Lanka stresses ‘right to development’ in Geneva

by Manjula Fernando

The right to development should not be seen as a divisive concept, but as the means by which the human person, individually and collectively, can become the principal actor of his or her own destiny, said Ambassador Tamara Kunanayakam, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka Mission in Geneva, at the Human Rights Council sessions on Friday.

She is also the Chairperson – Rapporteur of the Inter-Governmental Open-Ended Working Group on the Right to Development.

She presented the Report of the 12th Session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Open-Ended Working Group on the Right to Development.

The Sri Lanka delegation led by Ambassador Kunanayakam said the multi-dimensional approach to development was the only sustainable path to reconciliation, which was Sri Lanka’s primary objective. There could be no development without effective international cooperation and solidarity as a complement to national efforts.

“It was also a year when the world felt the full force of the multiple global crises and its after-effects.

I have on several occasions, affirmed the continued validity and modernity of the right to development, in the context of these economic, social, political, and ecological crisis – unprecedented in the history of humanity.

It serves as a reminder of the urgent need to make progress in the realization of the right to development, to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of this intrinsic right and to identify concrete ways and means of putting into practice the commitments we undertook in adopting the Declaration.”

She said: “In its recommendations, the Working Group, at its 12th session, entrusted me with the task of holding informal consultations with Governments, groups of Governments, regional groups and relevant stakeholders and requested that I report accordingly to the next session of the Working Group with a view to moving the process forward. Despite what, at times, appeared to be insurmountable differences, the Working Group, following its past invaluable tradition, once again adopted its conclusions and recommendations by consensus.

I choose to take this as a positive sign and although it may seem that we have much work ahead of us, I am confident and optimistic that the task is achievable.

I would like to reiterate that, 25 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, its modernity and relevance in the context of today’s global challenges, remain.

It provides us all with the opportunity to achieve and maintain a sustainable development that will benefit both present and future generations.

It is important for the Council and its Working Group to build upon the momentum created last year by the anniversary commemorative events, and to advance our thinking and future work for the effective realization of the right to development.”

Speakers from a range of countries regretted that there was no agreement in the Working Group on the right to development on the definition of criteria and sub-criteria. The multi-dimensional aspect of the right to development should be respected, they said.

Speaking in the General Debate were the United States on behalf of seven countries, founders of the Open Government Partnership, Sweden on behalf of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, Turkey, Sudan, Holy See, Algeria, South Africa, Morocco on behalf of the Platform on Human Rights Education and Training, Pakistan, Iran, Namibia, Nepal, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, Council of Europe, and the United Nations Children’s Fund in a joint statement on behalf of the United Nations Population Fund, the World Health Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.