ABSTRACT
When the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were first announced, many civil society activists welcomed the clear, focused and time-bound nature of the goals and the international commitment to poverty reduction that they represented. They saw the Millennium Declaration, the anchoring agreement that led to the goals, as a public declaration of political will. The declaration promised to address development systematically and holistically at the country and global levels, according to fundamental values such as freedom, equality, solidarity and tolerance. 2
