International commitments pay off

3.15 Sustained, high-level political commitment and campaigning for education does pay off. Primary education as a foundation for development carries greater weight internationally than it did ten years ago. The World Declaration on Education for All and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are significant reference points and provide a basis for performance assessment and accountability. International awareness campaigns have sustained and heightened understanding of the linkages between education, human rights and development. Setting national and international targets has influenced the thinking and the actions of agencies and governments. Moreover, the connections between education and health, sustainable livelihoods, gender equity, security and democracy have been recognised in the major development fora of the 1990s. NGO campaigns have helped to popularise these values and have gained public support for investment in UPE.