Lesson 2 The Millennium

Declaration and the

Formulation of the
Millennium
Development Goals

What to know about Millennium

Declaration
This is the second part of module 2 on development and the
millennium development goals. In this module, the instructor provides a
practical introduction on the nature and scope of the Millennium Declaration
and the eight Millennium Development Goals, understand its key target
concept related on the formulation of the millennium development goals. In
this module, the instructor discusses the adoption of the MDGs as a
development benchmark for many countries, the normative framework, the
vision of shared development priorities, and specific time- bound targets to be
attained, all leading to social development aspirations of committed countries.
To evaluate learners understanding of the lesson concept paper will be
presented.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the 3hour lesson, learners should be able to:
1. Describe the nature and scope of the Millennium Declaration; and
2. Describe the synopses of the declaration’s main commitments

Think Critically!
Meta-Planning/Technology of Participation (TOP)
Direction: Learners will be asked of the following focused questions and
learners will present their opinion/insight.

1. What do you think will be the significance of the Millennium Declaration to

you and your family

What to Communicate?
Lesson Proper Presentation
PART I
Millennium Development Goals and Social Development
The September Millennium Summit led to the adoption of the MDGs as
a development benchmark for many countries. This historic landmark led to
the normative framework, the vision of shared development priorities, and
specific time- bound targets to be attained, all leading to social development
aspirations of committed countries. Since then, the MDGs have been globally
accepted by developing countries, donors, civil society, and development
institutions as benchmarks of progress to meet the needs of the poor. The
Millennium Development Project has provided a practical “social development
compass” for national governments to use as guides for their programs and
projects to attain development beyond the economic sphere. The MDGs and
the larger development agenda have provided a global blueprint for cooperation
at the local, national, regional, and global levels (10 and 11).
The United Nations Millennium Declaration (Excerpts from the resolution
adopted by the General Assembly) (12)
“In addition to our separate responsibilities to our individual societies,
we have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity,
equality, and equity at the global level. As leaders we have a duty, therefore, to
all the worlds’ people, especially the most vulnerable and, in particular, the
children of the world to whom the future belongs.”
This statement was made in New York during the General Assembly
meeting on September 6-8, 2000 by the heads of states and governments that
reaffirmed their faith to seven focal commitments, namely: peace, security and
disarmament, development and poverty eradication, protecting our common
environment, human rights, democracy and good governance, and protecting
the vulnerable.
Synopses of the declaration’s main commitments are described below.
I. Values and Principles
 “The challenge is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for the
world. For while globalization offers great opportunities, its benefits are very
unevenly shared and its costs are unevenly distributed. Only through broad
and sustained efforts can it be made fully inclusive and equitable.”
 Essential values to consider:
~ Freedom. Men and women have the right to live their lives and raise
their children in dignity, free from hunger and from the fear of violence,
oppression or injustice. Democratic and participatory governance on the will of
the people best assures these rights.
~ Equality. No individual and no nation must be denied the opportunity to
benefit from development. The equal rights and opportunities of women and
men must be assured.
~ Solidarity. Global challenges must be managed in a way that distribute
the costs and burdens fairly in accordance with basic principles of equity and
social
justice. Those who suffer or who benefit least deserve help from those who
benefit most.
~ Tolerance. Human beings must respect one another, in all their
diversity of belief, culture, and language. Differences within and between
societies should be neither feared nor repressed, but cherished as a precious
asset of humanity. A culture of peace and dialogue among all civilizations
should be actively promoted.
~ Respect for Nature. Prudence must be shown in the management of all
living species and natural resources, in accordance with the precepts of
sustainable development. Only in this way can the immeasurable riches
provided to us by nature be preserved and passed on to our descendants. The
current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption must be
changed in the interest of our future welfare and that of our descendants.
~ Shared Responsibility. Responsibility for managing worldwide
economic and social development, as well as threats to international peace and
security, must be shared among the nations of the world and should be
exercised multilaterally. As the most universal and most representative
organization in the world, the United Nations must play a role.
II. Peace, Security, and Disarmament
 To free peoples from the scourge of war, whether within or between states; to
seek to eliminate the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction.
 To resolve, therefore:
~ to strengthen respect for the rule of law in international as in national
affairs, in particular to ensure compliance by member states with the decisions
of the International Court of Justice and the Charter of the United Nations;
~ to make the United Nations more effective in maintaining peace and
security by giving the resources and tools it needs;
~ to take concerted action against international terrorism;
~ to redouble efforts to counter the world drug problem;
~to intensify efforts to fight transnational crime;
~ to strive for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction.
 To make arms transfer more transparent and support regional disarmament
measures.
III. Development and Poverty Eradication
 To free our fellow men, women, and children from the abject and
dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.
 To create an environment that is conducive to development and the
elimination of poverty.
 To commit to an open, equitable, rule-based, predictable, and non-
discriminatory multilateral trading and financial system.
 To address the special needs of the least developed countries (LDCs).
~ to adopt a policy of duty and quota free access for all exports from the
LDCs;
 ~ to implement the enhanced program of debt relief for the heavily
indebted poor countries; ~ to grant more generous development assistance.
 To deal comprehensively and effectively with the debt problems of low and
middle-income developing countries.
 To address the special needs of Small Island and landlocked developing
states.
 To resolve that, by the year 2015:
~ to halve the proportion of the world’s people whose income is less than
one dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, and to
halve the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking
water;
~ to ensure that children everywhere will be able to complete a full course
of primary schooling, and that girls and boys will have equal access to all levels
of education;
~ to reduce maternal mortality by three quarters and under-five child
mortality by two-thirds of their current rates;
~ to halve, halt, or reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS;
~to achieve by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of that least 100
million slum dwellers.
 To resolve:
~ to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as effective
ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease, and to stimulate development
that is truly sustainable;
~ to develop and implement strategies that will give young people
everywhere a real chance to find decent productive work;
~ to encourage the pharmaceutical industry to make essential drugs more
widely available and affordable by all;
~ to develop strong partnerships with the private sector and civil society
organizations in pursuit of development and poverty eradication.
IV. Protecting our Common Environment
 To spare no effort to free all of humanity from the threat of living on a planet
spoiled by human activities and whose resources would no longer be sufficient
for their needs.
 To reaffirm support for the principles of sustainable development.
 To adopt a new ethic of conservation and stewardship that will resolve:
~ to intensify collective efforts for the management, conservation, and
sustainable development of all types of forests;
~ to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources by developing
water management strategies that promote both equitable access and adequate
supplies;
~ to intensify cooperation to reduce the number and effects of natural and
man-made disasters.
V. Human Rights, Democracy, and Good Governance
 To respectfully uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
 To strive for the full protection and promotion in all countries of civil,
political economic, social, and cultural rights for all.
 To strengthen the capacity of all countries to implement the principles and
practices of democracy and respect for human rights.
 To combat all forms of violence against women.
 To ensure respect and protection of the human rights of migrants, migrant
workers and their families, and to eliminate the increasing acts of racism and
xenophobia.
 To work for more inclusive political processes, allowing genuine participation
by all citizens in all countries.
 To ensure the freedom of media and the right of the public to have access to
information.
VI. Protecting the Vulnerable
 To ensure that the children and all civilian populations that suffer
disproportionately the consequences of natural disasters, genocide, armed
conflicts, and other humanitarian emergencies are given every assistance and
protection so that they can resume a normal life as soon as possible.
VII. Meeting the Special Needs of Africa
 To support the consolidation of democracy in Africa and assist Africans in
their struggle for lasting peace, poverty eradication, and sustainable
development, thereby bringing Africa into the mainstream of the world
economy.
VIII. Strengthening the United Nations
 To make the United Nations a more effective instrument for pursuing all of
these priorities:
 the fight for development for all peoples of the world;
 the fight against poverty, ignorance, and disease;
 the fight against injustice;
 the fight against violence, terror, and crime; and
 the fight against the degradation and destruction of our common
home.

