36/23 Right to development - Report of the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

GE.17-12715(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-sixth session

11-29 September 2017

Agenda items 2 and 3

Annual Report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of

the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Right to development

Report of the Secretary-General and the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights

Summary

The present report contains a brief overview of the activities of the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the promotion and realization of

the right to development from June 2016 to May 2017. The report also provides an analysis

of the implementation of the right to development, taking into account existing challenges

and making recommendations on how to overcome them. The report complements the

report of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner on the right to development

submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-third session (A/HRC/33/31).

United Nations A/HRC/36/23

I. Introduction

1. In its resolution 48/141 establishing the post of United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights, the General Assembly decided that the High Commissioner should, inter

alia, promote and protect the realization of the right to development and enhance support

from relevant bodies of the United Nations system for this purpose. The General Assembly

also decided that the High Commissioner should recognize the importance of promoting

balanced and sustainable development for all people and of ensuring the realization of the

right to development, as established in the Declaration on the Right to Development.

2. The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 33/14, requested the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to submit to the Council

an annual report on its activities, including on inter-agency coordination within the United

Nations system, that have direct relevance to the promotion and realization of the right to

development, and to provide an analysis of the implementation of the right to development,

taking into account existing challenges and making recommendations on how to overcome

them (see sect. III).

3. In its resolution 71/192, the General Assembly reaffirmed its request to the High

Commissioner, in mainstreaming the right to development, to effectively undertake

activities aimed at strengthening the global partnership for development among Member

States, development agencies and the international development, financial and trade

institutions and to reflect those activities in detail in his next report to the Human Rights

Council.

4. In the same resolution, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to

submit a report to the Assembly at its seventy-second session and an interim report to the

Human Rights Council on the implementation of the resolution, including efforts

undertaken at the national, regional and international levels in the promotion and realization

of the right to development.

5. The present report is submitted in accordance with the above requests. It contains an

overview of the activities of the Office relating to the promotion and realization of the right

to development, covering the period from June 2016 to May 2017, and complements the

report of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner on the right to development

submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-third session (A/HRC/33/31). It

includes an analysis of the implementation of the right to development, existing challenges

and recommendations on how to overcome them.

II. Activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

6. In implementing its mandate to promote and protect the realization of the right to

development, the Office is guided by the Declaration on the Right to Development, the

Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, relevant resolutions of the General

Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council and agreed

conclusions and recommendations of the Working Group on the Right to Development.

7. The OHCHR operational framework for promoting and protecting the realization of

the right to development is contained in the Secretary-General’s strategic framework for the

period 2016-2017 and the OHCHR Management Plan for the period 2014-2017.1

1 See A/69/6/Rev.1, pp. 465-466; OHCHR Management Plan 2014-2017: working for your rights, pp.

63-71; and A/HRC/27/27, paras. 6-13.

A. Support to the Working Group on the Right to Development and other

relevant mandates

8. OHCHR provided support to the Working Group on the Right to Development for

the organization of its eighteenth session,2 held from 3 to 7 April 2017 (A/HRC/36/35). It

also supported the Chair-Rapporteur during the intersessional period in holding informal

consultations and presenting the report of the Working Group to the Human Rights Council

and the General Assembly. At the request of the Council, 3 the Office facilitated the

participation of experts to engage with the Working Group in the interactive dialogue

mentioned below.

9. At its eighteenth session, the Working Group considered the report of the Secretary-

General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the right to development. The

Working Group discussed the elaboration of a comprehensive and coherent set of standards

for the implementation of the right to development and took note of a document submitted

by the Non-Aligned Movement containing a proposal on a set of standards

(A/HRC/WG.2/18/G/1). The Working Group also considered a document containing draft

right to development criteria and operational subcriteria and agreed to finalize them as

expeditiously as possible, preferably no later than at its nineteenth session. It agreed to

undertake informal consultations to be convened by the Chair-Rapporteur, as and when

required, with a view to advancing the finalization of these documents. At the same session,

the Working Group held an interactive dialogue with experts on the implementation and

realization of the right to development, including the implications of the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development, and possible engagement with the high-level political forum on

sustainable development.4

10. OHCHR also supported relevant special procedure mandates, including the Special

Rapporteur on the right to development. The present mandate holder took up his functions

in May 2017.

B. Activities for the promotion and realization of the right to development

11. The year 2016 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to

Development. To mark the occasion OHCHR organized and supported numerous events

and activities drawing attention to the importance of the right to development,5 including in

the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the

Sustainable Development Goals. Examples of major activities are summarized below.

