“International Solidarity should be at the core of the Post-2015 development agenda”– UN rights expert

NEW YORK / GENEVA (28 October 2014) – The United Nations Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, Virginia B. Dandan, called on States to continue and even accelerate their momentum to ensure that the future sustainable development agenda does not lose crucial human rights components or get watered down at the next stage.

“International solidarity is now more important than ever,” Ms. Dandan said during the presentation of her latest report* to the UN General Assembly. The expert’s report seeks to contribute to the Post-2015 development agenda so it is consistent with universal human rights standards, and focuses on the value added to the future sustainable development goals when they are interpreted through the lens of the right to international solidarity.

The Independent Expert presented the proposed draft declaration on the right of peoples and individuals to international solidarity to the Human Rights Council in June 2014. “The draft declaration is a significant step in the evolution of international solidarity into a concrete right—a right that will serve as a potent tool in addressing the structural causes of poverty, inequality and other global challenges that impede the full exercise and enjoyment of all human rights,” the expert stated.

“The draft declaration can inform and strengthen the post-2015 development agenda as the targets move forward from the United Nations Millennium Development Goals,” stressed the expert. “This is a unique opportunity to close the gaps that persist and to meet the most basic development needs of our poorest communities.”

The proposed draft declaration also “provides a framework against which international commitments may be nurtured and monitored. It anchors our next global development agenda in international solidarity which stands at the heart of a more sustainable and equitable development,” Ms. Dandan said.

The analysis contained in this report focuses on three areas of concern relevant to the proposed sustainable development goals viewed through the paradigm of the draft declaration on international solidarity, namely: overcoming inequality, ending poverty and discrimination; building effective, accountable institutions and peaceful societies; and, international cooperation: strengthening implementation and revitalizing global partnership.

“International cooperation should be based on equal partnerships, mutual commitments and obligations and mutual accountability. In light of this, the right to international solidarity represents a multidirectional, rather than a one-way, deployment of action, obligation and accountability across both developed and developing countries,” she noted.

“Global partnerships, when positioned within the broader frame of international cooperation, could regain some of the momentum and credibility lost within Millennium Development Goals framework,” the Independent Expert stressed.

(*) Read the Independent Expert’s report to the General Assembly (A/69/366): http://www.ohchr.org/EN/newyork/Pages/HRreportstothe69thsessionGA.aspx

Virginia Dandan (Philippines) was appointed Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity in June 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council. She is currently an independent specialist on human rights in development, focusing on the application of the normative content of economic, social and cultural rights. Ms. Dandan was a member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1990-2010) and served as its Chairperson for eight years (1998-2006). She was also in charge of the Human Rights Community Development Project in Three Philippine Indigenous Peoples’ Communities (2008-2010). Ms. Dandan is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity. Learn more, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Solidarity/Pages/IESolidarityIndex.aspx

Read the Independent Expert’s proposed draft declaration on the right of peoples and individuals to international solidarity: http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/26/34

For more information and media requests please contact:
In New York:
André-Michel Essoungou, (+1 917 367 9995 / Cell: +1 917 940 0685 / essoungou@un.org)
Nenad Vasic (+1 212 963 5998 / Cell: +1 917 941 7558 / vasic@un.org)
In Geneva:
Marissa Storozum (+41 22 917 9689) or write to iesolidarity@ohchr.org

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