GENEVA/NEW YORK (30 March 2023) – The Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development will hold its seventh session from 3 to 5 April 2023 at UN Headquarters in New York with meetings that will be webcast live.

On Monday 3 April, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris will open the session. On this first day the Expert Mechanism will hold a general debate with Member States and other stakeholders, and adopt three studies on:

• Inequality, social protection and the right to development
• The right to development in international investment law
• The duty to cooperate and non-State actors

The Expert Mechanism will also hold five focused thematic discussions with a view to contributing to the processes in the lead-up to the 2023 SDG Summit in September and the 2024 Summit of the Future. Speakers at these thematic dialogues include Permanent Representatives of Member States to the United Nations in New York as well as relevant United Nations representatives and external experts.

On Tuesday 4 April, the Expert Mechanism will discuss the “New Agenda for Peace” (10h-11h30), and hold a dialogue on “Beyond GDP” (11h30-13h). Later, it will discuss “Reform of the international financial architecture” (15h–16h30) and “Future generations” (16h30-18h).

On Wednesday 5 April, the Expert Mechanism will hold a fifth thematic dialogue on “Youth participation” (10h–11h30) and discuss lessons learned after three years of its mandate and future directions (15h–16h30). The members of the Mechanism will close the session with concluding remarks. 

More information on the seventh session of the Expert Mechanism can be found here.

Location: Conference Room 6, UN Headquarters in New York. All participants are requested to register here. Media representatives are encouraged to follow the discussions on the UN TV webcast.

Interpretation: All open meetings during the three-day session will be provided with interpretation in the six UN official languages.

Time and date: Monday, 3 April to Wednesday 5 April 2023, 10:00–13:00 and 15:00–18:00 (Eastern Time).

The Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development is a subsidiary body of the Human Rights Council providing thematic expertise on the right to development in searching for, identifying and sharing best practices with Member States and promoting the implementation of the right to development worldwide. It holds two annual sessions in New York and Geneva.

ENDS