Let us Collaborate!
Apply what you have learned….
Concept Paper: Direction: Share your idea/concept on the question posed.
Write your answer on a whole sheet of yellow pad/intermediate pad/short bond paper.
DO NOT FORGET TO WRITE YOUR NAME ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET. PAPER IS DUE
ON NOVEMBER 27, 2020 AT 2:00 PM. YOU WILL SUBMIT YOUR PAPER TO YOUR
GOOGLE DRIVE
1. Why do you think solidarity and tolerance were included on the
essential values to consider?
2. Present your understanding of the phrase “To work for more inclusive
political processes, allowing genuine participation by all citizens in all
countries”. In what way was it related and reflective of Human Rights,
Democracy, and Good Governance.

Be Creative!
Self-Reflection… Do this
Direction: Share your idea/concept on the question posed. Write your answer on a
whole sheet of yellow pad/intermediate pad/short bond paper. DO NOT FORGET TO
WRITE YOUR NAME ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET. PAPER IS DUE ON NOVEMBER 27,
2020 AT 2:00 PM. YOU WILL SUBMIT YOUR PAPER TO YOUR GOOGLE DRIVE
 Evaluation
1.In your own understanding identify the scope of
the Millennium Declaration.
2. In your own point of view, what is the millennium
declaration’s main commitment(s) and why did you
think so?

Your output will be assessed in terms of the following criteria:

- content-relatedness 50%
- coherence 20%
- organization 30%
100%