The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report 2002, will be launched officially in Manila, Philippines with the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown on Wednesday 24 July 2002. The report will be released simultaneously in many other world capitals, including Jordan.
Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Talal, UNDP Human Development Ambassador will patronize the event in Jordan on Wednesday. Keynote speakers include the Minister of Planning H.E. Dr. Bassem Awadallah and UNDP's Resident Representative, a.i., Mr. Ove Bjerregaard.
This year's report highlights the relationship between political democracy and human development. As suggested by its sub-title "Deepening Democracy in a Fragemented World" it examines the challenges of democracies in a globalizing era in broadening participation and strengthening accountability, and proposes a governance framework conducive to human development. The report also includes the first-ever country-by-country rating on progress towards the Millenium Development Goals, adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2000.
First introduced in 1990 by UNDP and an international team of experts, the annual report ranks countries according to the Human Development Index (HDI), which is based on life expectancy, adult literacy and per capita income.
This year's report also surveys main tools for measuring political and civil freedoms and their relations to the HDI. In doing so it compliments the first Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) which was launched earlier this month in Cairo.