The United Nations declared the period 2003–2012 as an International Decade focused on promoting literacy worldwide. Which of the following correctly names this United Nations initiative?

Introduction / Context:
The United Nations sometimes declares a specific period as an International Decade to focus global attention on an issue. From 2003 to 2012, the world body concentrated on a global push to improve reading and writing skills. This question checks whether you remember the official name of that decade, which is important for exams on United Nations initiatives, education policy, and general knowledge about international efforts to promote literacy and human development.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The time period mentioned is 2003–2012.
• The decade was declared by the United Nations.
• The focus of the decade was on literacy and education.
• We must choose the correct official title from four similar sounding options.

Concept / Approach:
The key to answering this question is to link the years 2003–2012 with the correct official UN title. Among the many thematic decades, the one relating to literacy is formally called the United Nations Literacy Decade. Other options refer to different decades or campaign names and are included mainly to confuse candidates who have only partial recall of UN programmes. Associating the time span 2003–2012 directly with the phrase Literacy Decade is the most reliable way to remember this fact.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note that the years 2003–2012 are clearly mentioned in the question.Step 2: Recall from UN programmes that 2003–2012 was proclaimed as a decade to promote literacy worldwide.Step 3: Look through the options and identify which one explicitly mentions literacy.Step 4: Option C states United Nations Literacy Decade, which directly matches the known title.Step 5: Confirm that the other options relate to different subjects such as health, colonialism, or disaster reduction and thus do not match the literacy focus.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick way to verify is to remember that UNESCO and the United Nations used the label United Nations Literacy Decade with the slogan Education for All to emphasise reading and writing skills as basic human rights. Bone and Joint Decade, International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, and the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism are all real initiatives but are linked to different time frames and themes, not the 2003–2012 literacy focus.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction refers to a separate initiative centered on disaster risk and does not match the 2003–2012 literacy programme.
Bone and Joint Decade deals with musculoskeletal health and patient care, not with literacy or general education.
The Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism focuses on decolonisation processes and is not related to reading and writing skills.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates often confuse the years and titles of various UN decades because many of them overlap and sound similar. Another common mistake is to select an option that sounds strongly humanitarian without checking whether its theme is truly literacy. It is helpful to build a clear mental association between 2003–2012 and the exact phrase Literacy Decade, rather than relying only on general impressions about what the United Nations values. Careless reading of the options can also lead to selecting a programme that is real but not linked to those years.

Final Answer:
The correct choice is United Nations Literacy Decade.