12. In June 2016, the Office organized a panel discussion at the thirty-third session of

the Human Rights Council, as requested by the Council in its resolution 31/4. The objective

of the panel discussion was to increase awareness, including among relevant United

Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes and other stakeholders, of the intrinsic

value and distinct role of the right to development as an inalienable and independent human

right by virtue of which all human rights can be fully realized (A/HRC/33/21). In his

opening statement, the High Commissioner underscored the importance of the 2030

Agenda and its role in addressing the systemic obstructions and multiple challenges facing

the right to development. He noted that, at the international level, the failure to adequately

regulate globalization could affect the pursuit of inclusive development, which

compromised basic human rights in relation to food, water and sanitation, health, equity

and democratic decision-making. He called for a renewed spirit of multilateral action for

2 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/18thSession.aspx.

3 Resolution 33/14.

4 Expert presentations are available at

www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/18thSession.aspx.

5 More information on these and other activities is available at

www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/DevelopmentIndex.aspx.

the common good, recognizing that efforts to reduce towering inequalities would help the

marginalized and the poor.6

13. In September, the President of the seventy-first session of the General Assembly

convened the high-level segment of the Assembly to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary

of the Declaration on the Right to Development. 7 The Secretary-General, the High

Commissioner and the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development participated in the opening segment, which was followed by a general debate

among Member States. The one-day event focused on the measures and policies required to

promote effective international cooperation for the realization of the right to development,

as well as the importance and added value of the right to development in achieving the

Sustainable Development Goals. The event provided an opportunity to discuss efforts to

fulfil the right to development and the importance of consensual understanding of the right

to development based on the experience, progress and challenges encountered in the last 30

years.

14. In October, the Office organized, jointly with the Independent Permanent Human

Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Government of the

United Arab Emirates, a two-day international seminar entitled “The right to development

— 30 years after”, in Abu Dhabi. The Commission welcomed renewed reflection and joint

action by all stakeholders to ensure that all people had an equal opportunity to participate

in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social and cultural rights, thereby also supporting the

establishment of inclusive, equitable, just and peaceful societies. In the Abu Dhabi

Declaration on the Right to Development,8 adopted at the seminar, participants reaffirmed

States’ national, international and collective obligations with respect to the effective

implementation of the right to development, and recalled the importance of international

cooperation against corruption and of good governance through free, active and meaningful

participation in policymaking.

15. To mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration, and in addition to the

international expert meeting held in Geneva in March (see A/HRC/33/31, para. 22),

OHCHR organized another such meeting in New York in October 2016. This event,

entitled “Development frontlines: of rights, justice and fairness”, served as an opportunity

to analyse contemporary development challenges and discuss how innovative development

solutions were being forged at varying levels and scales. It also addressed legitimacy and

accountability deficits in global governance and in the economic realm.9

16. OHCHR initiated and supported the issuance of two statements reaffirming the right

to development. In September, the United Nations Development Group Human Rights

Working Group issued a joint statement recognizing that, while the 2030 Agenda is a

powerful vehicle for the realization of the right to development, operationalizing its

commitment to leave no one behind demands a coherent and integrated United Nations

system-wide approach that is underpinned by the principles inherent in the Declaration.10

17. In December 2016, 16 special procedure mandate holders issued a joint statement in

which they called upon Governments to move rapidly beyond rhetoric and political

differences to make the right to development a reality for all.11

18. To advance awareness, develop the resource base and build capacity on the right to

development, OHCHR issued several anniversary information notes on the relationship

between the right to development and, respectively, international cooperation, indigenous

peoples, persons with disabilities, children and youth, peace, and taxation.12 Furthermore,

OHCHR produced a second anniversary video, The Right to Development for Everyone,

6 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/PaneldiscussionPresentationsandstatements.aspx.

7 See http://sdg.iisd.org/events/unga-high-level-segment-on-the-right-to-development/.

8 See www.oic-iphrc.org/en/data/docs/articles_studies/iphrc_abu_dhabi_outcome_2016.pdf.

9 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/PanelEventDeclarationontheRtoDat30.aspx; and

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/PanelEventDeclarationontheRtoDat30.aspx.

10 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RtD/UNDG_HRWG.pdf.

11 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20973.

12 Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/InformationMaterials.aspx.

Everywhere,13 which was used to launch a social media campaign to coincide with the high-

level segment of the General Assembly referred to above. The first OHCHR video

dedicated to the right to development, entitled Development is a Human Right,14 was

screened at anniversary events throughout the year.

19. In August, OHCHR participated in the World Social Forum, held in Montreal,

Canada, and gave a presentation on investment and human rights, including the right to

development, at a workshop on investment chapters in trade agreements and how investors

can be held responsible for damages caused by their activities in host countries. 15 The

presentation emphasized that investment treaties could violate the right to development by,

firstly, often giving priority to investors’ interests over the human rights to health, water

and sanitation, among others, and impeding effective mobilization of the maximum

available resources for the realization of human rights; and, secondly, failing to be

transparent and open to participation by those potentially affected. It stressed that

participation must take place in conjunction with strengthening people’s bargaining power

within these treaties to act, negotiate and manoeuvre; otherwise, formal participation would

be meaningless, and deeply disempowering. In March 2017, OHCHR gave a presentation

on trade, business and human rights at an event held in the European Parliament. The

discussion focused on specific proposals to enable trade to promote human rights and how

trade could incentivize reform on the ground.

