United Nations General Assembly A/RES/59/240 Distr.: General 24 February 2005 Fifty-ninth session Agenda item 87 (a) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 22 December 2004 [on the report of the Second Committee (A/59/485/Add.1)] 59/240. Role of the United Nations in promoting development in the context of globalization and interdependence The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 53/169 of 15 December 1998, 54/231 of 22 December 1999, 55/212 of 20 December 2000, 56/209 of 21 December 2001, 57/274 of 20 December 2002 and 58/225 of 23 December 2003 on the role of the United Nations in promoting development in the context of globalization and interdependence, Recalling also its resolution 58/291 of 6 May 2004, Reaffirming the resolve expressed in the United Nations Millennium Declaration 1 to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for the people of the world, Recognizing that globalization and interdependence have opened new opportunities for the growth of the world economy and development, that globalization offers new perspectives for the integration of developing countries into the world economy and that it can improve the overall performance of the economies of developing countries by opening up market opportunities for their exports, by promoting the transfer of information, skills and technology and by increasing the financial resources available for investment in physical and intangible assets, acknowledging that globalization has also brought new challenges for growth and sustainable development and that developing countries have been facing special difficulties in responding to them, recognizing that some countries have successfully adapted to the changes and benefited from globalization but that many others, especially the least developed countries, have remained marginalized in the globalizing world economy, and recognizing also that, as stated in the Millennium Declaration, the benefits and costs of globalization are very unevenly distributed, Recognizing also that a universal, rule-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system, as well as meaningful trade liberalization, can substantially stimulate development worldwide, benefiting countries at all stages of development, reaffirming its commitment to trade liberalization and to ensuring that _______________ 1 04-49066 See resolution 55/2.