States must renew their commitment to international cooperation to achieve global development goals and realise human rights

GENEVA (5 December 2022) – UN human rights experts* call for ambitious policies and recommitment to development cooperation in a statement marking the 36th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development (4 December). Their full statement is as follows:

“On the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, we call on States to cooperate in a spirit of strengthened and renewed multilateralism. Such renewed commitment will be critical to reignite progress towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its promise to end poverty and hunger; achieve gender equality, combat inequalities; and realise human rights to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies.

States must seize the opportunity of two major global policy forums next year. In July 2023, the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will convene under the theme Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels. The HLPF will also support the mid-term review of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and preparations for the 2023 SDG Summit that will be convened during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023.

The devastating impact of the pandemic on all human rights has been well documented. In the face of the biggest public health crisis of the twenty-first century, the international community must design and implement ambitious and comprehensive policies and measures. To ensure a swift recovery that will not simply restore the pre pandemic status quo but advance sustainable development and climate action goals for all people and the planet, States must bring about the active participation of all peoples and communities concerned, including through the equal involvement of women and girls, in the planning, monitoring, implementation and evaluation, of COVID-19 recovery plans and policies.

As world States recognised in the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, “every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realised” (article 1); and States must formulate national development policies on the basis of the “active, free and meaningful participation” “of the entire populations and all individuals” (article 2).

We call on States and international financial institutions to: ensure greater coordination of economic policies, including monetary policies, so that the recovery of one group of countries is not achieved at the expense of another; provide international support through grants, especially for the least-developed countries, small island developing States and lower middle-income countries that have been hit hardest by the crisis; and strengthen international cooperation for expanded debt relief and sustainability initiatives for developing countries, in accordance with the relevant commitments made in the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development.

We also urge States to recommit to the target of dedicating 0.7 per cent of their Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance by providing timetables and accountability frameworks, including legislation at the national level. Development partners should also redirect aid to where it is most needed with clear actions and timelines. High-income countries should invest additional efforts in engaging in technological and scientific cooperation with countries from the global South, in particular least-developed countries, to enable their health systems to provide health facilities, goods and services that are available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality for all.”

ENDS

*UN experts: Saad Alfarargi, Special Rapporteur on the right to development; David Boyd, Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment; Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change; Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Chair), Ivana Radačić (Vice-Chair), Elisabeth Broderick, Meskerem Geset Techane and Melissa Upreti, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism; Ravindran Daniel (Chair-Rapporteur), Jelena Aparac, Sorcha MacLeod, Chris Kwaja, Carlos Salazar Couto, Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination; Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Fortuné Gaetan Zongo, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi; Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Livingstone Sewanyana, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; Fernanda Hopenhaym (Chairperson), Pichamon Yeophantong (Vice-Chairperson), Elżbieta Karska, Robert McCorquodale and Damilola Olawuyi, Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises; Alioune Tine, Independent Expert on the situation of Human Rights in Mali; Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Vitit Muntarbhorn,Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia; K.P. Ashwini, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; Isha Dyfan, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia; Koen De Feyter, Bonny Ibhawoh, Mihir Kanade; Klentiana Mahmutaj, Liliana Valina, Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development; Ms. Alice Cruz, Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members; Catherine S. Namakula (Chair), Barbara G. Reynolds, (Vice-Chair), Dominique Day, Miriam Ekiudoko, Sushil Raj, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.

The Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.