²

²²See Report of the International Conference on Primary Health Care, Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, 6–12 September 1978 (Geneva, World Health Organization, 1978).

Strengthening the capacity of national health systems to deliver equitable and quality health-care services and promoting the widest possible access to health-care services at the point of use, especially to those in vulnerable situations, through public policies that remove barriers to access to and use of health-care services, complemented by the support of international programmes, measures and policies that align with national priorities;

Providing and strengthening comprehensive and affordable community-based primary health-care services so as to ensure a continuum from health promotion and disease prevention to care and rehabilitation, while paying particular attention to poor people and populations, especially in rural and remote areas, with a view to extending health protection to all those in need;

Improving the quality and effectiveness of health-care services delivery by providing integrated health-care services through coordinated approaches at the country level, the increased use of common platforms and the integration of relevant services of other sectors, including water and sanitation;

Realizing the international commitment to supporting national efforts in strengthening health systems that deliver equitable health outcomes as a basis for a comprehensive approach that includes health financing, the training and retention of the health workforce, procurement and distribution of medicines and vaccines, infrastructure, information systems and service delivery;

Strengthening basic infrastructure, human and technical resources and the provision of health facilities so as to improve health systems and ensure the accessibility, affordability and quality, especially in rural and remote areas, of health-care services, as well as sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, bearing in mind the commitment to halving, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation as a means of fighting waterborne diseases;

Stressing the importance of multisectoral and inter-ministerial approaches in formulating and implementing national policies that are crucial for promoting and protecting health, and reiterating that Governments will play the central role, in collaboration with civil society organizations, including academia and the private sector, in implementing national strategies and action plans on social service delivery and in making progress towards ensuring more equitable health outcomes;

Improving national health governance, including through the participation of civil society, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders, as well as strengthening international support, as appropriate, in order to ensure that national health systems are sustainable, well prepared and capable of responding to challenges, including crises and pandemics;

Developing appropriate policies and actions to promote health education and literacy, including among young people, in order to address the lack of awareness about health and, in some cases, harmful practices which significantly inhibit women’s and children’s access to health-care services, and to ensure respect for human rights, promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as essential means of addressing the health of women and girls, and to address the stigmatization of people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS;

Supporting the use of national data collection, monitoring and evaluation systems that can track sex-disaggregated access to health-care services and provide rapid feedback for improving the effectiveness and quality of health systems;

Strengthening the effectiveness of health systems and proven interventions to address evolving health challenges such as the increased incidence of non-communicable diseases, road traffic injuries and fatalities, and environmental and occupational health hazards;

Reviewing national recruitment, training and retention policies and developing national health workforce plans, based on lessons learned, that address the lack of health workers as well as their uneven distribution within countries, including in remote and rural areas, and throughout the world, which undermines the health systems of developing countries, in particular the shortage in Africa, and in this regard recognizing the importance of national and international actions to promote universal access to health-care services that take into account the challenges facing developing countries in the retention of skilled health personnel, in light of the adoption of the World Health Organization Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel,²³ adherence to which is voluntary;

²³See World Health Organization, Sixty-third World Health Assembly, Geneva, 17–21 May 2010, Resolutions and Decisions, Annexes (WHA63/2010/REC/1).

Further strengthening international cooperation, inter alia, through exchange of best practices in strengthening health systems, improving access to medicines, encouraging the development of technology and the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms, the production of affordable, safe, effective and good quality medicines, fostering the production of innovative medicines, generics, vaccines and other health commodities, the training and retaining of health personnel and work to ensure that international cooperation and assistance, in particular external funding, become more predictable, better harmonized and better aligned with national priorities for capacity-building and channelled to recipient countries in ways that strengthen national health systems;

Further promoting research and development, knowledge-sharing and the provision and use of information and communications technology for health, including by facilitating affordable access by all countries, especially developing countries;

Enhancing public-private partnerships for health-care service delivery, encouraging the development of new and affordable technologies and their innovative application and developing new and affordable vaccines and medicines needed, in particular, in developing countries;

Welcoming the Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, undertaken by a broad coalition of partners, in support of national plans and strategies, in order to significantly reduce the number of maternal, newborn and under-five child deaths as a matter of immediate concern by scaling up a priority package of high-impact interventions and integrating efforts in sectors such as health, education, gender equality, water and sanitation, poverty reduction and nutrition;

Welcoming also the various national, regional and international initiatives on all the Millennium Development Goals, including those undertaken bilaterally and through South-South cooperation, in support of national plans and strategies in sectors such as health, education, gender equality, energy, water and sanitation, poverty reduction and nutrition as a way to reduce the number of maternal, newborn and under-five child deaths.