20. In partnership with the Economic Commission for Africa and the Friedrich-Ebert-

Stiftung, OHCHR is in the process of completing a human rights impact assessment of the

Continental Free Trade Area agreement for Africa, to inform and feed into the negotiations.

This includes three case studies focused on agriculture and food security, agro-

manufacturing and informal cross-border traders. The impact assessment will provide

recommendations to relevant stakeholders for preventing or mitigating negative impacts in

these areas.16

21. In collaboration with the United Nations-mandated University for Peace, in Costa

Rica and the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health, in

Malaysia, OHCHR is in the process of completing an interactive e-learning module on

operationalizing the right to development in implementing the Sustainable Development

Goals. This project brings together substantive contributions from academic experts

worldwide with a view to promoting education, integration and capacity-building on the

right to development and enhancing its impact in research, policymaking and development

practice. The module is expected to be launched in the course of the current year for use

and reference by Governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental

organizations and other stakeholders.

III. Analysis of the implementation of the right to development, existing challenges and recommendations to overcome them

22. As defined in the Declaration on the Right to Development, “development” is a

comprehensive process that advances all interdependent, interrelated and indivisible human

rights and fundamental freedoms. The right to development aims at the constant

improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals. It makes the

human person the central subject, active participant and beneficiary of development.

Everyone is entitled to free, active and meaningful participation in development. The right

to development calls for social justice and equity, as it requires the fair distribution of the

benefits of development, including income, and equal opportunity in access to basic

resources and services. It also entitles women to play an active role in the development

process.

13 See www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5x8clbKq5A.

14 See www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdKfypBTtdI.

15 See https://fsm2016.org/en/activites/investment-chapters-in-trade-agreements-from-rights-to-

responsibilities/.

16 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Globalization/ScopingStudyMay2016.pdf.

23. The Declaration calls for an appropriate political, social and economic order for

development, appropriate national and international development policies and appropriate

economic and social reforms to eradicate social injustice. It recognizes that equality of

opportunity for development is a prerogative both of nations and of individuals who make

up nations, and calls for sustained action for the comprehensive development of developing

countries. It invests States with the duty to cooperate effectively to establish an enabling

environment for development; to eliminate obstacles to development; and to support

international peace, security and disarmament, and to use the released resources for

comprehensive development, especially in developing countries. States, acting individually

and collectively, bear the primary responsibility for guaranteeing the right to development,

while all human beings have a responsibility for development and duties to the community.

24. The implementation of the right to development is an ongoing process for all

countries. The Working Group on the Right to Development considers that the following

factors contribute to its realization: an open, equitable, rules-based, predictable and non-

discriminatory multilateral trading system; sustained economic growth; continued

partnerships for development; the evolution, assessment and dissemination of practical and

specific measures at the national and international levels; integration of the principles

underlying the Declaration within the policies and programmes of the multilateral

development and financial institutions; a rights-based approach to economic growth and

development; good governance and the rule of law at both national and international levels;

responsiveness on the part of States to vulnerable and marginalized groups; and the

realization of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights (see A/66/216, paras. 22-

23).

25. Nevertheless, conceptual, political and strategic challenges to the practical

implementation of the right to development remain. As far back as 2004, the Working

Group considered that further conceptual clarification, improved strategic coherence and

coordination of policies and programmes, and increased political commitment were

required for its full realization (see E/CN.4/2004/23 and Corr.1, para. 43 (h)); this still

holds true today. States remain divided in their views. There is disagreement on the nature

of the duties of States to realize the right to development as well as on the relative emphasis

to be placed on the national dimension of State obligations (individual rights and

corresponding State responsibilities, rule of law, good governance, anti-corruption, etc.)

compared to obligations of international cooperation (international responsibilities,

international order, development cooperation, global governance, etc.). There are also

differences of opinion among States regarding criteria to measure progress towards

implementing the right to development.17 Some countries advocate the development of a

comprehensive and coherent set of standards as a basis for a legally binding instrument,

while others express a preference for non-binding guidelines. These differences have

challenged progress in the intergovernmental debate at the relevant United Nations forums,

such as the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and the Working Group.18 The

lack of consensus among Member States constitutes a major obstacle in implementing this

right.

26. With regard to the realities on the ground, some progress has been made in global

efforts towards realizing the vision of the Declaration. However, progress has been uneven,

particularly for people in Africa, least developed countries, landlocked developing

countries and small island developing States. 19 Globally, persistent poverty and rising

inequalities remain among the many interconnected threats to peace and security, human

rights and development.

