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Promoting the MDGs: the role of employment and decent work.

Article Excerpt
The 2000 UN Millennium Declaration, from which the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) emerged, focuses on development and poverty eradication, through peace and security, human rights, democracy and good governance. It identifies the fundamental values of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared responsibility. Through the Declaration, UN Member States pledge to ensure greater coherence in policies across the international system towards common development goals. The Declaration builds on earlier international commitments, such as productive and freely chosen employment, which were the outcome of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen.

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The Decent Work Agenda of the International Labour Organization (ILO), comprising employment creation, rights at work, social protection and social dialogue, is an integrated approach that embraces all these elements. Freely chosen and productive employment with a fair income is the principal way out of poverty and is fundamental to peace and security, and above all to human dignity. Rights at work help empower individuals to escape from poverty and guarantee a path of development that does not allow labour abuses. Social protection, both at work and in the absence of work, safeguards against falling back into poverty. And social dialogue is the basis for democracy and good governance, ensuring the participation of both employers' and workers' organizations in shaping government policies for poverty reduction....

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