First-ever social summit struggles with toughest issues.

More than one billion people live in extreme poverty, more than 120 million are officially unemployed, and the gap between rich and poor is increasing. Now that the Cold War has ended, we are more secure about international military security on the global scale, but less secure about personal and community-related issues and problems. In this context, the heads of state from around the world will convene in Copenhagen at the first World Summit on Social Development to discuss poverty, employment, and achieving the full participation of all groups in society. This summit will be the seventh of ten global conferences organized by the United Nations this decade, but it has garnered only minimal media attention. By early February, 102 heads of state had committed to attending, but it remains uncertain at what level the US will participate. The draft declaration specifies nine commitments to which countries will, in some form, assent in Copenhagen. These commitments express social goals such as achieving full equity and equality between men and women, promoting the social development of the least developed countries, reforming structural adjustment programs, and increasing the share of the world's resources devoted to social development. A tenth commitment assuring universal access to education and basic health services remains bracketed for decision in Copenhagen.