17 The high-level task force on the implementation of the right to development has developed criteria

and subcriteria for operationalizing the right to development for review by the Working Group. See

A/HRC/15/WG.2/TF/2/Add.2.

18 For a detailed account of the debate, see the annual reports of the Working Group, available at

www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/WGRightToDevelopment.aspx. 19 See General Assembly resolution 70/1.

27. In the absence of specific benchmarks for the implementation of the right to

development, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016 20 and the note by the

Secretary-General on progress and prospects in financing for development

(E/FFDF/2017/2) complement the Declaration and provide some valuable guidance.

Poverty and rising inequalities

28. The Declaration advocates people-centred development aimed at the realization of

all rights and freedoms in the development process and enhanced well-being for all

individuals and peoples, encompassing a holistic paradigm that is also reflected in the 2030

Agenda. In 2012, one in eight people still lived in extreme poverty. Only one in five people

in low-income countries and two in three in upper-middle-income countries enjoyed social

assistance or social protection benefits. 21 This situation points, inter alia, to a lack of

policies which are conducive to favourable development conditions, as required by the

Declaration.

29. Much remains to be done to realize basic rights, including the rights to food, water,

shelter, health and education. Although it has declined, more than 790 million people still

suffer from hunger. One in four children under the age of 5 had stunted growth in 2014.

Under-5 mortality rates have declined by more than half since the 1990s, but still account

for 43 deaths for every 1,000 live births. Despite a decline in the incidence of some

communicable diseases, sub-Saharan Africa still accounts for a disproportionately high

percentage of, inter alia, HIV and malaria cases. As of 2013, 59 million children of primary

school age were out of school and 757 million adults were unable to read and write, two

thirds of them women (E/2016/75).

30. The impacts of poverty and lack of access to economic, social and cultural rights are

further exemplified by the statistics on access to water and sanitation: 663 million people

still use unimproved water sources, 2.4 billion are without improved sanitation and 2 billion

worldwide are affected by water stress. Although more than a billion people still lacked

access to electricity in 2012, between 2010 and 2012 there was an increase of 4 per cent a

year in access to modern renewables. The Declaration recognizes the importance of an

active role for women in development but globally, women still spend more than twice as

much time as men in unpaid labour and, as of 2016, comprised only 23 per cent of national

parliamentarians. Concerted measures towards effective solutions are needed at all levels to

implement the Declaration in operationalizing the 2030 Agenda (ibid.).

31. Recent studies indicate that inequalities are rising and pose a growing threat to

development.22 Since 2015, the richest 1 per cent has owned more wealth than the other 99

per cent. Eight men now own the same amount of wealth as that owned by 3.6 billion

others, the poorer half of the world. Over the next 20 years, it is projected that 500 people

will hand over $2.1 trillion to their heirs, a sum larger than the gross domestic product of

India, a country of 1.3 billion people. The incomes of the poorest 10 per cent increased by

less than $3 a year between 1988 and 2011, while those of the richest 1 per cent increased

182 times as much. This clearly runs counter to the paradigm for development contained in

the Declaration for the individual and collective well-being of all individuals, peoples and

nations. The rising tide of inequality, including wealth inequality, contradicts the

commitment made in the Declaration to an international, economic, political and social

order in which all rights and freedoms can be realized for all.

20 United Nations publication, Sales No. E.16.I.10.

21 See the report of the Secretary-General on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

(E/2016/75) and International Labour Organization, World Social Protection Report 2014/15.

22 See, e.g., Oxfam Briefing Paper, “An economy for the 99%”, January 2017, available at

www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/bp-economy-for-99-percent-160117-

en.pdf; World Economic Forum, The Global Risks Report 2017, available at

www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2017; Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development, In It Together: Why Less Inequality Benefits All (Paris, 2015), available at

www.oecd.org/social/in-it-together-why-less-inequality-benefits-all-9789264235120-en.htm.

International cooperation and resource constraints

32. In recent years the volume of official development assistance (ODA) reflected an

incremental trend, and in 2016 witnessed a new peak of $142.6 billion. However, this

figure lagged substantially behind the call contained in the Monterrey Consensus of the

International Conference on Financing for Development for 0.7 per cent of the gross

national product (GNP) of developed countries to be devoted to ODA to developing

countries and for 0.15 to 0.20 per cent to least developed countries.23 While these targets

have been reiterated in the 2030 Agenda, most donor countries are still falling behind.

