UN General Assembly
2004

conflicts are fuelled by conditions of poverty and underdevelopment. Recognizing that interrelationship, the international community has taken numerous initiatives in recent years. Several major conferences have been convened, including the Millennium Summit, that have provided a comprehensive set of time-bound targets to be achieved in order to secure a more peaceful, prosperous and just world. However, those targets remain distant for many and the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider among and within nations. The Global Monitoring Report 2004 of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund indicates that economic growth in many developing countries remains below the level considered necessary to reach the Millennium Development Goals. If the Goals are to be achieved by the target date, the report states, all parties urgently need to do much more. The Monterrey Consensus reinforced the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals and emphasized the roles of all parties involved in the process of financing for development. While developing countries have to accelerate reforms, developed countries must provide more aid, foreign direct investment, debt relief and