UN expert on right to development to visit Albania

GENEVA (10 November 2022) - The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Saad Alfarargi, will conduct an official visit to Albania from 15 to 24 November 2022 to assess the country’s efforts to integrate the human right to development into its domestic policies.

“I look forward to meeting Government representatives and other stakeholders who are working towards implementing sustainable development goals and promoting the realisation of the right to development,” Alfarargi said.

During his visit to Albania, the Special Rapporteur will examine how the Government promotes and guarantees effective popular participation and accountability in the development process. The UN expert will also assess compliance with the right to development in the Albanian Government’s response and recovery action related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The right to development is focused on inclusivity, promotion of equality and equitable sharing of the benefits of economic growth and development,” Alfarargi said. “The right to development also requires that development initiatives are sustainable and integrate environmental and climate-related concerns.”

The expert said the overall aim of the visit was to help the Government strengthen its legislation, policies and practices in accordance with the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development.

Alfarargi will meet with public officials, international development actors and civil society representatives in Tirana and Elbasan during his visit.

The Special Rapporteur will present his preliminary observations during a press conference on 24 November 2022 at 2 p.m. local time at Rogner Hotel in Tirana. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The report on the visit will be presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2023.

ENDS

Mr. Saad Alfarargi (Egypt) was designated as the first Special Rapporteur on the right to development by the Human Rights Council in 2017. Mr. Alfarargi served as Ambassador and Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva (1998-2012); Regional Director for Arab States, Assistant Administrator, UNDP, New York (1995-1997); Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt; Chief of the President Office for Economic Affairs, Cairo (1992-1995); and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva. He holds BSc. and MSc. in Political Science from Cairo University, and a degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

The Special Rapporteurs 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 organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page — Albania