Bilateral aid to least developed countries has actually declined by 3.9 per cent.24 This may

be related to the fact that much of the new aid has been redirected to cover increased in-

donor-country refugee costs.25 Ultimately, if Member States use their ODA to cover in-

donor refugee costs and do not increase the level of their ODA accordingly, fewer resources

will be available for development cooperation activities in developing countries. 26 This

constitutes an obstacle to effective international cooperation for comprehensive

development as foreseen in articles 3, 4 and 6 of the Declaration and must be redressed, in

tandem with implementing the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International

Conference on Financing for Development,27 which the General Assembly endorsed as an

integral part of the 2030 Agenda and is critical for the realization of the Sustainable

Development Goals with regard to the means of implementation.28

33. A number of challenges to the implementation of the right to development are

centred on issues of resource constraints and related national and international policies.

Some factors affecting the availability of resources are slow economic growth, tax

avoidance and evasion, corruption, illicit financial flows and lack of capacity. These

constraints affect the ability of Governments to adopt development policies that leave no

one behind and take concrete steps to end poverty, in line with the requirement in the

Declaration of national and international development policies aimed at human well-being.

Successful implementation of the right to development and the Sustainable Development

Goals, in particular goal 8 on decent work, employment and sustainable and inclusive

economic growth and goal 9 on inclusive and sustainable industrialization, relies in part on

changing the current dynamic of economic growth. In 2016, the growth rate was at its

lowest since the financial crisis, but improvements are projected for 2017 and 2018. The

low growth rate, combined with demographic changes, has led to an estimated increase in

global unemployment to 200 million people in 2017 (E/FFDF/2017/2).

34. The means of implementing the right to development include economic and social

reforms at the national and international levels, outlined in articles 8 and 10 of the

Declaration. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda calls for increased accountability for

development financing commitments (para. 58), including accountability for businesses

(paras. 35 and 37); renews pledges to provide a social protection floor for everyone (para.

12); establishes a new Technology Facilitation Mechanism (para. 123); and includes, for

the first time, a follow-up and review mechanism for financing development (paras. 130-

134). The implementation of the Action Agenda requires an international system of

financing for development that is just, equitable, cooperative, transparent and accountable

that integrates human rights and that puts the people at the centre of the development

goals.29

35. Increasing revenue mobilization in developing countries is not enough if their

resources are simultaneously drained as a result of illicit activity. The Addis Ababa Action

23 Report of the International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico, 18-22

March 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.II.A.7), chap. 1, resolution 1, annex, para.

42.

24 See www.oecd.org/dac/development-aid-rises-again-in-2016-but-flows-to-poorest-countries-dip.htm.

25 Ibid.

26 See www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/In-donor-refugee-costs-in-ODA.pdf.

27 General Assembly resolution 69/313, annex.

28 See General Assembly resolution 70/1.

29 OHCHR, Frequently Asked Questions on the Right to Development, Fact Sheet No. 37, 2016, pp. 14-

15.

Agenda calls for strengthening the rule of law and combating corruption at all levels, as

well as the elimination of illicit financial flows. However, measuring and tracking illicit

financial flows are extremely challenging, in part because of a lack of an intergovernmental

agreement on a conceptual framework defining illicit financial flows. It is important for

countries to strengthen existing institutions and enforcement of the law to improve the

design and functioning of effective, progressive, inclusive and transparent national tax

systems (ibid.)

36. Competition for foreign investment can drive States to offer lower taxes and more

attractive tax incentives for business.30 Transnational corporations can exploit the tax codes

in different States in which they operate to avoid or evade taxes. Today, it is estimated that

about $7.6 trillion of personal wealth is said to be hidden in tax shelters, with a devastating

impact on tax revenues, in particular in poorer countries. Developing countries are

estimated to be losing at least $170 billion a year to tax havens. 31 In order to achieve

equitable, people-centred development, tax systems must be progressive, transparent,

accountable and effective.32

37. Some developing countries facing severe debt issues have been subjected to

structural adjustment programmes promoted by international financial institutions. These

have, in some instances, compromised a core principle of the right to development, which is

that all individuals and peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy the

benefits of development. The duty of international cooperation, which underscores the

Declaration, must be operationalized in implementing the 2030 Agenda, including

Sustainable Development Goal 17 on strengthening the means of implementation and

revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development, together with the Addis

Ababa Action Agenda, in a mutually reinforcing manner. The ongoing development of a

declaration on the right of peoples and individuals to international solidarity 33 provides

another step in efforts to realize the right to development, which is both underpinned by and

dependent on international solidarity for its meaningful implementation.

38. According to article 3 of the Declaration, States are obliged to cooperate with each

other in eliminating obstacles to development and to create favourable conditions for the

realization of the right to development at the national and international levels. The

imposition of unilateral coercive measures may have implications for people’s right to

development. (A/HRC/30/45).

Conflicts, natural disasters, climate change and participation in global governance

39. Conflict and war entail massive violations of human rights, in contravention of the

right to development. In 2015, 65.6 million people were displaced by conflict and

persecution.34 The costs of war and military spending stand in the way of realizing the right

to development.35 Article 7 of the Declaration is pertinent in its call for measures for peace

and disarmament, and the redirection of savings from disarmament into development. The

integrated framework of the Declaration provides a viable response to the Secretary-

General’s vision for Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, going beyond conflict resolution,

and is complemented by Sustainable Development Goal 16 on promoting inclusive and

peaceful societies. Just as conflict undermines development, poverty and underdevelopment

are root causes, as well as drivers, of conflict.

