UN General Assembly
2000

the levels of inhuman living conditions experienced by impoverished nations around the world, the incidence and spread of HIV/AIDS and the provision of basic education for all children. On the other hand, we are aware that the current world order is rapidly falling out of step with today's realities and that there is a pressing need for the international community to come together and address the numerous challenges before us. We must acknowledge that efforts to address old issues, like world poverty and its distribution, as well as new ones arising from globalization, the rapid growth of information technology and the resulting digital divide, the consequences of the environmental degradation of our planet, HIV/AIDS and gender issues, among others, have largely been inadequate. Our common and daunting task is therefore to ensure that this globalized world will be beneficial for all and not just for some. More than ever before, there is an urgent need to foster a consciousness of universal moral values in order to deal with present-day problems, all of which are assuming an increasingly