“We will spare no effort to free our men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected” United Nations Millennium Declaration

At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, the largest-ever gathering of world leaders with representatives of 191 countries took stock of the series of goals in key development areas that had been established at global summits and conferences during the 1990s.

Their convergence of views on the challenges faced, and the urgency of their call to action, was remarkable. They came up with a combined, single document – the Millennium Declaration, which covers a broad range of commitments in human rights, good governance and democracy; as well as a coherent set of time-bound and measurable targets to be achieved globally by 2015 through the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Commitment to this landmark attempt to tackle global problems simultaneously, across a broad front, is gaining momentum and is vitally important for the Maldives as it is for the rest of the world.

In September 2005, the UN hosted the Millennium+5 Summit to evaluate the progress towards the goals spelled out in the document. By adopting the original declaration in 2000, world leaders affirmed their faith in the Organization and its Charter “as indispensable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.”