UN General Assembly
1964

159. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, one of the gravest misfortunes besetting mankind today, which bears directly and heavily upon the question of underdevelopment and ranks in magnitude and urgency with it, is the plight of some 700 million inhabitants of the world plagued by the scourge of illiteracy. Their ignorance, which in itself is an outrage to human conscience and the dignity of man, constitutes one of the most formidable barriers to the social and economic advancement of the developing nations.