Millennium Development Goal 4 – Reduce child mortality

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4, including by:

Scaling up efforts to achieve integrated management of childhood illnesses, particularly actions to address and prevent the main causes of child mortality, including newborn and infant mortality, these being, inter alia, pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and malnutrition. This can be achieved by developing, implementing and evaluating appropriate national strategies, policies and programmes for child survival, preventive pre-natal, para-natal and post-natal measures, vaccinations and immunization and by working to ensure that medicines, medical products and technologies are affordable and available. In addition, this can be achieved by improved nutrition, including nutrition prior to birth, as well as by strengthening specific health interventions, including emergency obstetric care and skilled attendance at birth to reduce maternal and child mortality. International support to national efforts, including financial resources, will continue to be key in this regard;

Sustaining major successes and scaling up prevention and vaccination programmes as one of the most efficient tools to reduce child mortality, including the measles, polio, tuberculosis and tetanus campaigns, by ensuring sufficient funding, political commitment and conscientious implementation of control activities, especially in priority countries;

Taking action to improve child nutrition through an integrated package of essential interventions and services, including, in particular, access to nutritious food, appropriate supplements, prevention and early management of diarrhoeal diseases and information and support for exclusive breastfeeding and for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition;

Maintaining progress with regard to combating malaria and the extension of the use of insecticide-treated bed nets;

Stepping up the fight against pneumonia and diarrhoea through the greater use of proven highly effective preventive and treatment measures, as well as new tools, such as new vaccines, which are affordable even in the poorest countries;

Scaling up efforts, including awareness raising, to address the critical impact of increasing access to safe drinking water, sanitation coverage and hygienic care, including hand washing with soap, on reducing the death rate among children as a result of diarrhoeal diseases;

Working to ensure that the next generation is born HIV-free by providing, on an urgent basis, extended and sustainable coverage and improved quality of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission as well as increasing access to paediatric HIV treatment services.

Millennium Development Goal 5 – Improve maternal health

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 5, including by:

Taking steps to realize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health;

Addressing reproductive, maternal and child health, including newborn health, in a comprehensive manner, inter alia, through the provision of family planning, prenatal care, skilled attendance at birth, emergency obstetric and newborn care and methods for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and infections, such as HIV, within strengthened health systems that provide accessible and affordable integrated health-care services and include community-based preventive and clinical care;

Building on effective, multisectoral and integrated approaches. We emphasize the need for the provision of universal access to reproductive health by 2015, including integrating family planning, sexual health and health-care services in national strategies and programmes;

Taking action at all levels to address the interlinked root causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, such as poverty, malnutrition, harmful practices, lack of accessible and appropriate health-care services, information and education and gender inequality, and paying particular attention to eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls;

Ensuring that all women, men and young people have information about, access to and choice of the widest possible range of safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning;

Expanding the provision of comprehensive obstetric care and strengthening the role of skilled health-care providers, including midwives and nurses, through their training and retention in order to fully utilize their potential as trusted providers of maternal health-care services, as well as expanding family planning within local communities and expanding and upgrading formal and informal training in sexual and reproductive health care and family planning for all health-care providers, health educators and managers, including training in interpersonal communications and counselling.

