Fernando M. Reimers et a].

compact is one that reflects the skills and dispositions that could effec—
tively address those risks.

GLOBAL CITIZENS PROTECT GLOBAL COMPACTS

In addition to helping people understand and mitigate global risks, global
citizenship can support the institutions that allow for global governance in
addressing those risks. Shortly after the founding of the UN, the international
body adopted and ratified an unprecedented legal document that defines and
affirms the rights of all men and women through the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. In the words of Hernan Santa Cruz of Chile, a member
of the committee that drafted it, this extraordinary document guaranteed
“the supreme value of the human person, a value that did not originate in the
decision of a worldly power, but rather in the fact of existing” (UN, 2012b).
The declaration asserts the right to dignity, employment, education, religion,
freedom, and more for all men and women of the world. This momentous
document requires global citizens to act on its behalf to ensure that the uni—
versal rights of every man, woman, and child are protected.

In a similar way, as the turn of the millennium approached, the United
Nations members’ states reaffirmed their dedication to the promotion of
peace and cooperation by establishing another global compact that identified
a series of global targets for human development, poverty alleviation, and
social justice. The following goals compose the Millennium Development
Goals, which were to be achieved by 2015:

Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education.

Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women.

Goal 4. Reduce child mortality.

Goal 5. Improve maternal health.

Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability.

Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for development (UN, 2012c).

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