40. The figures related to migration and forced displacement are also expected to rise

due to increasingly frequent natural disasters, many of which are induced by climate

30 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RtD/InfoNote_Taxation.pdf.

31 See www.oxfam.org/en/even-it/inequality-and-poverty-hidden-costs-tax-dodging and A/HRC/31/61,

paras. 7 ff.

32 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RtD/InfoNote_Taxation.pd.

33 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Solidarity/Pages/IESolidarityIndex.aspx.

34 See www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2016/.

35 Information note on the right to development and peace, available at

www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/DevelopmentIndex.aspx.

change, which, it is estimated, will displace 200 million people by 2050.36 From 2000 to

2013, an average of 83,000 people died each year and 211 million were affected by natural

disasters. The adverse impacts of climate change pose visible challenges and obstacles for

States, particularly developing countries, to achieving sustainable development. Climate

change will demand substantial resources to mitigate its effects, reduce net greenhouse gas

emissions37 and promote environmentally sound technologies. Paradoxically, the poorest

people in developing countries, who contributed least to climate change, are most

vulnerable to its adverse impacts.38 This is due to their geographical location and lesser

ability to cope with damage from severe weather and slow-onset effects of climate change,

often affecting, inter alia, their rights to food, health and development (A/HRC/31/52).

Implementation of the right to development must be integral to operationalizing the Paris

Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and Sustainable

Development Goals 12-15 on climate and the environment.

41. Long-standing systemic asymmetries in global governance have a direct impact on

the implementation and realization of the right to development. The under- or non-

representation of developing countries in key forums on global governance undermines the

effectiveness of such forums. The adoption of policies affecting development involves

conflicting interests, making trade-offs and setting priorities across and within countries

and, as such, encompasses issues of bargaining and problems of execution. Without more

inclusive, democratic and participatory decision-making processes on key questions

relating to development at the national and international levels, those absent or those whose

voices are less well heard will remain on the margins of the benefits of development.

42. Sustainable Development Goal 17 on the implementation and revitalization of the

global partnership for sustainable development deals with, inter alia, the need to enhance

global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and coherence.

Addressing systemic issues is also a cornerstone of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda,

wherein Member States agreed to take measures to improve and enhance global economic

governance and to arrive at a stronger, more coherent, inclusive and representative

international architecture for sustainable development. Member States further resolved to

strengthen the coherence and consistency of multilateral financial, investment, trade and

development policy, as well as environment institutions and platforms, and to increase

cooperation between major international institutions. The promise of equality of

opportunity and outcomes for all nations and individuals contained in the Declaration

makes it imperative to include the voice of developing countries in international processes

of economic decision-making and norm-setting, including in the World Bank (see

A/70/274), the International Monetary Fund and international regulatory standard-setting

bodies such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

43. At the World Trade Organization (WTO), decisions are made primarily by

consensus and single undertaking. However, at times, decisions of the WTO dispute

settlement body 39 have been called into question, highlighting potentially negative

implications for the sustainable development policies of developing countries (see

A/HRC/33/40, paras. 70-72). The current round of negotiations, the Doha Development

Agenda, brought to the debate several important measures for implementing the right to

development, including access to patented medicines and strengthening special and

differential treatment for developing countries and least developed countries, as well as

flexibility for the latter countries in implementing trade liberalization measures. However,

this round has largely stalled, despite some limited breakthroughs. With the apparent

deadlock in the Doha Round, bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements have

36 See chapter 12, Human security, in Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.

Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment

Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, available at www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-

report/ar5/wg2/WGIIAR5-Chap12_FINAL.pdf.

37 See the full Working Group III Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report, available at

www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg3/ipcc_wg3_ar5_full.pdf.

38 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/ClimateChange/KeyMessages_on_HR_CC.pdf.

39 See, for example, document WT/DS456/AB/R.

become the preferred strategy to promote trade liberalization. Such treaties present

opportunities for development by fostering economic activity and attracting a much-needed

influx of investments to development projects.

44. Yet, free trade agreement and bilateral investment treaty negotiations may present

challenges to the right to development given the uneven bargaining power of the parties

with different levels of economic and technological development and capacities, and

concerns among some countries about the transparency of negotiating processes. Human

rights impact assessments offer an opportunity to address the question of whether free trade

agreements and bilateral investment treaties are in accordance with the human rights

obligations of States. 40 Such impact assessments should, at a minimum, involve

independence, transparency, inclusive participation, and expertise and funding, and have

the capacity to effectively influence policymakers (see A/HRC/19/59/Add.5, appendix,

para. 4). These concerns together make a strong case for expanding the democratic space to

the optimum.

