Assistant Secretary-General says international cooperation key to realize right to development

Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Chair and members of the Expert Mechanism,
And dear participants,

I am really honoured to be here. It’s a great pleasure with you today for the opening of the ninth session of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development. I am looking forward to hearing what these days of deliberations will bring.

This Expert Mechanism is a unique body that provides valuable space for discussion in New York to bridge the human rights and development agendas, more needed than ever.

Kofi Annan once said that there is no development without peace, no peace without development, and neither without human rights.^[1] The United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development recognizes the interdependent relationship between peace and security, development, and human rights, as does the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

I need not to enumerate the countless crises that have been unfolding across the globe, that we are preoccupied with on a daily basis, that undermine peace and security, that also stall development, and violate human rights. The only way to confront and overcome these crises is through collective commitment and action, firmly grounded in human rights.

Last September, at the SDG Summit, Member States reaffirmed their commitment to the 2030 Agenda and its principles. And in December, in Geneva, OHCHR convened a high-level event to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that resulted in numerous pledges and ideas to make human rights a reality for everyone.

Now, with the Summit of the Future just five months away, Member States are striving for a reinvigorated multilateral system and more effective global cooperation that can deliver better for both present and future generations. Human rights, including the right to development, provide solutions to many of the greatest challenges confronting the international community and they thus must be at the centre and at the core of the Summit and the Pact for the Future.

Over the past year, the Expert Mechanism made concrete recommendations from a right to development perspective on key topics relevant to the Summit of the Future and ongoing discussions regarding the Pact of the Future. These include: the New Agenda for Peace; Measuring Progress Beyond GDP; Reform of the International Financial Architecture; Rights of Future Generations; and Youth Participation.

I commend the efforts of the Expert Mechanism in promoting dialogue, cooperation, and knowledge-sharing among stakeholders. Beyond its two annual sessions, in New York and Geneva, the Mechanism has also engaged bilaterally with Member States and other stakeholders to deepen the discussion and understanding of the right to development. It continues to elaborate thematic studies, focusing on best practices. The status of two of these studies - on the right to development in international development cooperation, and individual and collective dimensions of the right to development - will be discussed later this morning.

As we engage in constructive dialogue and exchange during this session on effective approaches and good practices for the realization of the right to development, it’s important to recall that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible and interdependent. We must work collectively, at the national and the international level, to – as the Declaration on the Right to Development states – “promote, encourage, and strengthen universal respect for and observance of all human rights,” ^[2] in order to make the right to development a reality. A commitment to international cooperation to resolve obstacles to development at both national and international levels, as a core tenet of the right to development, should underpin our collective efforts. Another key tenet of this effort will be to ensure the free, active, and meaningful participation of people in this work – ensuring that rights holders are at the centre of our efforts. We must strive to ensure meaningful, inclusive, and safe public and civil society participation, and of course we have the core part of have a fair sharing of the benefits of development as we all know.

Your discussion over the next two days will be critical and will provide the Council and Member States with thematic expertise, best practices, and tangible contributions to promote the implementation of the right to development.

I wish you fruitful deliberations. Thank you very much.