Millennium Development Goal 6 – Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 6, including by:

Redoubling efforts to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support services as an essential step in achieving Millennium Development Goal 6 and as a contribution to reaching the other Millennium Development Goals;

Significantly intensifying prevention efforts and increasing access to treatment by scaling up strategically aligned programmes aimed at reducing the vulnerability of persons more likely to be infected with HIV, combining biomedical, behavioural and social and structural interventions, and through the empowerment of women and adolescent girls so as to increase their capacity to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection and through the promotion and protection of all human rights. Prevention programmes should take into account local circumstances, ethics and cultural values, including information, education and communication in languages most understood by local communities and should be respectful of cultures, with the aim of reducing risk-taking behaviours and encouraging responsible sexual behaviour, including abstinence and fidelity; expanded access to essential commodities, including male and female condoms and sterile injecting equipment; harm-reduction efforts related to drug use; expanded access to voluntary and confidential counselling and testing; safe blood supplies; and early and effective treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and should promote policies that ensure effective prevention and accelerate research and development into new tools for prevention, including microbicides and vaccines;

Dealing with HIV/AIDS from a developmental perspective, which requires a national network of sound and workable institutions and multisectoral prevention, treatment, care and support strategies, addressing the stigmatization of and discrimination against people living with HIV and promoting their social integration, rehabilitation and greater involvement in HIV response, as well as strengthening national efforts at HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support and strengthening efforts to eliminate the mother-to-child transmission of HIV;

Building new strategic partnerships to strengthen and leverage the linkages between HIV and other health- and development-related initiatives, expanding, to the greatest extent possible and with the support of international cooperation and partnerships, national capacity to deliver comprehensive HIV/AIDS programmes, as well as new and more effective antiretroviral treatments, in ways that strengthen existing national health and social systems, as well as using HIV platforms as a foundation for the expansion of service delivery. In this regard, expediting action to integrate HIV information and services into programmes for primary health care, sexual and reproductive health, including voluntary family planning and mother and child health, treatment for tuberculosis, hepatitis C and sexually transmitted infections and care for children affected, orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, as well as nutrition and formal and informal education;

Planning for long-term sustainability, including addressing the expected increase in demand for second and third line drug regimens to treat HIV, malaria and tuberculosis;

Strengthening support to affected countries in order to respond to HIV co-infection with tuberculosis, as well as multi-drug resistant and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis, including through earlier detection of all forms of tuberculosis;

Sustaining national efforts and programmes, with the support of the international community, to address the challenges posed by malaria by strengthening effective prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies, including by ensuring the accessibility to and availability of affordable, quality and effective medicines, generics, including artemisinin-combination therapy, as well as progress in the use of long-lasting, safe insecticide-treated bed nets to combat malaria and strengthening ongoing research for the prompt development of malaria vaccines;

Renewing efforts to prevent and treat neglected tropical diseases, prevention and treatment services for malaria and tuberculosis, including by improving national health information systems, strengthening international cooperation, accelerating further research and development, developing innovative vaccines and medicines and adopting comprehensive prevention strategies;

Undertaking concerted action and a coordinated response at the national, regional and global levels in order to adequately address the developmental and other challenges posed by non-communicable diseases, namely cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, working towards a successful high-level meeting of the General Assembly in 2011;

Increasing efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, strengthening the fight against malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases, including by providing adequate funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and through the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system and other multilateral and bilateral channels, strengthening innovative financing mechanisms, as appropriate, and contributing to the long-term sustainability of the response.

Millennium Development Goal 7 – Ensure environmental sustainability

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 7, including by:

Pursuing sustainable development, in accordance with the principles contained in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,²⁴ including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and taking into account the respective capabilities of countries, with a view to effectively implementing the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development and addressing new and emerging challenges;

²⁴Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution 1, annex I.

Pursuing environmental sustainability through nationally owned comprehensive and coherent planning frameworks and the adoption of national legislation, in accordance with national circumstances and the appropriate implementation capacity; supporting developing countries in this regard in building capacity and providing financial resources; and promoting the development and dissemination of appropriate, affordable and sustainable technology and the transfer of such technologies on mutually agreed terms;

Supporting the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa,²⁵ through joint action of the international community in addressing the causes and poverty impacts of desertification and land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, consistent with articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention, taking into account the ten-year strategic plan and framework to enhance the implementation of the Convention (2008-2018),²⁶ and supporting the exchange of best practices and lessons learned, including from regional cooperation, and the mobilization of adequate and predictable financial resources;

²⁵United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1954, No. 33480.

