World leaders adopt Doha Political Declaration as US stays silent
By Elissa Miolene // 04 November 2025
The last time leaders gathered for the World Summit for Social Development, it was Copenhagen in 1995.
The world was still reeling from the Rwandan genocide, which had claimed nearly a million lives the year before. The internet had barely entered homes, and less than 15% of American adults were online. And global extreme poverty, according to the World Bank, hovered around 33%.
In Denmark, leaders agreed to eradicate poverty, expand employment, and build more inclusive societies — ultimately signing the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development, a set of commitments. Thirty years later, they’ve arrived at the summit’s second iteration to do the same — now in Qatar’s gleaming capital, and amid an entirely different world.
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About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene covers U.S. foreign assistance from Washington, D.C. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for The Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other news outlets across the world. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for aid agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
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