45. Concerns have also been raised that free trade agreements and/or bilateral

investment treaties may have a number of retrogressive effects on the protection and

promotion of human rights, including by lowering the threshold of health protection, food

safety and labour standards. Investment agreements might aggravate extreme poverty,

jeopardize fair and efficient foreign debt renegotiation and affect the rights of indigenous

peoples, minorities, persons with disabilities, older persons and others in vulnerable

situations.41 Without assessments of potential human rights impacts, free trade agreements

and bilateral investment treaties might jeopardize the call contained in the Declaration for

an enabling environment for development, an element that is also essential to realizing the

Sustainable Development Goals.

46. Increased foreign direct investment flows to developing countries can contribute to

reducing poverty and promoting prosperity. However, whether this happens depends on the

nature of the strategies pursued to attract these investments and whether investments are

made in a responsible manner, i.e., whether they are conducive to social development,

protective of the environment and respectful of the rule of law and fiscal obligations in host

countries. Investors and States must ensure that profit considerations do not trump human

rights protection (see E/CN.4/2006/26, para. 59). Some businesses have been shown to

avoid paying their share of tax by storing their wealth in offshore tax havens,42 in direct

contravention of the fair distribution of development benefits required under the

Declaration. The capacity of some States to ensure that transnational corporations do not

breach labour or environmental standards, or jeopardize their capacity to seek remedies and

adopt other policies to protect and promote the right to development and the economic,

social and cultural rights of their populations, is limited. Individuals and peoples deserve

protection and remedies against corporate abuse, land grabbing and exploitation (see

A/HRC/33/40, para. 77).

47. The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide a framework

applicable to all business enterprises for how to prevent and address human rights abuse

linked to business activities. 43 In 2014, the Human Rights Council created an

intergovernmental working group to draft a legally binding instrument on the human rights

obligations of transnational corporations.44 Special procedure mandate holders have argued

that such an instrument could provide a normative framework aimed at ensuring that

transnational corporations contribute to development. They have also suggested that any

40 See the guiding principles on human rights impact assessments of trade and investment agreements

(A/HRC/19/59/Add.5).

41 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16031.

42 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21539&LangID=E.

43 Since 2014, OHCHR has launched two projects aimed at creating a fairer and more effective system

of domestic law remedies in cases of serious corporate-related human rights abuses and providing

credible and workable guidance to States on the matter. For more information, see

www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Business/DomesticLawRemedies/RemedyProject2.pdf.

44 Resolution 26/9. For more information, see

www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/WGTransCorp/Pages/IGWGOnTNC.aspx.

new instrument regulating the conduct of transnational corporations and other business

enterprises should address the extraterritorial human rights obligations of States with regard

to their duty to control the corporations they are in a position to influence, wherever those

corporations operate; ensure access to effective remedies; and accord priority to human

rights obligations over investors’ rights (see A/HRC/33/40, paras. 77-84).45 The Declaration

invests everyone (including non-State actors) with duties to the community with regard to

comprehensive development, including social justice and fair distribution of benefits.

Extraterritorial human rights obligations are intrinsic to the international dimensions of the

right to development.

IV. Conclusions and recommendations

48. The present report identifies some of the major challenges encountered in the

implementation of the right to development, primarily at the international level.

Implementation of the right to development requires fundamental changes in global

financial, economic and development policies, with a view to creating an enabling

environment for development, particularly in developing countries. Previous analyses

have identified certain challenges that must be overcome, including the political

impasse in the intergovernmental debate which has limited the engagement of civil

society and the agencies of the United Nations system (see A/HRC/19/45, paras. 23-25).

49. The international community is faced with ever-increasing challenges, among

them the global economic crisis, shrinking policy space through privatization and

unregulated activities of transnational corporations, gross violations of human rights,

armed conflicts, climate change, xenophobia and mass migrations. The right to

development provides guidance that has the potential to address these interlinked

national and international challenges and prevent them from deteriorating. The right

to development must be central to the operationalization of the global policy outcomes

of 2015, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa

Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk

Reduction 2015-2030, just as their operationalization will help realize the right to

development in a mutually reinforcing way forward.

50. The indicators framework for measuring progress in implementing the

Sustainable Development Goals is an important source, although not a substitute, for

assessing progress in the implementation of the right to development. Any gaps in the

framework, including the lack of targets and indicators on strengthening the means of

implementation and revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development,46

as well as on inequalities between countries,47 must be addressed from the perspective

of the right to development. The Declaration on the Right to Development provides an

integrated framework that recognizes the indivisibility of civil, political, economic,

social and cultural rights; the interconnection of national and international

governance; and the interdependence of human rights, peace and sustainable

development. Faced with the rising tide of inequalities between and within countries,

it is essential to recommit to multilateralism, international cooperation, and equality

and non-discrimination at all levels.48

51. It is imperative to ensure that the environment in which businesses operate

supports rather than undermines the right to development and its implementation.

