United Nations General Assembly A/RES/59/186 Distr.: General 10 March 2005 Fifty-ninth session Agenda item 105 (b) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2004 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/59/503/Add.2)] 59/186. Human rights and extreme poverty The General Assembly, Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 2 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights2 and other human rights instruments adopted by the United Nations, Recalling its resolution 47/196 of 22 December 1992, by which it declared 17 October the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and its resolution 50/107 of 20 December 1995, by which it proclaimed the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997–2006), as well as its resolution 57/211 of 18 December 2002 and its previous resolutions on human rights and extreme poverty, in which it reaffirmed 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, Recalling also its resolution 52/134 of 12 December 1997, in which it recognized that the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights was essential for the understanding, promotion and protection of all human rights, Deeply concerned that extreme poverty persists in all countries of the world, regardless of their economic, social and cultural situation, and that its extent and manifestations, such as hunger, trafficking in human beings, disease, lack of adequate shelter, illiteracy and hopelessness, are particularly severe in developing countries, while acknowledging the significant progress made in several parts of the world in combating extreme poverty, Recalling Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/23 of 16 April 2004, 3 as well as resolution 2004/7 of 9 August 2004 of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 4 _______________ 1 Resolution 217 A (III). See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 3 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2004, Supplement No. 3 (E/2004/23), chap. II, sect. A. 4 See E/CN.4/2005/2-E/CN.4/Sub.2/2004/48, chap. II, sect. A. 2 04-48742