²⁶A/C.2/62/7, annex.

Strengthening political commitment and action at all levels to effectively implement the global objectives on forest and the sustainable forest management of all types of forests in order to reduce the loss of forest cover and improve the livelihoods of those that depend on forests through the development of a comprehensive and more effective approach to financing activities,²⁷ involvement of local and indigenous communities and other relevant stakeholders, promoting good governance at the national and international levels, and enhancing international cooperation to address the threats posed by illicit activities;

²⁷In accordance with the mandate set out in the resolution adopted by the United Nations Forum on Forests (E/2009/118-E/CN.18/SS/2009/2, sect. I.B, para. 3).

Continuing to pursue more efficient and coherent implementation of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity²⁸ and addressing implementation gaps, where appropriate, including through the fulfilment of commitments significantly reducing the rate of loss of biodiversity, including by preserving and maintaining knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities; and continuing ongoing efforts towards elaborating and negotiating an international regime on access and benefit sharing. We look forward to the successful outcome of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Nagoya, Japan, from 18 to 29 October 2010;

²⁸United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1760, No. 30619.

Supporting the implementation of national policies and strategies to combine, as appropriate, the increased use of new and renewable energy sources and low emission technologies, the more efficient use of energy, greater reliance on advanced energy technologies, including cleaner fossil fuel technologies, and the sustainable use of traditional energy resources, as well as promoting access to modern, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy services and enhancing national capacities to meet the growing energy demand, as appropriate, supported by international cooperation in this field and by the promotion of the development and dissemination of appropriate, affordable and sustainable energy technologies and the transfer of such technologies on mutually agreed terms;

Maintaining that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change7 is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change, calling upon States to take urgent global action to address climate change in accordance with the principles identified in the Convention, including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and looking forward to a successful and ambitious outcome of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, to be held in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010;

Continuing to increase sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by prioritizing integrated water and sanitation strategies, which include the restoration, upgrading and maintenance of infrastructure, including water pipelines and sewage networks, as well as promoting integrated water management in national planning and exploring innovative ways of improving the tracking and monitoring of water quality;

Promoting integrated waste management systems, in partnership with all relevant stakeholders and with international financial and technological support, as appropriate;

Redoubling efforts to close the sanitation gap through scaled-up ground-level action, supported by strong political will and increased community participation, in accordance with national development strategies, promoting the mobilization and provision of adequate financial and technological resources, technical know-how and capacity-building for developing countries in order to increase the coverage of basic sanitation, especially for the poor, and noting in this regard the global effort to realize “Sustainable sanitation: the five-year drive to 2015”;

Working towards cities without slums, beyond current targets, by reducing slum populations and improving the lives of slum-dwellers, with adequate support of the international community, by prioritizing national urban planning strategies with the participation of all stakeholders, by promoting equal access for people living in slums to public services, including health, education, energy, water and sanitation and adequate shelter, and by promoting sustainable urban and rural development;

Taking measures to ensure the sustainable management of marine biodiversity and ecosystems, including fish stocks, which contribute to food security and hunger and poverty eradication efforts, including through ecosystem approaches to ocean management, and to address the adverse effects of climate change on the marine environment and marine biodiversity;

Supporting the efforts of countries to preserve fragile mountain ecosystems as an important source of fresh water and as repositories of rich biological diversity, with a view to achieving sustainable development and eradicating poverty;

Promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns, in accordance with the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (“Johannesburg Plan of Implementation”);4

Fostering a greater level of coordination among national and local institutions responsible for economic and social development and environmental protection, including with respect to the promotion of investments relevant for sustainable development;

Working towards a successful United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012.

