A new global vision
The Millennium Declaration—signed by 189 heads of state and government at the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York City in September 2000—set out a framework that was refined and operationalized as the Millennium Development Goals. Both the declaration and the goals were the culmination of decades of consensus building within the U.N. system and at U.N. world summits and conferences. Their framework derives from the broad body of knowledge gained from many years of development cooperation.
The declaration and the goals express an expanded vision of development for the next century based on the values of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared responsibility. They recognize the challenges and the costs of globalization and the need to ensure that its benefits are shared more widely by developing countries and those in transition.
The declaration states that no effort should be spared to free the world of extreme poverty and defines development as a right. The goals’ fulfillment requires increased development assistance and debt relief, as well as good governance in each country and at the international level. It also demands transparency in the world's financial, monetary, and trade systems. Only through these measures, says the declaration, can we ensure that "globalization becomes a positive force for all the world's people."