A/RES/59/186 Welcoming the Summit of World Leaders for Action against Hunger and Poverty of 20 September 2004, convened in New York by the Presidents of Brazil, Chile and France and the Prime Minister of Spain with the support of the Secretary-General, Recognizing that the eradication of extreme poverty is a major challenge within the process of globalization and requires coordinated and continued policies through decisive national action and international cooperation, Reaffirming that, since the existence of widespread extreme poverty inhibits the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and might, in some situations, constitute a threat to the right to life, its immediate alleviation and eventual eradication must remain a high priority for the international community, Reaffirming also that democracy, development and the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing and contribute to the eradication of extreme poverty, Noting with interest the extension for a period of two years of the mandate of the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, 1. Reaffirms that extreme poverty and exclusion from society constitute a violation of human dignity and that urgent national and international action is therefore required to eliminate them; Also reaffirms that it is essential for States to foster participation by the 2. poorest people in the decision-making process in the societies in which they live, in the promotion of human rights and in efforts to combat extreme poverty, and that it is essential for people living in poverty and vulnerable groups to be empowered to organize themselves and to participate in all aspects of political, economic and social life, in particular the planning and implementation of policies that affect them, thus enabling them to become genuine partners in development; Emphasizes that extreme poverty is a major issue to be addressed by 3. Governments, civil society and the United Nations system, including international financial institutions, and in this context reaffirms that political commitment is a prerequisite for the eradication of poverty; Reaffirms that the existence of widespread absolute poverty inhibits the 4. full and effective enjoyment of human rights and renders democracy and popular participation fragile; Recognizes the need to promote respect for human rights and 5. fundamental freedoms in order to address the most pressing social needs of people living in poverty, including through the design and development of appropriate mechanisms to strengthen and consolidate democratic institutions and governance; Reaffirms the commitments contained in the United Nations Millennium 6. Declaration, 5 in particular the commitments to spare no effort to fight against extreme poverty and to achieve development and poverty eradication, including the commitment to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the world’s people whose income is less than one United States dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger; _______________ 5 2 See resolution 55/2.