Millennium Development Goal 8 – Develop a global partnership for development

We commit ourselves to accelerating progress in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 8, including by:

Accelerating efforts to deliver on and fully implement existing Millennium Development Goal 8 commitments by enhancing the global partnership for development to ensure the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015;

Supporting the implementation of national development strategies by developing countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, including through external financial and technical support, to further promote economic growth and to respond to the increased challenges posed by the impact of the multiple crises, as well as long-term structural obstacles;

Recognizing that the commitments made by developed and developing countries in relation to the Millennium Development Goals require mutual accountability;

Strengthening the central role of the United Nations in enhancing global partnerships for development, with a view to creating a supportive global environment for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals;

Enhancing financing for development in the areas of domestic resource mobilization, foreign direct investment, international trade, international financial and technical cooperation for development, and debt and systemic issues by meeting our commitments made in the Monterrey Consensus3 and reaffirmed in the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development5 and all other relevant outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, thus expanding fiscal capacity for financing the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals;

The fulfilment of all official development assistance commitments is crucial, including the commitments by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance to developing countries by 2015 and to reach the level of at least 0.5 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance by 2010, as well as a target of 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance to least developed countries. To reach their agreed timetables, donor countries should take all necessary and appropriate measures to raise the rate of aid disbursements to meet their existing commitments. We urge those developed countries that have not yet done so to make additional concrete efforts towards the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance to developing countries, including the specific target of 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance to least developed countries in line with the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010,8 in accordance with their commitments. To build on progress achieved in ensuring that official development assistance is used effectively, we stress the importance of democratic governance, improved transparency and accountability, and managing for results. We strongly encourage all donors to establish, as soon as possible, rolling indicative timetables that illustrate how they aim to reach their goals, in accordance with their respective budget allocation process. We stress the importance of mobilizing greater domestic support in developed countries towards the fulfilment of their commitments, including by raising public awareness, and by providing data on aid effectiveness and demonstrating tangible results;

Making rapid progress to fulfil the Gleneagles and other donors’ substantial commitments to increase aid through a variety of means. We are concerned that at the current rate the commitment of doubling aid to Africa by 2010 will not be reached;

Exploring new innovative finance mechanisms and strengthening and scaling up existing ones, where appropriate, given their potential to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Such voluntary mechanisms should be effective and should aim to mobilize resources that are stable and predictable, they should supplement and not be a substitute for traditional sources of finance and should be disbursed in accordance with the priorities of developing countries and not unduly burden them. We note the ongoing work in this regard, including by the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development as well as by the Task Force on International Financial Transactions for Development and the Task Force on Innovative Financing for Education;

Enhancing and strengthening domestic resource mobilization and fiscal space, including, where appropriate, through modernized tax systems, more efficient tax collection, broadening the tax base and effectively combating tax evasion and capital flight. While each country is responsible for its tax system, it is important to support national efforts in these areas by strengthening technical assistance and enhancing international cooperation and participation in addressing international tax matters. We look forward to the upcoming report by the Secretary-General examining the strengthening of institutional arrangements to promote international cooperation in tax matters;

Implementing measures to curtail illicit financial flows at all levels, enhancing disclosure practices and promoting transparency in financial information. In this regard, strengthening national and multinational efforts to address this issue is crucial, including support to developing countries and technical assistance to enhance their capacities. Additional measures should be implemented to prevent the transfer abroad of stolen assets and to assist in the recovery and return of such assets, in particular to their countries of origin, consistent with the United Nations Convention against Corruption;13

Fully supporting and further developing a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system, inter alia, by working expeditiously towards a balanced and ambitious, comprehensive and development-oriented outcome of the Doha Development Agenda²⁹ of multilateral trade negotiations, in order to bring benefits to all and contribute to enhancing the integration of developing countries into the system, while recognizing the importance of making progress in key areas of the Doha Development Agenda of special interest to developing countries, and reaffirming the importance of special and differential treatment referred to therein;

²⁹See A/C.2/56/7, annex.

Emphasizing the critical importance of rejecting protectionism and not turning inward in times of financial uncertainty, mindful of the importance of trade for economic growth and development and for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015;

Implementing duty-free and quota-free market access for all least developed countries in conformity with the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration adopted by the World Trade Organization in 2005;³⁰

³⁰World Trade Organization, document WT/MIN(05)/DEC. Available from http://docsonline.wto.org.

