It must be addressed in all its manifestations. Member States, at the national and international levels, have the primary responsibility in this regard. The challenge is to harness the forces of global integration, not to run away from them. At the same time, the risks of economic polarization, social exclusion and growing inequalities must be averted. Protecting the right of all to a minimum standard of living is good economics because investment in the poor, including women and children, offers the best guarantee of sustained growth and productivity gains in the future.
Eradication of poverty is today an indispensable condition for lasting peace.
Without the full and effective participation of the poor in global growth, the challenge of peace and development will not be met. Only through building partnerships and investing the necessary resources to make them effective, in particular at the country level, can the challenge of poverty eradication be met. Executive heads commit themselves to pursuing this effort individually and collectively throughout the United Nations system. ACC acknowledges that education and capacity-building are a major driving force in development since they are the key to any process of empowerment, individual or collective. ACC emphasizes that in dealing with poverty, gender equality and the empowerment of women there are major cross-cutting issues that must receive sustained attention.