THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The MDGs and human rights have common objectives: to preserve and protect human dignity. While there are many different con-tributors to poverty, injustice and discrimination are omnipresent and always constitute a de-nial of human rights. It is for this reason that there are extensive direct linkages between human rights provisions and the MDGs. For each Goal there are often corresponding hu-man rights obligations, standards or norms.
Titled, “Girls Count: A Global Investment & Action Agenda,” the 89-page report highlighted the systematic disadvantages faced by girls and women in developing countries in areas ranging from health, education, and nutrition to workforce participation and the burden of household tasks.
Countries that do not address these significant disparities risk perpetuating a “cycle of poverty” within their populations, the report said — yet by investing in women and girls, countries can reap significant benefits in the spheres of political and economic development.