Further implementing aid for trade, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries, to help strengthen and enhance the trade capacity and international competitiveness of developing countries so as to ensure equitable benefits from increased trading opportunities and to foster economic growth;

Strengthening regional integration and trade as it is crucial for significant development benefits, growth and jobs and for generating resources to sustain progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals;

Fulfilling, in the Doha Development Agenda,28 the 2005 pledge of members of the World Trade Organization to ensure the parallel elimination in agriculture of all forms of export subsidies and disciplines on all export measures with equivalent effect to be completed by the end of 2013;

Assisting developing countries in ensuring long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, while noting also that developing countries can seek to negotiate, as a last resort, on a case-by-case basis and through existing frameworks, agreements on temporary debt standstills between debtors and creditors in order to help mitigate the adverse impacts of the crisis and stabilize negative macroeconomic developments;

Considering enhanced approaches to sovereign debt restructuring mechanisms based on existing frameworks and principles, the broad participation of creditors and debtors, the comparable treatment of all creditors and an important role for the Bretton Woods institutions, and in this regard welcoming and calling upon all countries to contribute to the ongoing discussion in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and other forums on the need for, and feasibility of, a more structured framework for international cooperation in this area;

Increasing partnerships with businesses to achieve positive development outcomes by mobilizing private sector resources that contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals;

Reaffirming the right to use, to the full, the provisions contained in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement),³¹ the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health,³² the decision of the General Council of the World Trade Organization of 30 August 2003 on the implementation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health,³³ and, when formal acceptance procedures are completed, the amendment to article 31 of the Agreement,³⁴ which provide flexibilities for the protection of public health, and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all, and encourage the provision of assistance to developing countries in this regard. We also call for a broad and timely acceptance of the amendment to article 31 of the Agreement, as proposed by the General Council of the World Trade Organization in its decision of 6 December 2005;33

³¹See Legal Instruments Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994 (GATT secretariat publication, Sales No. GATT/1994-7).

³²World Trade Organization, document WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2. Available from http://docsonline.wto.org.

³³See World Trade Organization, document WT/L/540 and Corr.1. Available from http://docsonline.wto.org.

³⁴See World Trade Organization, document WT/L/641. Available from http://docsonline.wto.org.

Promoting the strategic role of science and technology, including information technology and innovation in areas relevant for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular agricultural productivity, water management and sanitation, energy security and public health. The capacity for technological innovation needs to be greatly enhanced in developing countries, and there is an urgent need for the international community to facilitate the availability of environmentally sound technologies and corresponding know-how by promoting the development and dissemination of appropriate, affordable and sustainable technology, and the transfer of such technologies on mutually agreed terms, in order to strengthen national innovation and research and development capacity;

Strengthening public-private partnerships in order to close the large gaps that remain in access to and affordability of information and communications technology across countries and income groups, including by upgrading the quality and quantity of existing telecommunication infrastructure, particularly in the least developed countries, to support more modern information and communications technology applications and greatly increase connectivity, access and investment in innovation and development and the effective use of innovative information and communications technology applications and e-governance tools; and in this regard encouraging further operationalizing of the voluntary Digital Solidarity Fund;

Strengthening cooperation between originating and receiving countries to lower the transaction costs of remittances, especially promoting conditions for cheaper, faster and safer transfers of remittances, which can contribute to national efforts for development.

Staying engaged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

We request the General Assembly to continue to review, on an annual basis, the progress made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, including in the implementation of the present outcome document. We request the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session to organize a special event in 2013 to follow up efforts made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

We reaffirm the role that the Charter of the United Nations and the General Assembly have vested in the Economic and Social Council as a principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on issues of economic and social development and for the follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals, particularly through the annual ministerial review and the Development Cooperation Forum. We look forward to the upcoming review of the strengthening of the Council during the current session of the Assembly.

We request the Secretary-General to report annually on progress in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals until 2015 and to make recommendations in his annual reports, as appropriate, for further steps to advance the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015.