This includes taking effective action to ensure decent work and respect for human

rights in global supply chains through the implementation of relevant international

human rights and labour instruments and standards. It also means improving

45 See also

www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/WGTransCorp/Session1/SR_STATEMENT

_IWG.pdf.

46 See Sustainable Development Goal 17.

47 See Sustainable Development Goal 10.

48 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 10, 16 and 17.

international cooperation to combat illicit financial flows and tax avoidance strategies

that exploit gaps and inconsistent tax rules. In mobilizing resources for development

through partnerships with the private sector, full consideration should be given to

relevant human rights instruments and standards, including the Guiding Principles

on Business and Human Rights. Such consideration could usefully inform negotiations

on a legally binding instrument to effectively regulate the activities of transnational

corporations and other business enterprises.49

52. A fair and progressive system of taxation will help mitigate global inequalities

while liberating more resources and policy space for effective development

programmes. Just and equitable collection of taxes is essential to realizing the right to

development. Progressive tax reforms could tackle tax avoidance and evasion by

companies and wealthy individuals who make use of tax havens. These steps will help

release resources and improve the transparency and accountability of financial flows,

and rectify any unlawful activity and redistribute the benefits to people in need.50

53. Reform of international trade and investment through the incorporation of

human rights and environmental protections to prevent their adverse effects and

distribute their benefits fairly will enhance implementation of the right to

development. Human rights impact assessments that collect disaggregated data need

to be carried out in relation to all trade deals and should address their impacts on the

enjoyment of all rights.51

54. Developing countries faced with severe debt burdens must have a voice and the

ability to preserve their national sovereignty when structural adjustment programmes

and similar economic reforms are imposed on them by international institutions.

Their right to full and complete sovereignty over all their natural wealth and

resources must be protected. Measures must be adopted to insulate basic needs, such

as food security, from global market price fluctuations.52

55. The public sector must be revitalized to create policy space for development

and ensure social protection for the poor. Privatization of health, education, social

security, water, and personal liberty and security services must not take place at the

expense of equitable access to these services and the protection of human rights, and

should be subject to human rights impact assessments.53

56. The principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities are

critical to implementing and realizing the right to development in the context of the

inequitable distribution of wealth and power between developing and developed

countries. The international community should address the modalities relating to

financing for development and States should meet their ODA commitments in order

to help those in need and sustain efforts to end poverty by 2030.54

57. Economic growth and development are not ends in themselves but means to

realize human rights. The success of development cannot be measured by economic

factors alone. The right to development provides a performance standard for

assessing comprehensive development, which must be sustainable, with due regard for

consumption and production patterns, the use and transfer of environmentally

friendly technologies and the production of clean energy. It also requires active, free

and meaningful participation of the entire population in the development process and

fair distribution of the benefits of development,55 which in turn call for enhanced

democratic space to increase civil society involvement in all relevant forums and

processes within the scope of the right to development, both locally and globally.

49 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 17.

50 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 8, 10 and 17.

51 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17.

52 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 8 and 10.

53 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 16.

54 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 10 and 17.

55 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

58. Structural transformation is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda and involves, inter

alia, the linkages between industrialization, infrastructure, technology and trade

regimes. Equal opportunities for sustainable development require the removal of

structural obstacles which impede access to technology and innovation.56

59. States should take resolute steps to put an end to xenophobia, racism, racial

and gender-based discrimination and all other legal and political practices that

perpetuate inequality, including between States, and infringe on the realization of the

right to development and the sustainable development agenda.57

60. In the current global political climate, it is essential to win the battle of ideas

and to develop a counter-narrative that promotes the reciprocal and global benefits of

international development and a rights-based approach to development at all levels,

with the right to development at its heart.58

61. In line with articles 3, 4 and 6 of the Declaration, the international community

needs to foster effective international cooperation for development and create an

enabling environment for development, including supportive policies to increase

public and private investment in sustainable development which will in turn generate

employment opportunities (E/FFDF/2017/2). This can be achieved by ensuring a

rights-based approach to development and through effective and sustained

partnerships.59

62. While the world is witnessing unparalleled technological progress, inequality

has increased substantially. The Declaration on the Right to Development contains

essential elements for the process of Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace. Its

normative framework addresses the interfaces of peace, security, human rights and

development with the aim of addressing root causes of conflict and inequality,

achieving peace and sustainable development, and ultimately ensuring that no one is

left behind.

56 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 8, 9, 10 and 17.

57 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 5, 10, 16 and 17.

58 This corresponds to Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 17.

59 See See http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Development/RightsCrisis/E-2013-82_en.pdf.